Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm in Stowe, Vermont, is one of the state’s many sugarhouses, where maple tree sap is cooked down into delectable maple syrup. It takes 10 gallons of tree sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Photo by Happy Vermont

• Share

PRINT

Vermont’s cozy sugarhouses roll out the red carpet every spring for maple syrup making. ©Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com

April showers bring May flowers. But in Vermont, winter storms make the sap flow.

Sugaring season — tapping sugar-maple trees’ sap and boiling it down to syrup — swings into full speed in Vermont in late March.

Last year, on a visit to a Vermont sugarhouse, I watched the clouds of steam rise and sniffed the sweet air before swinging open the doors.

Inside, I was engulfed by lines of locals waiting to buy “sugar on snow,” boiled maple syrup served atop snow. I sampled the sour pickles and cider donuts — recommended side dishes — and watched two boys skim foam off the surface of hot sap.

In Brattleboro and St. Albans, two prominent sugaring areas in the state, the season’s snowfalls provide ideal conditions for the sap to flow for sugar makers, who need moisture in the ground and changes in barometric pressure to drive the sap out of the maple trees for making syrup. To make one gallon of syrup requires 10 gallons of sap.

You can drive, ski or walk to the state’s sugarhouses. Skiers and snowshoers can access a few via trails, such as the von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.

Tour of sugarhouses

If you drive, a perfect first stop is Brattleboro, in southern Vermont. Snuggle down for a sugar-season escape at Greater Brattleboro’s former sugarhouse, now part of Landmark Trust USA’s collection of overnight rental properties. Aptly called The Sugarhouse, the 1915 building sits on a farm next to an active, independently owned sugarhouse (landmarktrustusa.org/sugarhouse).

Brattleboro’s delightful Main Street stores sell hyper-local products, but visiting family-owned farms that make the products is a special treat.

One, Brattleboro’s Robb Family Farm Sugar House, is a sixth-generation farm. The Robbs converted part of their old milking room into a kitchen where they make their popular maple candy, maple ice cream and maple-coated nuts.

For liquid refreshment, I tasted handcrafted liqueurs at Putney Mountain Winery and Spirits — a ginger liqueur, a “simply chocolate” one, Vermont cassis — and, yes, a “simply maple” liqueur. A small box of five airline-sized liquor bottles makes a nice local libation memento.

Burlington and Manchester

Of course, tourists can find a lot more to celebrate than the state’s liquid gold. From Burlington to Manchester, I sampled other aspects of Vermont’s hospitality.

The Burlington Hilton on Lake Champlain makes a good base for seeing the walkable and shoppable city. If you want to splurge, go for the nearby Essex Resort and Spa (thetavernvt.com) — or at least make reservations for dinner at the chef’s table (my single best meal in the state).

In town, Burlington’s Waterworks (waterworksvt.com) serves a good beef or seafood meal at a more affordable price.

In the quintessential Vermont town of Manchester, I settled into The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa (equinoxresort.com), a resort with excellent service and amenities nestled between the Green and Taconic Mountain ranges.

The Equinox hosts the Land Rover Experience Vermont, an off-road driving lesson on an 80-acre course. I wasn’t in the league of those trying (under expert supervision) to lift the Rover’s opposite side wheels off the road on a dirt road curve, but I did learn tips for conditions in regular driving.

Marble sidewalks? Yes, Manchester Village has them, thanks to a nearby quarry. With such natural elegance, it was no surprise the area had been a summer resort for the Gilded Age society set.

Lots to shop

I strolled down Manchester’s Main Street to browse designer outlets and artisan galleries (check out Epoch for paintings, jewelry and much more).

Aside from shopping at The Vermont Flannel Company (vermontflannel.com), I spent the most time at the 10,000-square-foot, family-owned, former stagecoach inn, the Northshire Bookstore (northshire.com).

For an evening meal, The Wilburton Inn (wilburtoninn.com) hosts dinner theater and other packages at the historical property specializing in family reunions, yoga retreats and DIY weddings.

Home to the Museum of the Creative Process, the inn also offers power-management and conflict-resolution workshops, which owner Dr. Albert Levis described as “a concise program of emotional education.”

I couldn’t overlook the other treasures in Manchester’s countryside. On Route 7A you can explore the 412-acre working farm, Hildene (hildene.org), formerly the 1905 Georgian Revival summer home of President and Mrs. Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, and his wife, Mary — along with a restored 1903 Pullman Palace railcar.

If you’re feeling heavy on history, return to Pastime Pinball, a family-friendly playable pinball museum in the heart of Manchester.

The Southern Vermont Arts Center, situated on 100-plus acres, was the perfect place to end my Manchester visit, with exhibitions by local, national and international artists on relevant, timely subjects.

For more information, visit vermontmaple.org/events.