Vanier Sugar Shack

Get Your Maple Fix in Canada’s Only Urban Sugar Shack!

Less than 5 km from downtown Ottawa, the Vanier Sugar Shack is the only operating sugar shack in an urban setting in Canada. Located in a 17.5-acre sugar bush in the heart of the nation’s capital, the Vanier Museopark keeps the tradition of maple syrup production alive, traditions established in Vanier by the White Fathers circa 1940.

We are proud to offer quality food from local producers in an enchanting setting where old-time charm blends with modernity. This is what you will experience at the new Vanier Sugar Shack!

Opening Hours During The Sugar Season (from February 16 to April 21, 2025):

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

• Admission to the sugar shack is on a first come, first-served basis.
• We DO NOT take reservations on weekends.

Wednesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Reservation only for groups of 15 people or more

• Reservations must be made at least a week in advance.
• We DO NOT accept reservations for groups of less than 15 people.
• We require full payment 72 hours prior to booking for reservations of groups of 15 people or more.

Important Information:

• The Vanier Sugar Shack has a room capacity of 50 people.
• The Sugar Shack is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during the maple season and during the Sugar Festival (March 24 and 30, 2025).
• Please wait until you are given a confirmation of your reservation from our team BEFORE coming to the Sugar Shack.
• To make a reservation or for inquiries about the Vanier Sugar Shack, contact us at cabane@museoparc.ca or at 613-842-9871 ext. 1.
• Another particularity of the Vanier Sugar Shack is that it is operated by nearly 20 volunteers during the sugar season. We leave the choice to our visitors to give a tip at their convenience for the service rendered.
• The Vanier Sugar Shack has a liquor license and limited bar service. It is not permitted to bring in alcoholic beverages from outside and consume them on site.

Come and enjoy our delicious sugar season meals!

A New & Modernized Sugar Season Menu

Julien Fournier, the chef of the Vanier Sugar Shack, is offering a reimagined menu for the 2025 maple season.

View the menu here.

Contact Information, Parking & Accessibility

The Vanier Sugar Shack is located in the heart of the Richelieu Park maple sugar bush, behind the Vanier Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

Contact Information:

Vanier Sugar Shack
320 des Pères-Blancs Avenue
Ottawa, ON
K1L 7L5

Tel.: 613-842-9871 ext. 1
Email: cabane@museoparc.ca

Parking & Accessibility:

• The free parking area is located at the Richelieu-Vanier Centre (300 des Pères-Blancs Av.). Visitors must then take the pathway near the library to get to the sugar shack.
• A direct access by car is offered only to people with reduced mobility. The building also meets accessibility standards, including an access ramp and automatic doors.
• OC Transpo bus line 20 drops off in front of the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre, less than a 2-minute walk from the sugar shack. You can plan your trip by clicking here.

History of the Richelieu Park Sugar Shack

Built in 1939 by the White Fathers of Africa, the original shack served to ensure a certain self-sufficiency for the group. In the early 1960s, they modernized their facility by building a second, more spacious sugar shack on the same site. The White Fathers left Vanier in 1976 and the production of maple syrup ceased at the same time in Richelieu Park. In the mid-1980s, the City of Vanier installed its City Hall in the buildings of Richelieu Park. The mayor at the time, Gisèle Lalonde, had the idea of reviving the sugaring parties to bring the community together and celebrate maple syrup artisanship, a French Canadian tradition. About ten years later, the group Action Vanier took over the organization of the Sugar Festival and the management of the sugar shack. A third sugar shack was built by a host of volunteers and inaugurated in 1998. Action Vanier upholds the sugaring tradition in Vanier until the winter of 2011. Since the 2012 sugar season, it is the Vanier Museopark who is responsible for perpetuating this tradition. In August 2020, the Vanier Sugar Shack was destroyed due to arson. From that moment on, the community rallied together, already discussing its reconstruction. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 3, 2021, and the inauguration of the new sugar shack was held on March 28, 2023. The 2023 Sugar Shack is the fourth sugar shack on the White Fathers’ domain. It remains the only urban sugar shack in North America. Built in the heart of a dense 17.5-acre maple forest with over 500 taps, the Vanier Sugar Shack produces approximately 500 litres of maple syrup each sugar season.

Did you know?

• It takes 40 litres of maple water to produce 1 litre of maple syrup.
• We make approximately 500 taps the old-fashioned way to produce between 400 to 600 litres of maple syrup each season (depending on the season).