Sugar Camp at Middleton-Mills Park ~ Makin' Maple Syrup

March 8-12 OR 15-19 ~ Which week? Depends. When the sap's runnin'!

Does Winter seem to be dragging on and on and on? Are you tired of being cooped up? Are you fed up with hearing "I'm bored"? Are you way overdue for a walk in the woods? Kenton County Parks & Recreation is introducing a new outdoor program that will be just what the doctor ordered ~ Sugar Camp at Middleton-Mills Park!

Field Programs on Fowler Creek proprietors, Mike Strohm and Howard McDaniel will be operating two separate working sugar camps, demonstrating the art and science of making maple syrup and maple sugar. Step back in time to experience life in a frontier backwoods settlement sugar camp of the mid-1800's and a Native American sugar camp from the 1700's. Strohm will portray an American frontier settler and McDaniel, a Delaware Indian. Each will be dressed in clothing representative of their era, using tools and accoutrements like those used 150-200 years ago in frontier America. Visitors are encouraged to ask plenty of questions ~ you may not get an opportunity like this again!

Groups will spend 45 minutes in each interactive camp and you can help with the work! Gather wood for the fires, carry empty buckets to the tapped Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) trees and help haul in the sap-water filled buckets, pour, stir, strain… You'll be amazed to discover the amount of time and effort that was devoted to obtaining the only natural sweeteners available to them then ~ maple syrup and maple sugar. With both camps operating for a full week, you will also get a glimpse of what ´home' looked like and how some of our ancestors lived. Learn how they would have found and prepared food, and witness their day-to-day struggle to deal with the elements. You will even get to try some of the games their children might have played, and observe how greatly different our lives are by comparison.

And, here's the best part: You will get to sample maple syrup and hard maple sugar and even taste unrefined sweet sap water! Hey, does it get any better than that?

Participants will meet at Shelterhouse 2 (just follow the signs once you get to the park) and meet up with Steve Trauger, Kenton County Recreation Programs Coordinator. He will be your guide into the wilderness of Middleton-Mills Park.

We are now accepting reservations for classes, groups, individuals, and families and will use the following to fill available slots. There will be three time slots to choose from each day, Monday through Friday, and there is room for 30 participants in each of two groups in each time slot. The three available time slots each day are 9:00 ~ 10:30 am, 12:00 ~ 1:30 pm, and 2:00 ~ 3:30 pm. The late slots will be less structured so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy and participate.

Note: Because we don't actually know yet which week the sap will be running, you will need to plan accordingly. We will schedule your visit during the week of March 8 through March 12. If the sap is not running that week, your visit will automatically be changed to the week of March 15 through March 19. For example, if you schedule your visit for Monday, March 8 in the 9:00 ~ 10:30 am time slot and the sap is not running, your visit will be rescheduled for Monday, March 15 in the 9:00 ~ 10:30 am time slot.

Call (859) 525-PLAY (7529) to schedule your visit today and experience the wonder of Nature at its best-tasting best! When the sap's runnin', we'll be makin' maple syrup! It's Sugar Camp at Middleton-Mills Park!

Directions: Middleton-Mills Park is easy to find! The address is 3415 Mills Rd., Covington, KY 41015. From I-275, take Exit 79 (Covington/Taylor Mill). Go south on KY 16 about 7 miles. Turn left on Mills Road. You'll see the park on the right before you get to the entrance. Turn right as you enter the park and follow signs to Sugar Camp.

For news of upcoming programs, activities, and events to be held in Kenton County's parks, call the Parks & Recreation office at (859) 525-PLAY (7529). Ask about signing up for a once-a-week e-mail update of What's Happening in Kenton County's parks.