Why March is the perfect time to visit Monterey, VA’s Swiss-like secret

Discover why March is the perfect time to visit Monterey, Virginia, from the Highland County Maple Festival to the Highland County Barn Quilt Trail.

Hidden away in mountainous Highland County, Monterey earns its “Virginia’s Little Switzerland” moniker year-round, but March is when the town really sets itself apart. It’s in March that the annual Highland County Maple Festival attracts thousands of visitors who are eager to visit the sugar camps that are scattered along the town’s winding backroads. The camps are where generations-old traditions of turning sap into syrup are still faithfully carried out.

Beyond the festival, the month offers comfortable temperatures for exploring the scenic countryside and the Highland County Barn Quilt Trail, making early spring the ideal time to experience this quiet and charming corner of the commonwealth.

Highland County Maple Festival

Monterey is the place to be in March because of the Highland County Maple Festival. Held annually since 1959, the festival is a celebration of the maple sugar camps that can be found along Highland County’s backroads. The festival coincides with the opening of the trees so that sugar water can be extracted for use in the maple syrup-making process.

The festival holds a unique place in commonwealth history. It was designated as a “Local Legacy” by The Library of Congress in 1999, and later, in 2014, became the “official maple festival of Virginia” following the passage of General Assembly legislation.

During the 66^th annual festival, running from March 14-15 and 21-22 this year, free maple sugar camp tours will be offered at 10 local sugar camps. The tours are available from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays.

Here are the sites that are included along this year’s Sugar Trail:

1. Puffenbarger’s Sugar Orchard

Location: 17 Maple Syrup Lane, Blue Grass, VA 24413

The first stop on The Sugar Trail is Puffenbarger’s Sugar Orchard, where the Puffenbarger family taps more than 1,800 trees, some of which are over 200 years old. To produce its pure Highland County maple syrup, the operation uses miles of plastic tubing, vacuum pumps, a reverse-osmosis machine, and an oil-fired evaporator.

2. Laurel Fork Sapsuckers

Location: 10677 Mountain Turnpike, Hightown, VA 24465

Visit Laurel Fork Sapsuckers, Virginia’s 2019 Tree Farm of the Year winner, to experience a 0.75-mile trail loop with interpretative signs that explain how research projects and forest management practices are used to maximize syrup production. The site also showcases how wood-fired methods, both traditional and modern, are used to evaporate sugar water into maple syrup. Free maple syrup samples are offered at the farm.

3. Mill Gap Farms

Location: 2760 Mill Gap Rd., Monterey, VA 24465

Mill Gap Farms holds the distinction of being Virginia’s only maple syrup producer that is certified Organic by the USDA. It uses modern technology, including electronic monitoring of maple trees from Vermont and Quebec, to produce its syrup. Be sure to get some maple cotton candy while there.

4. Duff’s Sugar House

Location: 3118 Mill Gap Rd., Monterey, VA 24465

Duff’s Sugar House, a small family-operated old-time operation, still opens trees by hand so that the sugar water can be collected in buckets. From there, the cooking is done in wood-fired open pans before being finished in iron kettles. Visitors can participate in the production process. Hickory and dandelion syrups are available for purchase.

5. Back Creek Farms

Location: 7781 Upper Back Creek Rd., Monterey, VA 24465

Five generations of the Lowry family have kept Back Creek Farms operational. While the farms focus on traditional methods for its maple syrup production, it’s not afraid to experiment with the occasional modern approach. For example, it offers infused and barrel-aged varieties. Visitors get to see sugar water flowing through the tubing and into the buckets.

6. Sugar Tree Country Store

Location: 185 Mansion House Rd., McDowell, VA 24458

Using a reverse osmosis concentrator and oil-fired evaporator, Sugar Tree Country Store produces a variety of maple products. While at the store, check out the antique maple-producing tools that are on display.

7. Pleasant Brooke Farms

Location: 2822 Valley Center Rd., Monterey, VA 24465

Pleasant Brooke Farms is the newest site on the trail. The Brock family has been making maple syrup since 1908. They utilize wood-fired pans in a sugar house to produce their syrup. Uniquely, remnants of the family’s original sugar house are still visible.

8. Southernmost Maple

Location: 7738 Big Valley Rd., Bolar, VA 24484

Southernmost Maple gathers sugar water using hundreds of buckets and miles of plastic tubing. The water is then funneled into a piggyback evaporator to make the country store’s various maple products. Be sure to try the maple donuts and buckwheat pancakes, which can be covered in maple syrup and are served until 11 a.m. on Fridays.

9. Rexrode’s Sugar Orchard

Location: 1564 Maple Sugar Rd., Monterey, VA 24465

Six generations of syrup producers have kept Rexrode’s Sugar Orchard running. The orchard features large trees that are more than two centuries old. It produces the syrup using an old-fashioned open pan system and a modern evaporator. Look for its maple products, like the maple cotton candy.

10. Eagle’s Sugar Camp

Location: 5503 Jack Mountain Rd., Doe Hill, VA 24433

The last stop on the trail is Eagle’s Sugar Camp, where syrup has been produced for the last 222 years. The eagle family still uses open pans and wood-fired evaporators, but also utilizes computerized oil-fired evaporators. Visitors get to see the sugar water being collected in buckets. While there, get some buckwheat and maple syrup.

Juried Arts & Crafts Show

The Highland County Maple Festival Juried Arts & Crafts Show is a celebration of other local artisans and crafters. More than 100 artists will have booths where they will share their wares—including jewelry, hand-tooled leather, photography, pottery, and wood furnishings—and discuss their processes.

The show takes place at six locations, including the Highland High School and Elementary School gyms at 240 Myers-Moon Rd. in Monterey, The Highland Center at 61 Highland Cener Dr. in Monterey, Courthouse Lawn at 165 W. Main St. in Monterey, The Barn at Monterey Inn at 32 W. Main St. in Monterey, North Water Street Food Court at 31 N. Water St. in Monterey, and Stonewall Ruritan Building at 67 Bullpasture River Rd. in McDowell.

Highland County Barn Quilt Trail

Although the festival is Monterey’s main draw in March, the Highland County Barn Quilt Trail shouldn’t be overlooked. March is the perfect time to explore the trail because the temperature is neither hot nor cold.

The self-guided tour covers more than 50 barn quilts, which are painted wooden squares and diamonds that hang on barns and outbuildings throughout the county. Each quilt has a unique story behind it that ties into its design. Some quilts represent plants and nature, while others showcase local businesses and memorialize friends and loved ones.

The trail was established in 2011, becoming the first locality in the commonwealth to have a barn quilt trail. While Margie Boesch, a local artist, made most of the quilts, some locals have been inspired to create their own.

The most up-to-date brochure from 2024 can be found here.

In sticking with the town’s maple heritage, make sure you keep an eye out for the quilt at Back Creek Farms at 7781 Upper Back Creek Rd. It was designed by Christina Kerns to include a maple leaf, which was painted by Pat and Valerie Lowry.

The quilt at the Curly Maple at 174 W. Main St. in downtown Monterey is another maple-themed design. It was given to the owner of The Curly Maple general store by her daughter so that it could be displayed in the storefront window.