Flashback: Proulx Sugarbush and Berry Farm

Proulx Sugarbush and Berry Farm is located 5 minutes east of Orleans. The Sugarbush is open from late February until early April, and there are special Easter activities on Easter weekend.

The Sugar bush hours vary, but is usually open from 9 am until 3 or 4 pm on the weekends and is open during the week if you make a reservation.  There is also a buffet that is open from 9 am to 3 pm on the weekends.  If you'd like to visit the buffet during the week, you need to make a reservation.  Although its not required, Proulx recommends that you make a reservation to visit the Sugar bush on Easter weekend because its the busiest weekend of the year.

Admission to the farm is $5 + tax (kids under 37 months get in for free).  Included in the price of admission is access to the petting farm, nature walking trails, and the play parks and slides.  These activities are located in a different part of the farm than the maple syrup shack but a horse drawn wagon ride is included in the price of admission so you can visit the Sugar bush to watch sap being collected and visit the syrup shack to see how sap is transformed into maple syrup.  A variety of maple syrup products are available for sale at the farm, including maple taffy on snow ($3), pure maple taffy lollipops, maple taffy filled cones, and maple sugar leaves (3 for $2.50).

My boys both loved visiting the play houses and slides.  Despite the freezing cold temperatures we were outside for over two hours playing in the mud and snow. Learn from my mistake: wear snow pants and winter boots!  Until the temperature warms up, rubber boots make for a cold outing.

Last year when we visited the temperature was hovering around 0 and rubber boots and splash pants were a necessity.  The farm and sugar bush are very muddy so be prepared to wash everything your kids wear that day when you get home.

There is little in the way of scheduled activities and the petting farm is pretty sparse at this time of year (a donkey, a goat, a few sheep, and some ducks).  There isn't any entertainment and our three hours visit was occupied by the wagon ride and free play in the play structures and slides.

Unfortunately, the cold temperatures meant that the sap wasn't running.  We saw a lot of frozen sap in the bottom of buckets but the boys weren't able to watch is flow through the types and drip into the buckets, which sounds a bit like watching paint dry but is remarkably exciting for 5 year olds!

If you're planning to eat at the buffet, be forewarned: its expensive and on the weekends the line-ups are long.  We were lucky only to have to wait in line for 30 minutes.  We had friends who visited the weekend before and waited for over an hour.  The buffet is $23 (plus tax) for an adult, $18.60 for children ages 9 to 11, $15.05 for children ages 6-8, $10.40 for children ages 3 to 5, and free for children 3 years and younger.  They're pretty vigilant about counting family members as you arrive and plate sharing is discouraged.

Proulx Sugar Bush is a great family outing but a lot more fun when the temperatures are hovering closer to zero.  They do have a large heated tent so I would suggest packing a picnic lunch instead of visiting the buffet.

Sara is a photographer and mom to a 5-year-old ” firefighter” and 2.5-year-old “monkey”.  You can also find her at her blog, My Points of View.