Maine Maple Sunday At Merrifield Farm

Over the weekend, everyone across the state of Maine celebrated Maine Maple Sunday Weekend. Us included. Maine Maple Sunday happens on the fourth Sunday in March every year and it’s quite a big deal here in Maine. Currently, I work on Sunday’s so I wasn’t able to participate in the actual Maine Maple Sunday. BUT there are plenty of sap houses in the area that make it a full weekend event so we chose to celebrate on Saturday instead.

Unfortunately, Zack worked Saturday (our work schedules are literally the opposite, in case you didn’t notice! ha!) and Allie was a bit sick as well (thanks to the head cold I gave her – oops!), but I decided to get the two of us out of the house that morning, regardless. I figured the fresh air would do us both some good and I knew it would be a super fun outing for her as well.

There were tons of sap houses all across the state that participated in Maine Maple Sunday Weekend. After skimming through the list, we ended up at Merrifield Farm in Gorham, Maine. I had wanted to try to go to as many sap houses as we could, but with a toddler in tow (and a sick one, at that), that goal was a bit more challenging. So instead, I decided to dedicate a good amount of time to one location.

Related: Your Guide to Maine Maple Sunday: Family-Friendly Sugarhouses to Visit

We chose Merrifield Farm for a few reasons: the first being that it was free to get in. Many sap houses in the area were generally free, but then there were some that charged admission and I didn’t want that. With Allie being sick, I wasn’t sure how long she’d want to be out so I didn’t want to pay admission just for her to want to leave 15 minutes later. So we opted for free admission.

I was also looking for something that would be more kid-friendly. Lots of sap houses had tours and things like that which I love, but a toddler just isn’t going to sit through a speech about how maple syrup is made. No offense, but my 1-year-old couldn’t have cared less there. She wanted animals to see and pet and food to eat and maybe even a playground. And Merrifield had all of that and then some!

We did do the typical tour through the sap house which is always really interesting to see and learn about. But then I also let her explore the barns a bit where she could see the baby cows, chickens, ducks, and even little piglets. She’s such a loving child that all she wanted was to reach in and hug them all. So she was a little upset when I told her she couldn’t.

Outside the barns, there was a very nice woman who offered to take a photo of the two of us. Allie had spotted her service dog so of course, I knelt down next to her to explain that the puppy was working and couldn’t be touched (I always make this a priority when we’re in public places! Service dog or not, we’re trying to teach her to ask first before touching any animal).

The woman saw that I was explaining it to her and keeping her at a safe distance and was very nice to show Allie how her dog could do tricks. She also gave Allie permission to pet her dog for a minute as well which was really appreciated because being a toddler, she just isn’t at an age where she fully understands why she can’t touch service animals so she was already getting a bit fussy in my arms. But Allie was very gentle and polite and said goodbye when I told her it was time to move on.

After we spent some time petting the animals, we moved on to some free soft-serve ice cream with pure maple syrup on top. I always forget how absolutely delicious that is. Allie wasn’t really too interested in it, but it could have just been because she wasn’t feeling well. She also really didn’t want to sit still and eat either. She was much more interested in walking around and dancing to the live music they had.

Another fun thing Merrifield had for little ones was a playground! Once I did all the adult things I wanted to do like going on tours and exploring their shop, I brought Allie over to the playground where she could run around with kids her age. She really loved going in and out of the playhouses and tried so hard to make friends with others (I think she comes on a little strong sometimes so it scares other kids ha!). We saved this part for last so once she was starting to get tired and looked ready to go, I scooped her up and we headed back to the car.

Maine Maple Sunday was such a fun way to kick off springtime here in Maine. It was such a beautiful day here and thanks to the smaller crowds from it being a Saturday, Allie was able to run around and explore freely without the need for a stroller. If you’re ever in Maine this time of year, you’ll want to celebrate Maine Maple Sunday Weekend!

Did you celebrate Maine Maple Sunday Weekend?