Forget Jimmy Gilmer’s groaner, these crazy little shacks really are sweet — and they’re also Québec’s hottest clubs. They call them “cabanes à sucres,” but if you “ne parles pas Français,” you can just call them sugar shacks.
Located deep in the woods, “beyond the tracks” — or sometimes just up a random city street — these rustic wonderlands have everything: pure, unfiltered maple sap; jazzy Céline Dion covers played on an accordion by a man named Etienne; pork and whisky; maple taffy (tire d’érable); and of course joie de vivre.
An essential part of Québec’s food culture, sugar shacks trace their roots to the Indigenous tradition of gathering sap from late February to late April, when cold nights and sunny days create the ideal conditions for tapping maple trees.
Once the season ends, communities come together to sing, dance and give thanks for the first gift of spring. European settlers later adopted the practice, gathering in small cabins to boil sap down into sweet syrup and celebrate the end of winter at what became known as “sugar parties” or “sugaring-offs.”
Stéfan Faucher of Sucrerie de la Montagne, a beloved sugar shack in the Outaouais region — and one of the first to open year-round — likens the festivities to Oktoberfest or Thanksgiving.
“It’s the period when we get to be with our family and friends and enjoy the rewards of our hard work,” said Faucher.
These days, sugar shacks operate like restaurants with a party atmosphere. Here’s a taste of a few of the best.
The new guard
Québec’s 80-plus sugar shacks are reimagining the tradition for a new generation.
Many are closer to — or directly within — cities. They offer gourmet menus and aren’t afraid to get a little rowdy while still honoring the province’s maple-soaked heritage. In Québec City, La Bûche channels cabane à sucre nostalgia through a festive lens. Locals regularly wait more than an hour at brunch on weekends for its supersized Bloody Caesar — stacked with shrimp and bacon — and indulgent staples like poutine and heaping breakfast samplers. Even maple taffy appears year-round thanks to a special indoor snow table. But the music really sets the tone.
“We wanted to give the experience of going to a sugar shack with a modern twist,” said Jean-Mickaël Sauvageau, director of marketing. “People standing on chairs, clapping their hands and singing to traditional songs.”
Truly no vibe is as strong as a French-Canadian rocking the musical spoons, another classic instrument, until the wee hours of the morning. If you’re really lucky and come on a holiday, you might catch Les Painchaud, a local group whose fiddler has learned to hold the bow with his feet. (No, you weren’t overserved on that Bloody Caesar).
Near Montréal, Chef Martin Picard pushes sugar shacks into decadent, boundary-breaking territory at Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon. His legendary multi-course maple feast — worthy of its own cookbook — has become a rite of passage for food lovers.
Meanwhile, every year in March, Cabane Panache in Montréal’s Verdun neighborhood transforms the sugaring offseason into a boisterous street festival, complete with lumberjack core, woodcutting competitions and “pelvis moving” concerts.
A taste of tradition
Hungry for a more classic sugar shack experience? A few cabanes à sucre are keeping the rhythms, recipes and rituals of the spring thaw alive. In a 120-acre forest of century-old maples, Sucrerie de la Montagne — an official heritage site — immerses guests in pioneer-era Québec. Visitors tuck into a feast of the Faucher family’s hearty recipes, then try folk dancing to live music.
“It’s mostly reels and jigs, but the musicians will sometimes throw in something modern like ‘Wagon Wheel.’ Kids go crazy,” Faucher said.
Just outside Québec City, Érablière Le Chemin du Roy serves generous brunches and dinners accompanied by folk tunes, forest scenery and sleigh rides. For a more intimate and timeless experience, Cabane à Sucre La Martine delivers sweet maple dishes and homey warmth that evoke generations of Québec tradition.
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