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Ryerson Woods Conservation Area maple syrup hikes

Visitors to Ryerson Woods Conservation Area near Riverwoods got a sweet education Saturday.

The monthlong maple syrup hikes, offered through the Lake County Forest Preserve District, are an annual event that attracts 2,000 to 3,000 visitors. The one-hour hikes run every half-hour from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through March 29.

The hikes begin indoors, where visitors get to understand what happens through each season that allows the sap to run inside the tree in the spring after it has been stored in the roots all winter. Visitors also get to taste and compare the taste of sap and syrup.

Once outside, groups visit the sugar bush, an area featuring many sugar maple trees, the tree that has the sweetest sap. Visitors get to see a drilling site, learn to use some of the equipment to obtain the sap and see what has been collected.

The final part of the process is watching how the sap becomes maple syrup. When collected, the sap is 98 percent water and 2 percent sugar. That means it has to be boiled down in a large evaporator, and visitors get to see how much sap is needed to make one gallon of syrup.

For more information on the hikes, visit www.lcfpd.org/maple-syrup-hikes-at-ryerson-woods.

  A drop of pure maple sap rolls off a hikers finger tip while on a maple syrup hike on Saturday at Ryerson Woods Conservation Area in Riverwoods. Everyone got a taste directly from the tree. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Volunteer Jamie Godshalk of Lincolnshire, left, talks about how to spot a maple tree while guiding a maple syrup hike on Saturday at Ryerson Woods Conservation Area in Riverwoods. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Volunteer Jamie Godshalk of Lincolnshire lifts a ladle of pure maple sap at the end of a maple syrup hike he guided on Saturday at Ryerson Woods Conservation Area in Riverwoods. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
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