
Maple Madness 2025
Online registration is required and open. See link below.
March means maple syrup at Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. Take a tractor drawn wagon ride to our sugar bush and learn how maple syrup is made in the olden days and how we make it today. Take a stroll through our interpretive trail and be sure to stop by the sugar shack for freshly made pancakes with warm maple syrup.
Dates: All weekends in March and the March Break.
Location: Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area.
Cost: $5.25 for adults, $3.75 for children. Admission is per person, no max vehicle fee. $0 for annual pass holders.
Hours: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Online Registration Required
Online registration is required to visit Maple Madness. Please use the link below to register. There is no fee to register and you will pay the entrance fee at the gatehouse when you arrive on your selected day.
If you need to cancel your registration please email odc@crca.ca. If you would like to change your registration please use the booking link to pick a new date and email odc@crca.ca and let us know the date you would like to cancel. It is up to you to register for a new date.
We are a very small team that runs Maple Madness and we see on average 13,000 visitors during the program. It make take a a bit longer to respond to your emails. Thank you for your understanding.
Activities
- Self-guided sugar bush tour. Visit our interpretive stations where staff, students, and community volunteers will teach you about the process of making maple syrup (closes at 3:30).
- Wagon rides: pick-up and drop-off at the Outdoor Centre and the top of the hill at the sugar bush. First wagon is at 9:00 am and the last wagon back to the sugar bush is 2:30 pm.
- Sugar shack (pancakes & drinks) and maple shop (syrup & candy), see prices on tab below.
- Face painting at the Outdoor Centre by donation. Supports the Not So Amateur Amateurs: Kingston Young People's Non-Profit Theatre Company.
- Maple themed crafts, activities, and displays from Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in the Outdoor Centre.
Take part in our Maple Madness photo contest and you could win a maple syrup prize package. Contest opens March 1 at 9:00 am and closes March 30 at 6:00 pm.
Check out our photo op stations in the sugar bush and on the front lawn of the Outdoor Centre.
Vote for your favourite photos!
- Download our plan your day guide.
- Maple Madness runs rain or shine except in adverse weather conditions like a snow storm, freezing rain event, or very high winds. If you are unsure please check the website or call 613-546-4228 ext. 222.
- Dogs are welcome at Maple Madness and they must be on a leash at all times while in the Conservation Area. At this time dogs are not allowed on the wagons.
- Please do not walk on the road by the warming huts (causeway). It is very narrow and for tractors only. Please access the walking trails at the back of the Outdoor Centre. When a wagon approaches on the road please step to the side and let it pass.
Maple Shop & Food Prices
Prices include tax.
Sugar Bush:
- Single pancake with maple syrup - $2.50
- Double stack of pancakes with maple syrup - $5.00
- Triple stack of pancakes with maple syrup - $7.50
- Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate - $2.25
- Water, juice, pop, ice tea - $2.25
- Maple lollipop - $3.00
- Maple candy, 3 pack - $3.25
Pancake ingredients: wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, dextrose, monocalcium phosphate, milk powder, baking soda, sea salt, artificial vanilla. We do not have gluten free or vegan options, you can bring your own pancakes and we will add warm maple syrup. Our facility is not allergen free.
Maple Shop - Outdoor Centre
- 2L syrup - $53.00
- 1L syrup - $27.00
- 500 ml syrup - $17.00
- 250 ml syrup - $13.00
- 50 ml leaf bottle - $5.50
- Maple butter - $13.00
- Maple lollipop - $3.00
- Maple dip - $4.00
- Maple candy 3 pack - $3.25
Bus to Maple Madness - Pilot Project
Looking to head to Maple Madness at Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area but don't have access to a vehicle? Cataraqui Conservation is trying out a pilot project through a grant for Maple 2025.
How it works: On the schedule listed below Cataraqui Conservation will have a school bus at pre-determined City of Kingston transit hubs to pick you up and take you to Little Cataraqui Creek and then back to that same transit hub it picked you up at.
There will be a morning pick-up/drop-off and an afternoon pick-up/drop-off offered only on select days of the program.
Tickets are required: You must book and pay for your ticket to have access to the bus. The bus is free and you are simply paying for your entrance to the event ahead of time. Cost is $3.75 for children and $5.25 for adults.
Bus Schedule:
1. Wednesday March 12 - Invista Centre - Route 7 |Kingston Transit
- Morning Bus: 8:30 am pick-up at Invista that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 11:30 am meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Invista Centre.
- Afternoon Bus: 12:15 pick-up at Invista that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 3:00 pm meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Invista Centre.
2. Sunday March 23 - Montreal Street Carpool - Express 801 | Kingston Transit
- Morning Bus: 8:30 am pick-up at the Montreal Street Carpool Lot that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 11:30 am meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Montreal Street Carpool Lot.
- Afternoon Bus: 12:15 pick-up at the Montreal Street Carpool Lot that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 3:00 pm meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Montreal Street Carpool Lot.
3. Saturday March 29 - Kingston East Community Centre - Express 601 | Kingston Transit
- Morning Bus: 8:30 am pick-up at the Kingston East Community Centre that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 11:30 am meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Kingston East Community Centre.
- Afternoon Bus: 12:15 pick-up at the Kingston East Community Centre that will take you to Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area. At 3:00 pm meet where the bus dropped you off at Little Cat to take you back to the Kingston East Community Centre.
How to Get your Ticket for the Bus: Click on the link below to go to our ticket page. On that page click on one of the green highlighted dates to start the ticket process. If a date is red that means it is sold out. We use PayPal to process tickets, you do not have to have a PayPal account click on the 'guest checkout' or 'check out with credit card'. Book Your Ticket
