Ottawa's Rideau Hall, the storied residence of Canada's Governor General, is doing something wonderfully Canadian right now: tapping its maple trees and collecting sap for syrup.
Every year as temperatures start to swing between freezing nights and above-zero days, the National Capital Commission (NCC) kicks off one of the most beloved seasonal rituals on the grounds of this historic estate. This year is no different, and Andy Miller, a grounds technician at Rideau Hall, is back at it, tapping trees, hanging buckets, and coaxing that sweet liquid gold out of Ottawa's maples.
How It Works
Maple tapping is a time-honoured tradition that relies on a simple but precise natural process. A small hole is drilled into the trunk of a mature sugar maple, and a spile, a small metal or plastic tap, is inserted. As daytime temperatures rise above freezing and dip back down overnight, pressure changes inside the tree cause sap to flow out through the spile and into collection buckets or tubing.
Miller and the NCC team manage the tapping operation on the Rideau Hall grounds, where the estate's mature maple trees are well-suited to the task. The sap collected is thin and only mildly sweet. It takes roughly 40 litres of sap to produce just one litre of maple syrup after boiling.
Where Does the Syrup Go?
The syrup produced at Rideau Hall doesn't go to a grocery store shelf. It stays close to home. The sweet results of the season are used on-site, making it a genuinely local, estate-to-table product with a distinctly Canadian story.
A Sweet Sign of Spring for Ottawa
For Ottawans, maple syrup season is about more than just pancake toppings. It's a marker that winter is finally loosening its grip. Sugar shacks and maple festivals pop up across the region each March, drawing families out to enjoy taffy on snow, fresh syrup, and the earthy smell of a boiling evaporator.
Closer to the city, the Rideau Hall grounds offer a rare chance to see the tradition play out in an iconic setting. The estate's walking trails are open to the public year-round, and during maple season, visitors may even spot the taps and buckets along the treeline as they stroll through.
Get Outside and Explore Maple Season
If Rideau Hall has you in the mood for some maple magic, the greater Ottawa-Gatineau region has plenty to offer. Farms and sugar bushes in the surrounding countryside, from Lanark County to the Gatineau Hills, host maple weekends throughout March and into April. Many offer guided tours, sleigh rides, and of course, all the syrup you can eat.
This year, with a solid winter behind us, conditions look good for a strong sap run. So whether you're visiting Rideau Hall for a walk or heading out to a sugar shack in the countryside, now is the time to celebrate one of Canada's most delicious seasonal traditions.
Source: CBC Ottawa. Original story by CBC Ottawa staff.
