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Visitors find sweet spot at Kline Creek maple sugaring tours

While many of us woke up Sunday morning and enjoyed a filling breakfast with the sweet taste of syrup, a hearty few headed out to Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago to see where the sugary concoction's origins are.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County hosted a series of Maple Sugaring tours at Kline Creek, giving participants insights into how sap becomes syrup. The 20-minute tours featured an up-close look at maple trees and collection buckets, a tapping demonstration and an opportunity to observe sap thickening over a fire.

"It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup," volunteer Roger Griffith told visitors while demonstrating the process.

Kline Creek will host another round of tours next Saturday and Sunday, from 1 to 3:50 p.m. For more information, visit www.dupageforest.org/calendar-of-events, and to register, visit https://apm.activecommunities.com/fpddc/Activity_Search/13859.

Volunteer Roger Griffith, right, explains the process of collecting sap from a sugar maple tree into a bucket on Sunday, during a maple sugaring demonstration at Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago. Participants got to see how maple sap is collected from trees and turned into maple syrup. Warmer spring weather allows the sap to be collected from the trees this time of year. Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
Sap is boiled for hours to create maple syrup, as seen during a maple sugaring demonstration Sunday afternoon at Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago. Participants got to see how maple sap is collected from trees and turned into maple syrup. Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
Dennis Buck demonstrates the process of thickening sap by boiling during a maple sugaring demonstration Sunday at Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago. Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
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