So sappy! Minnesota maple trees are flowing.

This month's full moon has fittingly been called the Sugar Making Moon. This was the time of year when Minnesota's Indigenous communities gathered in the woods to collect watery sap from maple trees and cooked it down into sugar they could eat throughout the year and trade for other goods.

"It's one of the oldest traditions we have in this part of the world," said Brett Sieberer, outdoor education supervisor with Lowry Nature Center in the Three Rivers Park System. The season typically runs from early to mid-March through mid-April when daytime temperatures rise above freezing, but dip back below at night.

Every season varies depending on weather. Last year's sap began running in January and broke decades of records for earliest taps and biggest yields. This year is shaping up to be more typical. Sieberer said he and his staff put in their first taps Feb. 25 and expect late February to be the new normal with climate change.

With an average of 80 to 100 taps, they've collected as much as 170 gallons on their biggest day. Early sap, which has been stored in the trees, has a higher sugar content and a light honey color. As the season progresses, trees pull moisture from the earth and the less sugary sap has to be cooked longer to reach the syrup stage. That makes it darker.

At Lowry Nature Center's sugar shack, which has an open design, the heated sap evaporates into sweet-scented clouds as kids and families see how they cook down 40 gallons of sap to yield a gallon of maple syrup.

"You can smell it as you're rolling up to a sugar shack," Sieberer said. "It draws people in," as does the chance to be outdoors in warmer weather, to gather around a fire, and to enjoy the communal experience of making maple syrup.

You can see how to tap trees and taste the sweet results of this spring tradition through maple syrup festivals and public programs statewide.

Here's where to experience syrup season:

The Twin Cities' Three Rivers park system hosts programs on March 16, 23, 29 and 30, and April 6 at Eastman Nature Center in Dayton, Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista and Lowry Nature Center in Victoria.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also offers syruping programs March 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30 in multiple locations, such as Whitewater State Park, Rochester; Nerstrand Big Woods, Northfield; Fort Snelling State Park, St. Paul, and Wild River State Park, Center City.

Lisa Meyers McClintick has freelanced for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2001 and volunteers as a Minnesota Master Naturalist.