Trail 1: The Maple Sugar Loop

On the Fairview Map, this trail’s color is light blue; walking distance: .30 miles.

This loop trail begins at the Roundhouse driveway entrance, loops down the driveway, past the bus pavilion, then up the gravel walkway to “The Oaks”.  Once at the top of that hill, turn left and walk past the Fire Tower entrance,  down to the road, and turn left to finish back at the Roundhouse.

The sweet smell of Spring is in the air when Maple Sugaring season comes alive in Maryland! As the days are getting a bit longer and slightly warmer, the maple sap begins to flow. The best weather for good sap flow is when we have cold nights below freezing and then warmer, mild days above 40 degrees. When the sap is flowing, the trees are tapped with a metal spile and bucket to collect the sap. The maple sap is then collected from the trees and boiled down to make that delicious pure maple syrup. Maple sap is actually mostly water- up to 98% water and just 2% sugar! It takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make just one gallon of real maple syrup.