Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s legendary Maple Syrup Festival is right around the corner!
Soon, the park will be filled with fresh Ontario maple syrup flowing over pancakes, the scent of sizzling bacon in the air, and buzzing visitors coming to celebrate an annual spring tradition.
Here’s our guide to make your sweet syrupy visit a success!
Check out our tips for a fun and frustration-free visit:
- When is the Maple Syrup Festival offered? What are the dates and hours?
- Is there an admission fee for the festival?
- Do I need a reservation?
- How long does it take to experience the festival?
- What activities are available during the festival? Are they children or family friendly?
- Where should we start our experience?
- How do I get around the festival?
- Can visitors watch maple syrup being made?
- What food is available on-site?
- Is there a gift shop available?
- What accessibility facilities does the festival provide?
- Are pets allowed at the festival?
- How should I prepare for the weather?
- Why are staff dressed in old time clothing?
1. When is the Maple Syrup Festival offered? What are the dates and hours?
The Bronte Creek Provincial Park Maple Syrup Festival is open every weekend in March and the week of March Break from 9:30 am – 3:00 pm, weather permitting.
Park gates are open at 8:00 am and close at dusk. Park visitors are more than welcome to stay after the festival is over to enjoy trails and picnic areas.
2. Is there an admission fee for the festival?
The festival is included in the purchase of your park permit, which is $18 /car.
We also recommend budgeting $60 for food, taffy, sugar, and gift items for a family of four.
3. Do I need a reservation?
We recommend booking your permit in advance to guarantee entry. Daily vehicle permits are available at 7:00 am, five days in advance of your arrival date.
This festival is very popular, and we only have room for a limited number of visitors each day.
4. How long does it take to experience the festival?
Most activities at the Maple Syrup Festival are ongoing throughout the day, operating on a first-come, first-served basis.
To fully experience all that the festival has to offer, you will need at least 2-3 hours. Please plan to arrive before 1:00.
On busier days, line ups for pancakes, wagons, and taffy will occur.
5. What activities are available during the festival? Are they children or family friendly?
Explore family-friendly activities throughout the day:
- join a guided tour of Maple Lane and step inside the historic 120+ year-old house
- watch maple magic happen as candy and taffy are poured right before your eyes
- we will get your toes tapping during the Maple Show, each day at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm
- kids will love exploring as they read the signs along the story trail
- the Family Activity Centre features old time games and activities without electricity or batteries
- hunt for sweet surprises in our Maple Syrup Scavenger Hunt or take on the Maple Festival Passport – Park Ranger Challenge
- meet farm animals and enjoy a classic wagon ride, which is always a crowd favorite!
- take a pony ride, brought to you by Fox Lair Stables in partnership with the Friends of Bronte Creek
- additional fees apply, with a portion of the proceeds towards completion of projects by the Friends right in Bronte Creek Provincial Park!
- the Friends of Bronte Creek offer marshmallow roasting and crosscut saw activities (weather permitting)
- and of course, don’t miss the pancake house, where Bronte’s team will be serving up fluffy pancakes and those irresistible sausages!
See why we recommend 2-3 hours?
6. Where should we start our experience?
Once you are in the park, you have generally two options for where your maple festival experience will begin.
These options greatly depend on how hungry you are.
Staff often ask: “Do you need to fill your minds or your bellies?”
If you choose minds:
Start at parking lot F and the guided tour of Maple Lane. Tours begin at the welcome centre and depart approximately every 15 minutes. The tours take approximately 20-25 minutes, finishing in the heart of the main festival area where you will then have access to the candy shanty, gift shop, farm animals, farm house, maple taffy and Maple Express.
Then take the wagon ride to the pancake house.
If bellies need to be filled first:
It’s off to the pancake house for your crew.
You can park in parking lot D, which is the closest parking area to the pancake house or line up inside the Welcome Centre for the tractor drawn wagon ride to and from the pancake house.
Pancake meals include: pancakes, syrup, meat options, and a drink. Then hop on the wagon shuttle ride to the Main Festival area.
Next, we recommend a guided tour of Maple Lane to learn about what it took to produce the syrup you just enjoyed.
Then proceed to all the offering for the minds.
If you have parked in parking lot D, remember that you will need to catch a wagon ride back to Lot D before the end of the festival, alternatively it is a 10 minute walk to get back to your car.
7. How do I get around the festival?
Use this Google Maps link to find your way around the festival and park.
If you are still unsure where you are, please ask a staff member, who will be glad to assist you!
8. Can I watch maple syrup being made?
Yes, you can! Please join a staff member for a guided tour of maple lane where you will see various methods used over the past 400+ years to make maple syrup.
