Where to Go During Vermont Maple Open House Weekend in 2026 | Happy Vermont

Published On: March 9, 2026|Categories: Blog, Community Events, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Vermont History|

Vermont Sugar House Maple Open House

Where to Go During Vermont Maple Open House Weekend in 2026
March 07, 2026

Few places are as closely connected to maple syrup as Vermont. For generations, the practice of transforming sap into something sweet has shaped the state’s culture and landscape.

“Maple sugaring is so rewarding because you’ve actually done something. You’ve taken part of nature and you’ve turned it into a food. And, you know, I like that. I enjoy that,” says Jim Judd, of Morgan, a fourth generation Vermonter who started sugaring in the 1970s. (You can learn more about Judd’s Wayeeses Farms next week in a new Happy Vermont podcast episode).

Long before Europeans arrived, Indigenous peoples, such as the Abenaki, developed methods for collecting and processing sap into sweeteners. They used bark containers to collect sap, which they concentrated by boiling or freezing, making maple sugar for storage and trade. These skills were handed down and later shared with European settlers.