Corn Mazes Offer Fall Family Fun

If the part of the country you live in grows corn, the kind that reaches over your head in a good year, chances are there's a farmer in the area who's built a corn maze. The seasonal attractions are only open in the fall, when the corn is at its tallest and thickest, and they offer a fun and challenging recreational experience for the entire family.

Corn is the top crop in the United States and grows all over the country. And when harvest time comes, so do the mazes. To make a corn maze, farmers cut paths through their cornfields, sometimes even making designs, and usually including enough dead ends and loops to confuse even the best navigators. Besides, it's not that easy to keep your bearings when the corn is taller than you are and thick enough to obscure the surroundings.

Some farms will even get into the Halloween spirit as the season approaches and offer haunted corn mazes to more adventurous participants.

The folks at The Amazing Maize Maze claim to have built the country's first corn maze in 1993 in Annville, Penn., which had almost two miles of pathways on 3.3 acres. But maze-building is a tradition that dates to hedge mazes at British manor homes, and traditional mazes have an even longer history. These days, corn mazes are found all over the country, and a number of Web sites exist for both builders and visitors alike who are interested in the activity.

Some mazes have maps for navigators, while others provide clues or have extra puzzles within the larger puzzle. Farmers these days can use GPS navigators to aid in building the maze, resulting in ever more intricate and complicated designs.

Near Greeley, Colo., the Fritzler Corn Maze has been in operation since 2000. The aerial view of the maze reveals a picture of the grandparents of Glen Fritzler, one of the proprietors of the operation. The maze covers 15 acres, and the operators guarantee that participants will get lost during the hour or more that it takes to navigate both phases of the puzzle. The maze is open after dark for an extra challenge, and dogs and picnicing are also allowed at the grounds.

At Oakes Farm in Knox County, Tenn., visitors can try the corn maze, visit the pumpkin patch, take a hay ride, find seasonal decorations or brave the Trail of Doom haunted maze with special effects.

To find a corn maze near you, one good Web site is The Corn Maze Directory, which has a directory organized by state. Or try Corn Mazes America, which also has good information for people interested in building their own corn mazes.