We know the Highland County Maple Festival is just around the corner when we see the yellow-bellied sapsucker drilling sapwells in the maple trees in our backyard. These woodpeckers spend hours making holes in a horizontal pattern to find sap and insects. They migrate south during the coldest months of winter, but they come back to Virginia when the sap begins to rise in the trees in late February and March. The sapsucker has black-and-white face stripes and feathers with a tinge of yellow on their chest and belly. The male and female both have a red cap, but you can tell them apart because the male has a red throat. Listen for them drumming in your birch or maple trees this time of year. They are relatively easy to photograph because they will stay on one tree for quite a while.

Now that we know the sap is rising, it’s time to talk about this year’s Maple Festival in Highland County, Virginia. The 65^th annual festival is called “Virginia’s Sweetest Event of the Year!” For two weekends in a row, March 8-9 and 15-16, 2025, thousands of folks will travel the scenic backroads to Monterey, Virginia in Highland County to tour the maple sugar camps, observe how maple syrup is made, enjoy the arts and crafts show, indulge in maple donuts, and feast on a pancake breakfast with all the syrup you can eat. Take a look at their website for all the details: Maple Festival – Highland County Chamber of Commerce

One year, I went to the festival with three of my friends, so I didn’t have to drive and could enjoy the scenery. It is a beautiful 110-mile drive from Roanoke—a fun day trip. The Saturday we went, it began to snow as we headed north. The light dusting made the countryside look like we were traveling through a Christmas card. While driving through horse country, I saw horses wearing colorful blankets as they grazed in the fields. I’d only seen that in photos or on TV before. The tall pines and mountain tops glistened with the light snow, reminding us that spring was still weeks away.

About eighty miles into our trip, we stopped to see the Omni Homestead Resort, a 483-room hotel in the Alleghany Mountains of Hot Springs, Virginia, boasting natural spring pools and immaculate golf courses. Built in 1766, this sprawling resort is the destination for a personal splurge. See their website for all of their luxurious amenities: The Omni Homestead Resort & Spa | Resorts in Virginia

When we reached Monterey, we stuffed ourselves at the pancake breakfast, browsed the arts and crafts booths, and toured a maple sugar camp. We learned how they tap the trees and watched them make the maple syrup, tempting us to buy some to take home with us. It was deliciously sweet, as was the entire adventure.

When we decided to call it a day, we drove through the mountains to take a different route home. My friend Russ was driving, navigating the winding roads and hairpin curves. When I peeked over the edge of the steep mountains, I saw snow-tipped trees forming a crystal blanket below us. I sure wanted to get a photograph, but we couldn’t stop on the narrow road. The sight was one I will never forget.