When to tap maple trees in Pennsylvania
- Opens
- Feb 25
- median, USDA
- Closes
- Mar 28
- median, USDA
- Typical length
- 32days
- Seasons on record
- 12
- 2011–2022
County by county
When the sap runs across Pennsylvania
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Typical opening date of the sap season, week by week across this state’s range
- Feb 6–8
- Feb 9–15
- Feb 16–22
- Feb 23–Mar 1
- Mar 2–10
- fewer than 5 maple farms
35 places with an atlas page. Typical season opening, earliest: Fayette County, PA, Feb 6; Chester County, PA, Feb 7; Franklin County, PA, Feb 8; latest: Susquehanna County, PA, Mar 10; Potter County, PA, Mar 9; Wayne County, PA, Mar 7. Most sap days a season: Chester County, PA, 54; Monroe County, PA, 54; Somerset County, PA, 53. Maple taps in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, on a five-step scale fitted to Pennsylvania: under 310, 310–1,400, 1,400–5,900, 5,900–17,000, 17,000+; the most: Somerset County, PA (295,430), Crawford County, PA (153,895), Tioga County, PA (115,340), Potter County, PA (102,740), Bradford County, PA (79,859). Maple farms in the same census, in five steps: under 6, 6–8, 8–11, 11–25, 25+; the most: Somerset County, PA (88), Tioga County, PA (56), Bradford County, PA (53). Syrup made, in US gallons: Somerset County, PA (70,368 gal), Crawford County, PA (45,425 gal), Potter County, PA (23,207 gal). Tappable maples (FIA estimates of sugar maples 10 in and up on forest land, US counties only): under 1.2 million, 1.2–1.6 million, 1.6–2.2 million, 2.2–4.6 million, 4.6 million+; the most: Potter County, PA (about 11 million ± 15%), McKean County, PA (about 5.7 million ± 16%), Tioga County, PA (about 5.1 million ± 23%). 9 counties' estimates are too uncertain to show (sampling error over 50%). 4 counties have none tallied on the inventory plots (not a zero). Each shaded place links to its page; every state and province page lists its places in a table.
| Fayette | Feb 6 – Mar 8 | 51 | 294 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | Feb 7 – Mar 10 | 54 | 10 |
| Franklin | Feb 8 – Mar 10 | 46 | 1,309 |
| York | Feb 8 – Mar 10 | 49 | 66 |
| Lancaster | Feb 9 – Mar 9 | 45 | 864 |
| Dauphin | Feb 11 – Mar 14 | 42 | 114 |
| Westmoreland | Feb 12 – Mar 14 | 49 | 4,948 |
| Washington | Feb 13 – Mar 16 | 47 | 4,817 |
| Northampton | Feb 14 – Mar 17 | 50 | 298 |
| Beaver | Feb 15 – Mar 14 | 41 | 170 |
| Perry | Feb 16 – Mar 19 | 46 | 390 |
| Indiana | Feb 17 – Mar 20 | 47 | 6,343 |
| Luzerne | Feb 17 – Mar 18 | 40 | 1,887 |
| Blair | Feb 18 – Mar 18 | 46 | 1,386 |
| Bedford | Feb 19 – Mar 21 | 52 | 10,658 |
| Armstrong | Feb 20 – Mar 22 | 50 | 1,404 |
| Butler | Feb 20 – Mar 23 | 50 | 232 |
| Centre | Feb 21 – Mar 23 | 45 | 4,800 |
| Lackawanna | Feb 21 – Mar 23 | 38 | 6,050 |
| Mercer | Feb 21 – Mar 24 | 47 | 14,806 |
| Monroe | Feb 21 – Mar 24 | 54 | 3,216 |
| Clinton | Feb 24 – Mar 26 | 52 | 654 |
| Crawford | Feb 25 – Mar 29 | 40 | 153,895 |
| Somerset | Feb 25 – Mar 27 | 53 | 295,430 |
| Clearfield | Feb 26 – Mar 29 | 49 | 1,010 |
| Erie | Feb 26 – Mar 26 | 27 | 18,090 |
| Clarion | Feb 27 – Mar 30 | 49 | 310 |
| Bradford | Mar 2 – Apr 1 | 50 | 79,859 |
| Warren | Mar 2 – Apr 2 | 46 | 5,945 |
| McKean | Mar 6 – Apr 8 | 48 | 8,505 |
| Tioga | Mar 6 – Apr 7 | 51 | 115,340 |
| Sullivan | Mar 7 – Apr 6 | 35 | 5,675 |
| Wayne | Mar 7 – Apr 6 | 50 | 17,030 |
| Potter | Mar 9 – Apr 8 | 47 | 102,740 |
| Susquehanna | Mar 10 – Apr 10 | 43 | 10,993 |
Sap-flow outlook right now
Full Pennsylvania forecast →Forecast for Meyersdale
Updated Nov 10, 7:05 AM EST
2 sap days in the next 6
freeze thaw 32°F
- WedNov 1137° / 61°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - ThuNov 1244° / 49°
0h below · 24h above
No refreeze forecast - FriNov 1333° / 39°
2h below · 21h above
No refreeze forecast - SatNov 1428° / 37°
11h below · 12h above
Maybe a light run - SunNov 1528° / 41°
10h below · 13h above
Classic sap day - MonNov 1627° / 45°Classic sap day
Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.
