Less than 5 km from downtown Ottawa, the Vanier Sugar Shack is the only operating sugar shack in an urban setting in North America. 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!
Sugar season meals are usually served at the Vanier Sugar Shack from mid-February to the end of April. The dining room can accommodate 50 guests. Information on how to reserve the sugar shack during the off-season will be posted on our website soon. Stay tuned!
Important Information:
Come and enjoy our delicious sugar season meals!
Julien Fournier, the new chef of the Vanier Sugar Shack, has developed 3 delicious courses for the 2023 sugar season :
* Beverages included with meals (coffee, hot chocolate, water, orange juice, apple juice). Taxes not included.
Another of the particularities of the Vanier Sugar Shack 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.
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:
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.
