Hoyt Farm hosts annual maple sugaring event in Commack, aiding winter recovery

Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve in Commack hosted its annual maple-sugaring program on Sunday, March 1, 2026, the final session in a three-Sunday series that included Feb. 15 and Feb. 22. The program, reported by TB, ran as a hands-on, family-oriented demonstration of tapping, sap collection and boiling that allowed visitors to sample syrup made from sap gathered at the farm.

The Smithtown listing for the series set each class from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM and advised guests to arrive by 1:00 PM to register. Tickets for Hoyt Farm sessions were listed at "Tickets are just $5 per person (cash only), with classes being open to the general public." Hoyt Farm is located at 200 New Highway in Commack; program questions and registration details are available by phone at (631) 543-7804.

Program staff delivered a dual historical and technical presentation for attendees. As Greg Catalano of TBR News Media reported, "Staff at the farm gave an informative and entertaining history and demonstration of the maple sugaring process, dating back to both Native American and Early American Colonial settlers. They then brought the historical explanation in a full circle by also explaining and showing the current modern day maple sugaring process." Visitors "Attendees got to taste a sample of maple syrup collected right at the farm."

The Hoyt Farm program has roots as a local conservation education effort: "The Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve’s maple sugaring program began in the late 1970s as a single class and has since grown into an interactive, family-friendly experience open to the general public." The curriculum also highlighted basic tree physiology, noting that "Sugar in tree sap is produced by photosynthesis in the leaves, which convert water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into food for the tree."

This year's sessions carried added seasonal significance after a harsh winter. TBR noted the March 1 session occurred "Exactly a week after a blizzard hit the area" and described the preceding months as "a very brutal winter season." Smithtown's event listing detailed why that winter matters for sugaring, explaining that ideal sap flow happens when daytime temperatures rise to around 40 degrees and nights dip below freezing, and suggested those freeze–thaw cycles could produce a "sweeter and more abundant harvest" this season.

Hoyt Farm's program attracted families, school groups and scout troops and, as the TBR coverage observed, "thrilled both young and old." For residents seeking additional regional sugaring opportunities, Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County scheduled a related program at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank on Saturday, March 7, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, with hands-on tapping, bucket-hanging, ongoing wagon rides on the "Syrup Express," and pre-registration fees of $15 per person ages 3 and up, $20 day-of.

Greg Catalano's coverage included photography of the Hoyt Farm session, credited in TBR as "Photos by Greg Catalano." As TBR concluded about the Commack program, "This interactive program gave everyone a glimmer of hope that after a very brutal winter season this year, there may be sweeter days in store.