White Meadows Farm, Niagara

Did you grow up reading about farms and fresh farm produce that had an unbeatable taste? Well, if you are in Niagara, you can go visit a real farm that has been around for three generations, and their produce is still as delicious as ever.

White Meadows Farms is located in Pelham, on the rolling hills of Effingham in the Niagara escarpment. Run by Murray and Ann Bering, this 600 acre farm specializes in maple syrup and has a range of interesting products made from it, such as maple butter, maple candies, maple BBQ sauce, and maple red pepper jelly.

Prior to its foray into the maple syrup business, the White Meadows farm was a fully functional dairy farm. Even though their primary income is from maple syrup and related products, they still have assorted beef cuts and freezer beef for their customers.

White Meadows has become an agricultural tourism destination of great renown. It’s most popular attraction is the Pancake House that opens on the weekends from January to mid-April. During this period, all day breakfasts are served, and most of the items include maple in some form or the other. Apart from the regular fare of eggs, sausage, coffee, and pancakes (obviously!), they also offer maple baked beans, French toast, home fries, fruit pancakes, Bagels with chive, maple muffins, tarts, maple cream cheese, maple apple crisp, and maple cheese cake. Are we drooling already?

Another popular attraction at the White Meadows Farm is the Sugar Bush Adventure that is organized from the end of February to the end of March. This period is considered to be the sugaring off-season. You begin with a ride in one of White Meadows’ sheltered hay wagons, and once you reach the sugar bush, you can stroll and look around at your own pace. When you enter the forest, a self guided tour begins where the staff of the farm, dressed up in period costumes, take you through the history of maple syrup.

Children also have a great time during this event, where they are taught to measure the wing span of birds and calculate the size of maple trees to judge how many “taps” each tree can support. At one point, they even show you how to tap maple trees the old fashioned way – with the help of a hand drill.

As you go deeper into the trail through the forest, you will notice that some trees have been labeled. These trees are indigenous to the area, and White Meadows Farm has taken the pains to add some interesting information about them. There’s no fear of losing yourself in the forest as the trail has been marked carefully. If you feel nippy, you can warm yourself at the cozy fires blazing in several stations along the trail.

A trip to this quintessential farm is something you are going to cherish forever, and the taste of the maple syrup will linger on long after it’s gone.