Maple and Mud

Different Grades of Maple Syrup

It’s March Break time and if you’re like me you have small children to amuse and you probably need to do it cheaply.  Last summer, I dragged my children over half of Toronto exploring many of the parks and ravines the City has to offer.  All for free or for a small fee.  I hate spending money.  And I want my children to have an appreciation for the world they physically live in, not the one they see on the small screen.  But just how many petting zoos and magic shows can you really do in a lifetime?  The Kortright Centre for Conservation is a great place to go.  It has a very low admission price and they have tons of programs all year long that are both educational and entertaining for children.

My husband decided to take the week off to spend with our kids.  He spends a lot of time working overseas and rarely has the opportunity to spend quality time with them.  I had noticed the last time that I had gone to the Kortright Centre with my son’s school field trip that they had a maple festival.  Perfect for my husband and his maple obsession and a great learning opportunity for the kids.  I could taste the family outing potential!  I mentioned to my husband last week that I suspected that it must be happening soon, if it hadn’t already happened.  He checked the site and sure enough, just in time for March Break, the festival was in full swing with a ton of activities for the kids.  I had been hankering for the winter to be over so that I could check out some of the trails with the dogs. And the weather was beautiful.  Everything was in perfect alignment for a lovely family excursion into nature.  We piled ourselves, the kids’ best friend and two dogs into the Momobile and headed north. 

Of course, it seemed like half of Toronto felt that way too.  We left several hours later than we were planning.  It was almost lunchtime before we hit the road.  We got there in great time, but the cars were piled up at the entrance.  After over half an hour idling, the dogs were getting antsy and I got out to walk them around while my husband continued to the entrance.  By this point in time he was told that the park was “closed” because all of the parking spaces were gone, but they still let him in and he was able to find a spot.  

We made our way to the visitor’s centre and picked a map and brochure.  Just outside the visitor centre, a huge line up awaited to board the wagon rides which were set up to take enthusiasts through a small loop near the entrance of the park.  We decided to forego that and went right for the maple tour.  

There are two types of tours you can take, a self-guided tour or a directed one.  We had a handy map so we decided to hike ourselves.  It seemed like a pretty easy loop and we had a couple of dogs with us and kids with low attention spans so we decided to head on ourselves.  It was the perfect day for a family outing.  It was a wonderful, balmy 11 degrees outside and really comfortable.  A word to the wise however.  Despite all the snow still on the ground, the spring thaw is underway and it’s pretty muddy and still very icy in places.  Wear waterproof boots with good grips.

Mud was the secondary theme of the day.  Our boots were coated.
And don't get me started on the state of our dog's fur...

The path starts right behind the visitor centre.  There are tons of people hitting the festival so it’s pretty easy to just follow the crowds.  All along the walk, signs highlight interesting facts about maples and maple syrup and its production.  At the bottom of the first steep hill is a small display demonstrating how First Nation Peoples gathered maple sap, cutting a gash in a tree and using twigs to guide the sap into hollowed out log/troughs.  

Displaying First Nations methods to collect sap.

A short distance further and you spy trees with metal buckets attached.  You are free to go ahead and have a look inside.  My children were surprised by the contents.  “There’s water inside!”  No, that’s tree sap.  It was hard to make them understand that this would become maple syrup.

That's not water ... that's future pancake dressing.

We walk further on and round a bend to come across some demonstrations of early maple syrup production.  Rough, crude buildings house shelter steaming kettles.  Firewood, at the ready to keep the fires roaring, are stacked to one side.  A small group of people, dressed in early settler type clothes, are hard at work making small batches of maple syrup.  Here you get the opportunity to taste both samples of sap and finished syrup.  The sap lives up to it’s appearance.  It is very watery and almost tasteless.  The syrup is fresh and fantastic and reminds me of the syrup of my youth.  The children stood for a long time watching the syrup boiling away in the kettles.  They seemed genuinely appreciative of the work involved in making one of their favorite breakfast staples.  

Maple syrup in production.

The path twists onwards and we find another shack, this one demonstrating more modern production of maple syrup.  Outside, lines of plastic tubing hang like garland from the trees, collecting precious sap and drawing it towards the shack.  Inside a demonstration on production and maple grades is being conducted and my husband and the girls decide to hang around to hear the talk.  My son and I continue onwards.  

I let my son have the map and have some fun orienteering.  We rambled about for the better part of an hour while he tried to figure out where the entrance was for the path that he wanted to take.  We eventually gave up and I pointed him back to the Visitors Centre, intending to pick up the forest trail with him, but we ran into my husband and the girls there.  Everyone was a little tired and hungry and we figured it was time to go home.  But of course, we had to hit the little shop first and stock up on maple supplies!  Maple coated almonds, Maple suckers, Maple butter.  Maple, Maple, Maple.  You can never have too much Maple!

Kortright Centre for Conservation

Useful Information:

• Duration of Walk:  The Kortright Centre pamphlet gives about 1 hour for the guided walk and this was about right.  It took us almost two, but we were rambling slowly and taking our time at the different demonstrations.  We also did a little bit of our own walking after the Maple Sugar Walk.  
• Difficulty:  Moderately Challenging.  There are very steep hills that need to be negotiated.  Ice and mud make for slick walking surfaces.
• Parking:  There is parking available, however plan to get there early as this is popular and the lots fill up fast.  There is an admission fee to get into the park, which can be obtained from their website linked above. 
• Washrooms:  There are washrooms in the Visitor Centre with lots of stalls.  I overheard someone mention port-a-potties, but did not see any.  (March 22, 2011:  To demonstrate how observant I am, if I had looked a little more closely at the pictures above, I would have clearly seen port-a-potties!)
• Local Coffee Haunts:  There is a cafe in the Visitor Centre.
• Safety Factor:  Good.  There are tons of people about.  Be careful and mindful of icy patches.  Keep a close eye on small children to ensure no one goes wandering off.  
• Special Gear?:  A good pair of boots, waterproof, with grip.
• Suitable for Dogwalking?:  Yes.  There were plenty of dogs enjoying the trail.  Since there are so many people, be polite and leave any overly excitable dogs at home.  Dogs must be on leash at all times in the Conservation Area.