These Are The Stacks You're Looking For

This year’s Hale Farm & Village Maple Sugar Festival March 11, 12, 18 and 19 offers a bit more than sugar, spice and everything nice. Hale Farm director Jason Klein fills us in on three reasons to go.  

Take the train: Getting there is half the fun. Catch the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad — dubbed the Maple Syrup Express during the festival — to Hale Farm. “It’s just a really good way to see Cuyahoga Valley [National Park],” Klein says.

Pancake breakfast: Each day of the fest starts with a serving of fluffy pancakes made from scratch by Acme Fresh Market and served with sausage links, fruit and a sample of local maple syrup. (Need more syrup? Splurge for the good stuff, which is available for purchase on-site.) “It’s all natural, and [made] maybe 100 yards away,” Klein says.

How it’s made: After breakfast, explore the syrup-making process from tapping the trees to touring the sugarhouse where the sweet stuff is made. “People can come out and see how it’s made and learn how to make it themselves,” Klein says.