This post goes under the heading of "why was this our first visit" when it is 6 miles from home.
We live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where the men are hardy, the women are capable and the maple trees are plentiful. In the town of Thornton sits a fairly rustic structure with a sign announcing it's function.
Benton's Sugar Shack, it is more than a shack but not by much. The weathered barn board and muddy parking area reminds travelers of any New England barn they have driven by hundreds of times. But inside the operation boils down barrels of maple syrup everyday, and will burn 30 cords of wood to achieve the golden brown nectar in a season. Also inside is the best breakfast around, nothing fancy- served on paper plates with plastic forks and knives but delicious as any place I have eaten in the world.
Tour the Maple Sugar production, while you wait to be seated, it is fascinating to see and smell (bring the kids).
...Get there early, or bring your clubs. The Sugar shack has a driving range across the street for golfers to groove their swing before or after breakfast.
Tapping: in the early spring when the days are warm and nights are cold sugar maple trees are tapped. The Sap runs into buckets and is transported by hand or pipeline to a collection system.
Mike Benton gives the tour while you're waiting for breakfast. Here he's feeding wood into the evaporator system that boils down 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of maple syrup.
They sell the finished product at the sugar shack, and it is also carried at Clark's trading post a near by attraction that has trained bear shows during the summer months.
This is a Authentic place to take the family, and was fun for my wife and I as well. We live so close to some really terrific "only in New Hampshire" attractions and enjoy discovering new places close to home everyday.
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They actually have maple syrup tours...and as soon as I loose a few pounds (cuz I know I'll gain them back in one pancake sitting), I'll be there!
Laura...it's all in the same building in fact depending on you're seating you can have a window from your breakfast table to the boiling room. It is really neat, especially for the little one to see how it's done, and I'm not kidding about the food...I had to drag myself out of there.
I work in the same town that Yuengling Beer is made in (America's Oldest Brewery). They get 50,000 visitors/year to the brewery, and yet most natives here have never even visited!
Wow Steve very neat the process sounds complicated I bet the hot pancakes with the maple syrup tastes unbelievable thanks for the post.
Erica...it's funny how we take for granted the unique feature of our home towns, we know about them but to truly "do the tourist- tour" is often overlooked.
Jackie, They have been doing this process for over a hundred years...it takes a lot of sap to make a little syrup.