Three Vermont Sugar Season Getaways

Vermont maple syrup photo via Wikimedia/Creative Commons

Sugar season in Vermont kicks off when the chill in the air retreats, making way for slightly warmer, yet still-brisk-enough temperatures. It’s then that Vermonters begin tapping trees for their prized maple syrup. Even though the sugary goo only flows from late February to early April, the state to our northern border accounts for more than 40 percent of the country’s maple syrup production.

Besides boasting an abundance of buckets, plastic tubing, and hard work, sugar season represents the sweet stage between winter and spring. Hotels, bed and breakfasts, and establishments throughout Vermont invite guests to savor all forms of syrupy treats.

The culmination of sugar season is marked by Vermont Maple Open House Weekend, a time of sugarhouse tours, maple cocktail tasting, candy-making demonstrations, pancake breakfasts, and more. Here, we’ve compiled three promotions lasting throughout the season.

Photo provided by the Woodstock Inn & Resort

Sugar Season Escape—The Woodstock Inn & Resort

• Weekday rates starting at $169 per room per night
• Weekend rates starting at $199 per room per night
• Country breakfast for two included each morning
• Highlights include Woodstock’s Maple Madness Weekend, held April 2 and 3

14 The Green, Woodstock, Vt., woodstockinn.com.

Maple Sugar Season Package—The Middlebury Inn

One night includes…

• Breakfast for two
• A bottle of maple syrup and some maple candy
• Admission to the New England Maple Museum
• Directions to local sugar houses

14 Court Square, Middlebury, Vt., middleburyinn.com.

Maple Open House Weekend Special—Fitch Hill Inn

A two-night reservation during Maple Open House weekend includes…

• Free gift basket filled with local maple products
• A map of participating sugar houses in the state

258 Fitch Hill Road, Hyde Park, Vt., fitchhillinn.com.