The Friends of Bronte Creek operate an evaporator which is located at the end of the guided tour.
9. What food is available on-site?
Yes, a variety of food items are available on-site during the festival!
Tax is included on all meals. Cash, Debit, Visa, and Mastercard is accepted at all vendors.
Pancake house: open 9:30 am – 3:00 pm — festival days only
Located near parking lot D.
- Small Meal – $6.00
- 1 pancake
- 1 choice of meat (bacon or sausage)
- 1 portion of maple syrup
- one drink
- Medium Meal – $12.00
- 3 pancakes
- 3 pieces of meat (bacon or sausage)
- 1 portion of maple syrup
- one drink
- Family Platter – $40.00
- 10 pancakes
- 10 pieces of meat (bacon or sausage)
- 4 portions of maple syrup
- 4 drinks
Drink choices: apple juice, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate
Candy shanty: located near the gift shop and pony rides
Watch as a fresh batch of maple sugar is stirred then poured. Buy one piece or buy a bag.
$.50 cents each or $5.00 for a dozen.
Maple Taffy: located at the green tent near Spruce Lane Farmhouse
$2.00 per stick.
Kettle popcorn vendor: located at the red tent near Maple Express.
Try some maple kettle corn and other sweet treats!
Brought to you in partnership with the Friends of Bronte Creek, a portion of the proceeds help the Friends complete projects in Bronte Creek Provincial Park.
10. Is there a gift shop available?
Yes! The gift shop is centrally located within the main festival area and farm yard.
Maple cookies, maple chocolates, maple spread, and other sweet and savoury maple snacks and treats are available for purchase.
This is where you will find maple lollipops and maple roasted nuts. Find the perfect souvenir to remember your Bronte Creek Maple Festival experience!
Maple Syrup in a variety of sizes from 250 ml to 4 L jugs is available to purchase at Maple Express. Maple sugar candy is available to purchase at the candy shanty.
11. What accessibility facilities does the festival provide?
Washrooms and parking
While accessible, both the washrooms and parking areas are a distance from festival attractions.
Visitors need to be prepared to travel minimum 3 km along trail surfaces.
Mobility aids
Wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, and wagons are welcome, but accessibility during The Maple Syrup Festival greatly depends on the weather conditions.
If there is snow or mud, travel is more challenging. Bronte Creek does not have an all-terrain wheelchair. If you are in need of assistance, please ask a staff member — they will be more than happy to help you.
Trails and building access
The festival is 90% outdoors. The trails and paths can be snowy, icy, muddy, or dry and hardpacked.
The barns and buildings mostly have level access. The driveway ramp to family activity area is currently not accessible. We ask that infant strollers and wagons not come into buildings.
Wagon shuttle rides
The wagon shuttle rides require 3-4 big steps (up or down). They are not wheelchair accessible and are not easy for anyone with knee or hip issues. Infant strollers can go on the wagon, but need to be collapsed with no infant or child riding in them. There is a stroller parking area near the welcome centre.
Alternative to taking the wagon shuttle to the pancake house, guests who require their wheelchair, walker, stroller or wagon while visiting the pancake house and main festival should drive between parking lot D and F.
Hearing assistance
Tour guides use portable microphones to ensure all guests are able to hear the tour effectively. Staff can adjust the sound levels as needed, however weather can negatively impact people being able to hear due to wind or other factors.
If you have an FM device that tour guides can wear, please let staff know prior to the start of the tour.
Diminished sight
The park offers interpretive items and objects that can be experienced tactilely.
12. Are pets allowed at the festival?
Yes, pets are allowed to visit the festival with you and your family!
Pets are not permitted on the wagon shuttle rides and or in any park building including barns, however service animals are welcome.
Stoop and scoop rules apply — please deposit waste in garbage bins.
13. How should I prepare for the weather?
This festival is in March, which is still prime time for winter weather!
Dress warm from head to toe.
Walking is involved, so wear sturdy and weather-appropriate footwear. Hats, mitts, and warm coats are needed for everyone and snow pants or splash pants are a good idea for kids.
14. Why are staff dressed in old time clothing?
Every spring since 1998, Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s Maple Syrup Festival has celebrated the natural and cultural traditions surrounding the maple sugaring season.
Traditions that have been practiced and shared for centuries.
While the origins of maple syrup began long before European settlement, this festival specializes in the late Victorian Era (1890s) with Spruce Lane Farm as its focal point.
Staff showcase life of an early settler farming family and hope you immerse yourself in the atmosphere created by our attire, decorations and music.
See you in March!
