Maple Syrup Time in Northeast Iowa

It is the beginning of 2008 and in two months one of the really fun and interesting visits of the year will be happening in Northeast Iowa. Maple Syrup harvest and cooking time.

Why go to Northeast Iowa to see, smell, taste and buy your Maple Syrup, rather than New England or Canada. Well, to start with it a lot cheaper to get there and a lot cheaper once you are there. Plus, the area us unique, untapped by the tourist trade and the people are nice!!

The area is about 80 miles North of Dubuque, Iowa, about the same distance South of Rochester, Minnesota, about 30 miles West of the Mississippi River at Praire du Chen, Wisconsin and about 10 miles Southeast of Decorah, Iowa. The mailing address is Castalia, Iowa but that is a village that you have to watch for or you will have missed it for sure.

I personally recommend heading for "Greens Sugar Bush" as it sits in the rolling hills along the Yellow River and the Green family, who has run the operation for over 60 years, still uses a team of horses and a wooden sled to bring the maple sap from the tapped trees into the cooking house down by the pond. There the smell of their cooking down the maple sap into Maple Syrup or even Maple Sugar candy is unbelievably taste tempting. And, if you check with their schedule (563-567-8472) they can tell you when the cooking is going to be underway and which weekends in late February or early March they will be serving buckwheat pancakes, sausages, coffee and Maple Syrup for some really inexpensive price. Worth standing in line for on any cold and blustery March day.

To get there look on the Iowa map for highway 52 in the Northeast corner of the State, where it runs from Decorah, Iowa on the North down to Postville, Iowa on the South and about 2 (+) miles East of Castalia you will see a small sign on the South side of the highway announcing Greens Sugar Bush to the North down a gravel road. It is 3 miles of rolling gravel road to the Sugar Bush and you will know you are getting there when the road has made a sharp right and 1/2 mile later a turn to the left and you cross the little bridge over the Yellow River. Keep going straight past the dairy farm on the left and as soon as you come alongside the hard maple timber on your left you will see a driveway and "you are there."

I would recommend staying in the area for at least a day and the best locations are in Decorah, Iowa, with a lot of Norwegian culture. My first choice for a place to stay is the Hotel Winneshiek, a redone old hotel, which is great, the rooms are Victorian and the service is good. Walking out the front door of the hotel, crossing the street and going South one block you will find one of several good restaurants in the town. In the morning, go out the front door of the hotel, turn left and walk about 2 blocks down to the book store for a great cup of coffee or Espresso. Turning right out of the hotel will lead you to a small bakery a block or two down, which has great sweet rolls.

Put this on your list of places to go, it will give you a sense of "down home" and good people.