When you think of March in New Hampshire, the first thing that comes to mind is maple syrup!! In fact, the New Hampshire maple industry produces close to 90,000 gallons of maple syrup annually. However, this phenomenon of Mother Nature is dictated by weather, not calendar. It is the freezing nights and warm days that make sap flow, so it can begin in late February and run into early April. The magic is that no one can predict what the season will bring. Charmingfare Farms, in Candia, NH, offers a fun way for your family to experience sugaring on a working farm. This farm has been a favorite spot for my family since our kids were young, but we had never done the Maple Express. It was such a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and I would strongly recommend taking this tour. Let me show you how we spent our day.
1st stop: Horse-Drawn Ride
We took a lovely 20-minute ride through the wooded area behind the farm to their authentic sugar shack. We rode in a wagon pulled by two stunning horses called Jewel and Joy. They were strong, sleek animals and we fell in love with them! Lilly, our driver, was knowledgeable about the animals on the farm and you could tell she loves her horses.
There were two wagons running at once and the other one was pulled by these beauties. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Along the way, we saw lots of animals including alpacas, llamas, oxen, sheep, goats, and horses. We saw these beautiful horses having some lunch.
But we all fell head over heels with this sweet guy. Meet Bubbles…a 700-pound beauty. Just look at that face!
2nd stop: Sugar Shack Tour
When we arrived at the sugar shack, you couldn’t help but immediately smell the sweet steam coming out of the roof. We all filed into the shack and met Zack, who taught us everything we could need to learn about how a sugar shack operates. He did a wonderful job keeping everyone’s attention and my eight-year-old said he was really funny. He was both informative as well as entertaining.
We learned the proper way to tap a tree and what weather has to do with sap production. I never really gave much thought to maple syrup production except wondering why it was so expensive. Well, little did I know that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup. The sap is then boiled down with an evaporator until the water is removed and it becomes syrup.
We also learned about the equipment they use to make syrup, including the types of taps that are used and what supplies are used to collect the sap.
Here is the thing I dislike most about computers…I would love to share how amazing the smell was in the sugar shack. It smelled sweet and smoky and light. I told my daughter it would make a great candle scent. I really wish you could smell it!
3rd stop: Tree Tapping
The farm uses the authentic way of tapping trees…metal buckets with a spout and cover. After we learned about syrup production, we walked behind the shack to see the tapped trees. My daughter loved peeking into the buckets to see the sap dripping in.
4th stop: Taste Testing
This was my daughter’s favorite stop! We were each given a silver dollar pancake topped with freshly made syrup and were able to sit by the bonfire, enjoying our treat and washing it down with sweet hot chocolate. It was the perfect way to end the tour.
LEAVE TIME TO SHOP!!!
You won’t know where to begin when it comes to picking out some maple products such as maple candy, maple sugar, maple coffee, maple cotton candy, and more. Make sure you stop into gift shop to check it out. (try to take a picture of some of the stuff they are selling). When we were there they were giving out free samples and we loved the maple cotton candy and maple taffy. I also overheard people commenting that the jam was really good.
Tips for planning your day:
– There is a bonfire surrounded by picnic tables. Bring a picnic lunch or snack and enjoy eating it outside!
-They sell s’more kits at the store. These are perfect to enjoy at the bonfire.
-Bring money to buy bags of animal food. You can feed goats, llamas, alpacas, sheep, etc.
-Make sure you arrive at the time you’ve reserved.
-Visit with the animals after your tour.
-The Maple Express runs weekends in March.
Maple Express tickets are $19 per person.
-When can you visit Charmingfare Farms throughout the year?
May 6th-30: Saturdays & Sundays 10-4
June-August: Tuesday-Sunday 10-4 (closed Mondays)
September until Labor Day: Saturdays & Sundays 10-4
-What animals are at the farm?
Chickens, cattle, donkeys, alpacas, ducks, emu, ponies, turkeys, sheep, rabbits, geese, miniature goats, oxen, pigs, peacocks.
And that’s not all. They also have wildlife such as black bears, cougar, camel, owl, grey fox, deer, skunks, red-tailed hawk, porcupine, raccoon, lynx, etc.
Address: 774 High St, Candia, NH 03034
Website: www.visitthefarm.com
A warm thank you to Charmingfare Farm, for having us as guests of your Maple Express tour.