Get ready to shake off the winter blues and welcome spring at the 2026 Pakenham Maple Run

Tour, taking place April 4 and 5 from 10 to 4 each day. For over 20 years, the Maple Run Tour has presented the art and fine craft of a select group of Ottawa Valley artists, as well as fascinating tour stops and the beauty of the countryside in and around Pakenham.

The Maple Run Tour just happens to take place on the same weekend as the annual Maple Weekend, where producers across Ontario welcome visitors to show how some of the best maple products in the world are made. Creativity and maple syrup – it’s a Canadian thing.

And do we have creativity to offer! This tour offers you handcrafted pottery, beautiful jewellery, unique textile art, hand dyed yarns, fine leatherwork, baking, confections, honey products, custom clothing design, artistic blacksmithing, garden sculpture, paper art, fine art originals and vibrant landscapes, woodturning, natural soaps and skin care, and luminous glass art – and the list goes on.

Although art and fine craft are the heart of the tour, our stops, all of which you can visit in a day, are a tour in themselves. Uniquely, we partner with local family-run businesses for a full on touring experience. Visit and sample at Farmgate Cider craft cidery with its heritage post and beam cider barn, or Cartwright Springs craft brewery, where beer is crafted from the brewery’s own spring. The Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm – not just for Christmas – is also a stop, where you can wander down to the picturesque covered bridge. Visit the Paddye Mann studio, a custom clothing design studio housed in what used to be a tailor’s shop. And don’t miss Fulton’s Sugar Bush – a 6th generation family-run sugar bush where you can experience the process of making syrup, nature trails, and fresh maple taffy on snow. We also open the doors of the historic one-room Cedar Hill schoolhouse, and new this year, we include an artist’s studio located in a charming farmhouse. Driving from stop to stop (look for the green maple leaf signs) takes you through spectactular spring scenery and the pretty heritage village of Pakenham, with its unique stone bridge spanning the rushing Mississippi River. There you can visit Keepers, an eclectic coffee/gift/plant/house-made bakery and craft shop, or the stone-built 1840s General Store and Bakery, where you can stock up on local and a wide variety of household goods.

Bring your family and friends, and plan for a great daytrip through art, craft, history, scenery, and the sweet traditions of Canada’s maple season. Check http://www.mapleruntour.com for more information, artist bios, tour stop descriptions, images, and find us on Facebook and Instagram at Maple Run Tour.