2-night, 3-day Sugarbush-hopping Road Trip from Toronto

• Watch maple syrup being made and have a sugar bush tour of the property and production equipment to learn more about how maple syrup is made.
• Browse their online shop and stock up on the fresh crop of maple syrup and maple products.
• Pick up a breakfast-to-go to be enjoyed the next day (see Day Two). Wintergreen offers frozen breakfasts of pancakes, French toast, waffles and sausages.
• Sample maple taffy! (check ahead for when this will be available at the sugarbush)

• Stop for a bite to eat at Molly’s Bistro & Bakery – if you haven’t already eaten for the day, their breakfasts are out of this world. Naturally you’ll want yours to come with maple syrup.
• The thermometer may be hovering around zero but it’s always the right temperature for an ice cream. Swing past Kawartha Dairy for a cone featuring their famous ice cream.
• Pick up a six-pack of beer from Boshkung Social to enjoy once the sun sets and you’re snug in your room at your accommodation. While not made with maple syrup, their Crème Brulée Dessert Stout is a unique alternative to your standard brews.
• To get a scope of the lay of the land head to Panorama Park, a lookout that’s easily accessed in winter as well as in summer.

• Browse the on-site gallery while also stocking up on maple syrup at Colour of Wood sugarbush. Call in advance to make sure they are open.
• Stop for lunch or dinner at Rhubarb Restaurant, an unexpected fine dining find in a small community. Rhubarb focuses on sourcing local ingredients when possible so it’s likely you’ll find maple syrup on the menu in spring.

• If you elected not to eat in Carnarvon, you’ll be in for a treat with a made-from-scratch meal at the on-site restaurant, prepared by Chef James.
• Relax in your room at the lodge – if you reserve the Lakeview Studio you’ll have a wood-burning fireplace to cuddle up in front of after dinner.

• Have a luxurious breakfast on-site and make sure it includes maple syrup.
• Take an hour or so to get out on the spring trails at nearby Dahl Forest. The lodge includes snowshoe and cross country ski equipment in your accommodation package.

• Book Yours Outdoors’ Maple Slurp experience, that takes you through the on-site sugarbush to the old sugarshack where maple syrup was once made. Learn about the journey from sap to syrup and end your experience with a pancake meal at Truss Foodworks.
• Kids will love this one! Yours Outdoors offers a Family Maple Magic two-hour experience that teaches youth the ins and outs of maple syrup production that includes a pancake meal.
• Stop for a warm and smokey lunch at the on-site Truss Foodworks.
• Rent a set of snowshoes from Haliburton Forest and explore the lengthy trail system at the forest.
• Browse the Paddle Shop and see if they have any sugar maple paddles available for sale. Once you use a handcrafted paddle you won’t be able to go back to a regular one!

• Learn about the history of the area, including its lumber industry that flourished thanks to the wealth of diverse woodland that contributes to the region’s maple heritage at the Haliburton Highlands Museum.
• Pick up some cool swag to remember your trip at Up River Trading Co. in the heart of Haliburton.
• If you’re not all outdoors-ed out, explore outdoor art at the Haliburton Sculpture Forest.
• One of McKeck’s Tap & Grill’s artisan pizzas will be the perfect ending to a perfectly sweet day.
• The Dominion Hotel is offering a total maple blitz on April 6 and 7, 2024, in honour of Maple Weekend. Try their maple glazed salmon, sugar maple pulled pork sandwich, taphouse poutine with maple BBQ sauce, or even a maple hot chocolate. 
• In honour of Maple Weekend, April 6 and 7, 2024, Hook, Line & Sinker is offering cheesy bacon French toast or cedar plank maple salmon, finished off wtih mini maple donuts, and a maple bourbon fizz cocktail. 

• Swing past the Eagle Lake Country Store on your way to your accommodation to pick up some Winterdance maple syrup, produced a few kilometres north at Winterdance Dogsled Tours.
• If you haven’t already had your dinner, Sir Sam’s Inn & Spa’s on-site restaurant, Twin Fires, is worth the wait.
• If you plan ahead you can book a spa service to relax with on the day of your arrival, or to start your day before you leave tomorrow.

• Take a guided tour of the sugarbush to learn how these folks make maple syrup (book in advance). Each tour includes taffy and a bottle of maple syrup to take home with you.
• Visit the sugarhouse in March and April to watch syrup being made from the 2,200 taps located on their untouched maple forest.

• Take a walk through the trails at O’Hara Mill Homestead – see if you can find one of the three geocaches in the conservation area.
• If you will be passing through on March 16 you can take part in their sugarbush demonstration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• 7/62 Brewery is named after the crossroads of highways 7 and 62, and their brews are as local as their name. Any one of them would pair well with maple syrup.
• See what they have on hand featuring local maple syrup at Hidden Goldmine Bakery, located right in the heart of Madoc. You won’t go wrong with one of their famous butter tarts.

What to do here

• Try the Cardinal Café’s homemade donuts, especially their maple bacon donut, a local favourite that’s made with syrup locally produced by Conboy Maple Syrup.
• A visit to Sharbot Lake in maple season isn’t complete without a stop at the local sugarbush, Conboy Maple Syrup. Call ahead to make sure they are open for visitors that day.
• Trek the K&P Trail that runs through Sharbot Lake; bring snowshoes if you have them although frequent traffic on the trail keeps it manageable on foot as well.
• Stop for lunch or dinner at The Crossing Pub – try the local favourite, Frontenac Sweet and Sour Sandwich.