HINTON, W. Va. -“Mountain State Maple Days” was created to highlight the maple syrup producers to be found in West Virginia. One such producer, or “sugarhouse,” has been operating in Summers County for close to a decade.
“…We are family-owned and operated. We’re in the mountains of West Virginia. A lot of our woods here is ‘old-growth’ maple trees, which I think kind of sets us apart from other producers in certain areas…” says Michael Segars, co-owner & operator of ‘Moonstruck Maple.’
Every year, Moonstruck Maple participates in Maple Days, holding tours on February 8th and 15th and March 8th and 15th. There, they give people tours of their sugarhouse and letting them see how maple tree sap goes from tree to table.
Segars says they have more than one thousand tapped maple trees, with a web of tubing connecting them all.
“…Once we tap the trees, and get the tubing all squared away, it kind of makes its way down to our tank. From there, we go through reverse osmosis process which gives us a jumpstart on boiling…” explains Segars, “…once it goes into the concentration process, then we boil it.”
During these tours, guests can also try the variety of maple syrups they make here (including some infused with unconventional flavors like coffee or cinnamon) and buy a bottle to take home. However, Segars hopes people will also be leaving with a new appreciation for all that goes into real maple syrup.
“Yeah, I think it’s kind of a shocking thing for most people, you know? A lot of people see the price on the shelf, and they’re like, ‘oof…’” says Segars, “…once they see how much work goes into it, I think they have a better appreciation for what goes into that bottle.”
Segars encourages you to stop by on their next tour and says they’ll have it rain or shine. Again, the open house will be held on Saturday, March 8th, with another one Saturday, March 15th.
If you don’t want to wait until their next tour to buy a bottle of Moonstruck Maple’s local syrup, they also sell at locations all over the state year-round. You can find some of these locations on their website.
Copyright 2025 WVVA. All rights reserved.