Hockey, loonies and maple syrup. Those are the first three things that pop into my mind when I think of our friendly neighbors to the north. When we decided our Fall trip would be to Canada I knew very quickly that I wanted to make all my maple syrup dreams come true. Cue visiting a cabane à sucre aka a sugar shack aka heaven on earth.
Tapping season is between February and April when the sap is collected. This is the best time to visit a sugar shack when you can see the sap collecting in action! Unfortunately we were there in October and finding an open sugar shack to visit was more difficult than I’d anticipated! After about 6 unsuccessful calls we finally found Érablière le Chemin du Roy.
This traditional sugar shack was built in 1925. Upon arrival we were immediately in awe of the beautiful Maple Trees that lined the driveway leading up to the Sugar Shack. Typically these Sugar Shacks book up with big tourist groups (the day we visited was no different) the three of us were the only non-tour group patrons that day. It didn’t bother us but beware this is an extremely “touristy” activity. After a brief overview on how the maple syrup is made we headed inside. Once inside we enjoyed live music and were seated at long communal tables ready for the feast to begin.
Lunch is served all you can eat family style and most dishes contain an element of maple syrup. They also offer maple infused beer and spirits which you can purchase. Our table favorites were the meat pie and maple ham. The meal ends with fluffy pancakes along with, you guessed it fresh maple syrup!
Once lunch wraps up you head outside for the pièce de résistance…maple taffy rolled on snow! They take maple sap and boil it past the point of where it would form a syrup. Once it reaches its boiling point they pour the mixture onto clean snow and the cold causes it to thicken. Once hardened they wrap the candy around a popsicle stick and voila…fresh maple candy!
Overall we really enjoyed our experience at Érablière le Chemin du Roy. Off-season the cost is $18 per person and well worth it for the amount of food included. If you’re flying in and out of Montreal stopping at a Sugar Shack between Montreal and Quebec is a great way to break up the drive!
It was a delicious albeit it very touristy way for us to spend our last few hours in Canada!
Britt Heller 