Mid-March means one thing where I live: it’s maple syrup season! This is the time of year when sap starts running, if the temperature cooperates, and Sugar Shacks open their doors across Ontario and Quebec. (Dog-friendly maple syrup festivals, however, are my main interest).

UPDATED! Listings now reflect 2024 dates, times, and cost.

Can you take your dog to Sugar Shacks?

It depends. Some maple syrup farms allow dogs on the property but not in the buildings where pancake meals are sold, along with bottles of the sugary gold.

If you want to take your dog along, dog-friendly maple syrup festivals are sometimes the better option than sugar shacks. Most maple syrup festivals are outdoors, offer more than just meals and syrup, and are adjacent to outdoor trails your dog will enjoy. The main activity at regular sugar shacks often occurs inside a building, where dogs aren’t permitted to enter.

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Dog-friendly Maple Syrup Festivals in Ontario

Stouffville: Bruce Mill’s Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival

Dates: March 9 to April 7, 2024 (9:30 am to 4 pm)

Cost: $11.50 adult admission. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Activities: life-sized games, horse-drawn carriage rides, disc golf, and food trucks

Address: Bruce Mill’s Conservation Area, 3291 Stouffville Road, Stouffville, Ontario

Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash, but not in the Visitor’s Centre

Woodbridge: Kortright Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival

Dates: March 9 to April 7, 2024 (weekends: 9:30 am to 5 pm; weekdays: 9:30 to 4 pm)

Cost: $11.50 adult admission. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Activities: life-sized games, horse-drawn carriage rides, balloon art, and experience trail

Address: Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Woodbridge, Ontario

Pet Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash, but not in the Visitor’s Centre

Rockton: Westfield Heritage Village Maple Syrup Festival

Dates: March 3 to 31, 2024 ( weekends ONLY 10 am to 4 pm)

Cost: $25.50 (including parking) adult admission for 2-hour time slot. Reservations required

Activities: modern sugar shack, maple trivia trail, pancake breakfast, all historic buildings open, dress for the weather

Address: Westfield Heritage Village, 1049 Kirkwall Road, Rockton, Ontario

Pet Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash, but not inside the historic buildings

Oakville: Bronte Creek Maple Syrup Festival

Dates: Weekends March 2 to 31, 2024 and everyday March Break 10 to 16, 2024. (9 to 3, Saturdays and March Break)

Cost: $18.00 per car

Activities: walking trail, games, food truck, and off-leash dog run at the conservation site

Address: Bronte Creek Conservation Area Provincial Park, 1219 Burloak Drive, Oakville, Ontario

Pet Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash, but not in the buildings or on the tractor ride. Dogs are welcome on the guided tours of Maple Trail. Check out our Bronte Creek Maple adventure here.

Mountsberg: Maple Town at Mountsberg Festival

Dates: March 2 to April 7, 2024 (9 am to 5 pm; weekends, holidays, and March Break)

Cost: $12.00 adult admission

Activities: pancake house, sugar shack, historic sites, extensive walking trails, carriage rides, maple trivia trail

Address: Mountsberg Conservation Area, 2259 Milburough Line, Campbellville, Ontario

Pet Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash, but not in the pancake shack, animal barn, birds of prey area, and wagon rides. You can still have breakfast with your dog though, because outdoor picnic tables are scattered around. Check out our Mountsberg Sugar Shack experience here.

Almonte: Fortune Farms Sugar Shack

Dates: Every day beginning March 2, 2024, until the sap stops running. (10 am to 4 pm). Fortune Farms is the exception on the list. This isn’t a festival specifically, but as a maple syrup sugar shack, it is open seasonally and is dog-friendly (on leash). Fortune Farms offers outdoor activities.

Cost: $10 to use the trails (which you likely will with the dog). The shop is free to enter, but not with the dog.

Activities: Trails (including cross-country ski trails), maple syrup-making tours, kettle fires, and interpretive trail.

Address: 2442 Wolf Grove Road, Almonte, Ontario

Pet dogs: welcome on leash and outdoors only

BONUS EVENT! Hamilton: West Avenue Cider House Maple Taps Festival

Dates: April 13 and 14, 2024, 11 am to 5 pm

Cost: free

Activities: West Avenue Cider House Maple Taps Festival includes the launch of a new maple cider, maple products for sale, and food vendors offering pancakes, sourdough maple French toast, grilled cheese, seafood chowder, and stone-baked pizza with maple-infused toppings.

Address: West Avenue Cider, 84 Concession 8 East, Hamilton, Ontario

Pet Dogs: Dogs are welcome on leash

Maple Syrup is Truly Canadian

Approximately 80% of the world’s maple syrup is produced in Canada, specifically Quebec where 70% of the world’s supply is produced. The country has Indigenous people to thank for understanding the value of tree sap and what can happen when you collect and boil it.

For centuries, North American First Nations used maple syrup as both food and medicine. It would be centuries, though, before maple syrup would find its way onto the ‘superfoods’ list thanks to its antioxidants and nutrients such as zinc, manganese, and calcium, making it a healthier sweetener than refined sugar.

If you want more syrup (and who doesn’t?), this version of Maple Syrup from Elmira, Ontario is a particularly good price. (affiliate link)

Maple Syrup Fun Facts

• It takes a lot of sap to make one bottle of maple syrup, specifically, 40 gallons of sap is boiled down to only one gallon of syrup.
• Maple syrup is literally a reduction of sap that drips from maple trees.
• Maple syrup grades indicate when in the season the sap was harvested. Early sap is lighter in colour and grades and later season sap is darker in grade and a stronger flavour.
• If there’s any question about the value of maple syrup in Canada … In 2021, a group of thieves stole $18 million worth of maple syrup from a warehouse in Quebec, leading to a “Great Maple Syrup Heist” investigation.

Can My Dog Eat Maple Syrup?

You can give your dog maple syrup, but it’s not a good idea. Maple syrup is not toxic to dogs, so if your pup licks some, it’s not tragic or even cause for concern. But it’s not great. While maple syrup appears on some lists as a ‘superfood,’ it doesn’t provide much benefit to canines other than as a quick sweet treat. It’s the sweet part, that’s problematic.

True to its name, syrup is sweet, high in sugar, and does little more than contribute to your dog’s calorie intake. If weight gain is an issue, keep Fido away from fructose. Teeth and sugar aren’t good friends, either. Some dogs prefer their sweets in the form of fruits such as apples, bananas, and strawberries. Moderation, of course, is key.

Dog-friendly Maple Syrup Festival Locations:

I’m Sherri Telenko, a professional writer for 30 years and travel writer for the last 20. I’m a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America. I’ve lived with cats, dogs, horses and guinea pigs all my life, and I travel almost weekly with my canine companion, Victoria.