To taste pure maple syrup is to taste a product born of the pure essence of nature. Or as American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs describes this maple magic, ". . . it has a wild delicacy of flavor that no other sweet can match."

You and your family will have an opportunity to sample some of our home grown maple syrup from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve during the Maple Sugarbush Festival and Pancake Breakfast.

Maple Sugarbush Festival at a Glance
Larry Caplan, Purdue Extension Service educator for Vanderburgh County, guides a sugarbush tour.	Typical sap collecting bucket used at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.
With a little help, a young festival participant practices her tree tapping skills on a sugar maple log.	WNS volunteer Henry Backes works in the "Sugar Shack" to evaporate collected sap to the desired consistency of maple syrup.
Golden brown pancakes cooked to perfection for the festival breakfast.	Charlie the Pancake Eating Horse (one of our yearly festival visitors) entertaining a few of his fans.
WNS Volunteer Mike Daleke checks the evaporated sap by monitoring the thickness of the drip.	While the Maple Sugarbush Festival is in full swing, many of Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve's fascinating residents can be observed near the Nature Center.

This event is a celebration of the maple sugar harvest from the trees of the Preserve. Visitors of all ages will be guided through the woods to observe how sap harvested from the sugar maple trees becomes the pure maple syrup that we all love to pour over hotcakes. Each visitor is served a hearty breakfast that includes sausage, all-you-can-eat pancakes withpure maple syrup from one of Indiana's own maple sugarbushes, and a beverage.

We welcome you to join us for this local tradition of discovery and fun in the Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve!

Admission: $7 adults (13 and over); $4 youth; children 3 and under are free! Discounted admission for Wesselman Nature Society members.