Spring Sweetness Heads to NH's ""Grand North""

Lancaster, New Hampshire  How sweet it is!  The 2013 Maple Season has officially begun in New Hampshire's Grand North; and according to the New Hampshire Maple Producers' Association (NHMPA), it promises to bea banner season.  The season usually lasts 4-6 weeks throughout March and early April; and most North Country sugar shacks have started tapping.  

"We are looking forward to seeing, smelling and tasting what appears to be the makings of a fantastic maple sugar season innorthern New Hampshire," said Pam Sullivan, marketing coordinator for NH Grand.  "There is something extra-special about maple season, when the air warms up a bit, and spring is just around the corner. It's a great time to plan a trip to New Hampshire's Grand North."

This year's 18th annual New Hampshire Maple Weekend is March 23-24; and five Coos County sugar houses are expected to participate: Fuller's Sugar House in Lancaster, Bisson's Sugar House in Berlin, Burns Lake Farm in Whitefield, Chapple & Sons in North Stratford, and Tilton's Sugar House in Groveton.  And the recently named NH Grand "Grand Adventure," The Rocks Estate, will be participating in style. 

According to the NHMPA, this year's maple season willlikely be even better than last due to the prolonged winter weather. Last year's mild winter in New Hampshire cut short maple syrup production. However, this year despite Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of a rapidly approaching spring the winter weather is lasting longer. 

NHMPA Promotions Director, Brad Presby who also owns Presby's Maple Farm in Bethlehem says, "We are very optimistic about a nice, long maple season this year. We've had good snow coverage for much of the winter, which results in a later start of maple flow and a longer duration of the yield.  Last year, most maple producers were down by about 50 percent. This year, we hope to not only get back up to 100 percent, but surpass that; and in fact, many sugar shacks have expanded their operations this season."

A "Best of New Hampshire Grand," Fuller's Sugar House in downtown Lancaster is a family-owned sugar shack, going back four generations. Fuller's was noted by the North American Maple Producers as "Best in the World" for its syrup.

Fuller's Owner, Dave Fuller, said, "We currently tap maple trees in four maple groves in the Lancaster area. Each maple season, we tap more than 9,500 maple trees and boil at least 160,000 gallons of maple sap to produce more than 4,000 gallons of maple syrup."  The sap is collected by a plastic tubing system and hauled to the sugarhouse where it is boiled to golden smooth syrup, said Fuller.

Director of Programs at The Rocks Estate, Nigel Manley, said, "We are thrilled to be celebrating this season as a 'Certified Grand Adventure' of NH Grand.  People come to The Rocks from near and far to enjoy the New Hampshire Maple Experience where they learn the history of sugaring, help tap a sugar maple tree, enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride through our beautiful property, and get a taste of the syrup made onsite at The Rocks.  It is truly a 'grand' experience."

For visitors wishing to spend an entire "maple weekend" in New Hampshire, The Rocks Estate has teamed up with several area lodging places that offer weekend specials, including the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, a Best of New Hampshire Grand hotel. There's plenty to do, including sleigh rides, dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice skating, snowshoeing and more.  Plus, the Mountain View Grand Spa boasts a Signature Maple Sugar Body Scrub  a treatment that begins with a reviving sugar scrub and ending with a light bio-maple moisturizing cream.

After getting their fill of maple activities and treats, visitors to New Hampshire's Grand North may want to participate in some of the region's Easter holiday events/activities.  

Easter and spring specials include: