ICONIC VERMONT SUGAR maples produce stunning yellow and orange foliage in the fall, and the tree produces sweet maple syrup in the spring. Visit a sugarhouse this fall during Vermont Maple 100.
Independent file photo/Trent Campbell

A distinguishing characteristic of Vermont’s maple trees is the iconic shape of its leaves. In the fall, a signature of the Vermont landscape is the vibrant yellow and burnt orange foliage — tinged with red — of the sugar maple. And what could be more emblematic of Vermont than the rich, sweet flavor of maple.

In celebration of the many year-round benefits of our maple industry, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and several partners are bringing back the Vermont Maple 100 this fall to connect those enjoying Vermont’s fall foliage season with Vermont maple-related businesses, activities and food.

Running through Oct. 15, this statewide campaign offers visitors and Vermonters alike the chance to discover favorite Vermont maple snacks, treats and local products, as well as discover new ways to enjoy Vermont’s sweetest treat.

“The sugar maple brings us together in so many ways. Vermonters, tourists, vacationers, and day-trippers benefit year-round from the sweetness of the Vermont maple tree,” Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said. “The Vermont Maple 100 is a unique way for all to connect with Vermont maple syrup even though it’s not sugaring season.”

Visit a new Vermont destination you’ve never seen and then drop by a nearby brewery or distillery to see how they use maple. Combine a bike ride with a visit to a sugarhouse or farm stand. Enjoy a Vermont maple creemee from a local general store along your way home from a hike in a Vermont State Park. Try maple cheddar and hot sauce for a sweet and spicy twist to your next grilled cheese or add maple candy crumbled into your favorite cookie recipe for an added burst of flavor. The possibilities of maple never end.

Find more than 70 Maple 100 activities online at tinyurl.com/VtMaple100, including details about featured local businesses, specialty products, recipes, and more.

Download a Maple 100 Bingo Card at the website and see if you can win a prize. Maple 100 Bingo is a fun challenge to celebrate all things maple in Vermont. On the Bingo card attempt to get five in a row, all four corners, or try to cover all to discover the many ways to enjoy pure Vermont maple. Submit photos of your Bingo activities for a chance to win a great Vermont prize at VTMaple100.com.

Participating local sugarmakers and affiliated business include:

Vermont Trade Winds Farm, 884 Route 74 in Shoreham. Bring your own jug and fill it up with our Vermont maple syrup that dispenses from a tap on the wall. At the farm’s tasting bar, you can sample the four grades of maple syrup and the farm’s new barrel-aged and infused maple syrup.

Bread Loaf View Farm, 564 Cider Mill Road in Cornwall. Fall maple open house and ice cream social on Oct. 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tour the sugarhouse or stroll through the sugar woods on a self-guided walk. You can sample many fine maple products and enjoy a maple ice cream special.

Hogback Mountain Brewing, 372 Rockydale Road in Bristol. Come taste two hyper-local maple brews, the Maple Scotch Ale brewed with Norris Sugarworks maple syrup and aged in Whistle Pig Whiskey barrels, and homestead Maple Brown. which is also brewed with Norris Sugarworks maple syrup.

Dakin Farm, 5797 Route 7 in Ferrisburgh. Take a photo with the large Maple Syrup jug outside of the retail store and post it on either Instagram or Facebook tagging both the Maple 100 and Dakin Farm. Dakin will randomly select a winner to give away a Jumbo Dakin Farm Sampler on Oct. 14 (value of $118.95).

Swift House Inn, 25 Stewart Lane in Middlebury. Jessica’s at Swift House Inn celebrates maple with a decidedly upscale point of view with its maple crème brûlée, a sweet treat for lovers of the divine syrup.

lu•lu ice cream, 185 Main St. in Vergennes. Sunday Breakfast Club features homemade French toast topped with a scoop of maple ice cream, maple-cinnamon caramel, toasted pecans — and add candied bacon. Or eat the maple ice cream on its own.

Olsen’s Ice Cream, 61 Main St. in Vergennes. Rich maple creemees, delicious shakes and maple sugar made with maple syrup from Buster Grant’s sugarhouse on Snake Mountain in Addison.

Foley Brothers Brewing, 79 Stone Mill Dam Road in Brandon. Come try hard seltzer using two of Vermont’s favorite flavors: strawberry and maple. It was developed through a collaboration between Foley Brother’s Brewing and Neshobe River Winery.

Neshobe River Winery, 79 Stone Mill Dam Road in Brandon. Maple Strawberry hard seltzer — a collaboration with Foley Brothers.

So, during the Vermont Maple 100 promotion, sample and savor. Learn and mingle with sugarmakers. Get lost in discovering something new.