Season history
Pennsylvania maple seasons, 2011–2022
| Year | Opened | Closed | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Feb 24 | Mar 23 | 27 |
| 2021 | Feb 27 | Mar 24 | 25 |
| 2020 | Feb 18 | Mar 20 | 31 |
| 2019 | Feb 25 | Apr 1 | 35 |
| 2018 | Feb 17 | Apr 3 | 45 |
| 2017 | Feb 11 | Mar 22 | 39 |
| 2016 | Feb 15 | Mar 17 | 31 |
| 2015 | Mar 10 | Apr 6 | 27 |
| 2014 | Mar 6 | Apr 8 | 33 |
| 2013 | Feb 26 | Apr 5 | 38 |
| 2012 | Feb 16 | Mar 13 | 26 |
| 2011 | Feb 26 | Mar 31 | 33 |
Timing your taps
How to know it's time in Pennsylvania
Sap runs on a temperature swing, not a date. A night below freezing loads the tree; a day above freezing pushes sap out of the taphole. Field research treats a low under about 30°F followed by a high over about 37°F as a real freeze-thaw day, and big runs almost always come on days like that.
So watch the 10-day forecast. When you see a string of nights in the 20s and afternoons in the 40s, get your taps in a day or two ahead. South-facing slopes warm first and usually run earlier.
Dates are USDA NASS approximate state averages. Penn State agrees: mid-February to early March normally brings the right conditions, and the season runs until early April most years.
Pennsylvania made 193,000 gallons of maple syrup in 2026, 3.3% of the US crop (USDA NASS). See every state’s crop.
Seasons are shifting. Cornell researchers found that start dates for tapping maples in the Northeast are about a week earlier than in 1970, and projected they could arrive about a month earlier by 2100 — e.g., around Feb 1 instead of Mar 1 in Montpelier, Vermont (Skinner, DeGaetano & Chabot, Climatic Change, 2010).
Where Pennsylvania's sugaring happens
- MeyersdaleSomerset County has 295,430 of Pennsylvania's 918,865 taps (32.2%), the most in the state (2022 Census of Agriculture).
- MeadvilleCrawford County in northwestern Pennsylvania ranks second with 153,895 taps (16.7%; 2022 Census of Agriculture).
- CoudersportPotter and Tioga counties on the northern tier together hold 218,080 taps (23.7%; 2022 Census of Agriculture).
FAQ
Pennsylvania tapping questions
- When is maple syrup season in Pennsylvania?
- Usually from late February to late March, about 5 weeks. The exact start moves by weeks from year to year with the weather.
- When should I tap my trees in Pennsylvania?
- Tap just before the first good run: when the forecast shows nights below freezing and days climbing to around 40°F. In a typical year that's around February 25. Tapholes dry up within 6 to 10 weeks, so tapping far too early can cost you the late runs.
- What's the earliest maple season has started in Pennsylvania?
- In USDA records for 2011–2022, the earliest average opening was February 11 (2017) and the latest was March 10 (2015), a spread of 27 days.
Pennsylvania
More for Pennsylvania sugarmakers
LuckySap · free on iPhone & Android
Get a heads-up when Pennsylvania's sap will run
LuckySap checks the forecast for your trees and can ping you the night before a strong sap day, then keeps every collection and boil in one season log. Free on iPhone and Android.
