Sugar Moon Farm is a hidden gem in Nova Scotia where maple syrup is made. They teach you about the process of making their product, as well as provide plenty of memorable experiences. Though you may not have a maple syrup producer near where you live, you might be surprised to find something similar.
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SHE SAID:
There’s nothing I love more than grabbing a cup of tea and heading out for the day to a new little town or attraction to explore. On this particular day we decided to head to the sugar bush of Sugar Moon Farm near Earltown, NS to see what goes into making this sugary delight and why it costs so much.
Though this sugar maple farm is nestled a bit off the beaten track, I think it is worth the trek. We went during one of the busiest times of year on March Break, which in hindsight I think I would have chosen a less chaotic time. Nevertheless, the staff was very friendly despite the hoards of sticky fingered children running about the lodge.
My favourite thing at Sugar Moon farm would have to be the sugar on snow experience. For $1 a line of syrup is poured onto fresh white snow that you can roll around a popsicle stick to create your own maple lollipop.
While we were enjoying our maple suckers we went on the free tour of the facilities and learned a lot about how the trees are tapped, how the sap is collected, and how it’s processed. One interesting fact we learned was that a 1L jug has to be filled 40 times with pure sap to get enough sugar for one litre of syrup! Though tours don’t usually excite me, this one definitely showed me how labour intensive this process can be and why perhaps it costs so much.
After the tour we had the option of taking the 20 minute hike into the sugar bush, but after about 5 minutes of tripping and colliding into one another in the deep snow we headed back to the lodge and bought some maple products instead. I think it would have been neat to see the original lodge where the syrup was produced back when they used buckets to collect all of the sap, but we were not well equipped for the deep snow and undefined monster of a path. Maybe once all of the snow clears we’ll visit again and hike the 6 km Rogart Mountain trail that I hear contains 6 geocaches. If you’re more adventurous than us, you can rent snowshoes and do the same thing.
If you’re not that into tours and hiking but are looking for a unique dining experience, Sugar Moon Farm has Chef Nights throughout the year that showcase chefs from around the Maritimes that serve up delectable dishes with a maple twist.
HE SAID:
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical when Susan said she wanted to go to Sugar Moon Farm. I couldn’t picture in my head how it would all pan out. However, I laid aside my scepticism as we drove the 90 minutes to see how maple syrup is made.
As soon as we got out of the car we were greeted with the sweet smell of maple. I knew from that point on that it was going to be a good day. We immediately saw where they do the sugar on snow experience. Though the maple lollipop was a little too sweet for my taste, it was surprisingly fun to do. It definitely made me feel like a kid. I was playing with my food, and snow at the same time!
The tour was my favourite part of our time at Sugar Moon Farm. It was interesting, educational, and weird. Those things always go well together. The weirdness mostly came from the other people in our group who were asking some strange questions. I was particularly impressed by the guy who operates the evaporator. He reminded me of the guy who does the Survivor Man show on TV. He chops all the wood that is used to fuel the machinery himself (and it’s A LOT of wood), he lives on the mountain and told us all about how the property is self sustaining.
I would be remiss if I did not tell you about the toilets at Sugar Moon Farm. Oh my goodness. Apparently it’s some kind of composting toilet. The important thing to know is that it looks like the bottomless pit when you open it up. I seriously wondered if a wild animal might jump up and wound me, or I might accidentally fall in. That’s all I’ll say about that.
Some other fun things you can do at Sugar Moon Farm include pancake breakfasts, tasting pure sap from a tree (it looks just like water), and walking on snowshoes. Though we didn’t get a chance to do everything they offer, we still had a really fun time. Other than the gas money to drive there, we only spent a dollar each for our maple lollipops, and a few dollars for a treat from the gift shop. So it was a great afternoon of fun for very little money.
Of course, if you don’t live in Nova Scotia you won’t be going to Sugar Moon Farm right away. However, if you take the time to look you might find something similar where you live. If you do live in Nova Scotia, I would definitely recommend you take an afternoon and check this place out. You’ll have fun and you might learn something new along the way.
