Families usually descend on the farms of the United States every autumn to try to solve the ‘maize mazes’ which are created each year before the November harvest — but due to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, things might be a bit different, as many mazes could be closed or promote limited access in order to keep everyone safe. After all, keeping your distance from other people when you do not know where you are going can potentially be rather difficult.
Solve the Most Difficult Corn Mazes in the United States Without Leaving Your Home
In 1993, theater impresario Don Frantz took the genteel European tradition of the garden maze and added showbiz pizazz and an epic sense of scale. Designing puzzles in elaborate shapes which are difficult to crack are possible thanks to new GPS technology: “a railroad train, a classic riverboat, a violin, the solar system, a farmscape, the largest living sundial…” Soon, there would be hundreds of corn mazes across the United States.
Hopefully, people in the United States can once again enjoy a safe, fun, puzzling time at their local mazes as soon as possible, as the corn maze is a very American invention.
To keep the passion burning in terms of solving corn mazes, a series of seven maps has been recreated digitally which reveals what are the arguably the most favorite corn mazes which are located in the United States over the years; and I have been given express written permission to use the images and the verbatim text from this article — which was written by Barbara Davidson from NetCredit — in this article.
Can you “walk” these mazes with your fingers from one end to the other and see if you can get out? Maps with the solutions to these corn mazes are provided at the conclusion of this article.
1. Trilobite Maze at Treinen Farm — Wisconsin
Real trilobites were just a few inches long and lived at the bottom of the sea a quarter-billion years ago. But “the largest trilobite ever found” was no Paleozoic crab monster: it was a 480-foot corn maze cut by Alan Treinen on his Wisconsin farm in 2017. The trilobite is also Wisconsin’s ‘official fossil,’ making it an apt choice. Since the Treinins create their mazes with a lawnmower and an army of teenage helpers rather than GPS, it’s really a local effort.
Treinen Farm Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch
W12420 WI-60 Trunk
Lodi, Wisconsin 53555
2. Blueberries for Sal Maze at Treworgy Orchard — Maine
In 2019, the Treworgy family’s maze won second place in the USA Today Reader’s Choice Award. The maze was inspired by the cover of the children’s picture book, Blueberries for Sal. Like the Treinens, the Treworgys proudly create their mazes without hiring a specialist company: “We developed our own methods, and in the spring it takes our crew about two days to basically put a grid out into the field, carve out pathways and begin planting around that.”
Treworgy Family Orchards
3876 Union Street
Levant, Maine 04456
3. Gull Meadows Maze — Michigan
The Gull Meadows Maze is a reliable family favorite. It occupies a house-shaped six-acre plot on a farm owned by the Wendzels since 1949. The farmers like to keep things fresh and have recently added a bridge to give an (almost) aerial view over the maze for a clearer perspective. They also run a ‘flashlight corn maze’ after dark and a mini-maze for little puzzlers and their parents.
Gull Meadow Farms
8544 Gull Road
Richland, Michigan 49083
4. Queens County Farm Maze — New York
New York City’s only corn maze takes an abstract approach to each year’s design. We’ve chosen 2016’s Big Apple-themed maze, in case you can’t tell! The correct route is nearly two miles long, and there are clues along the way, such as scraps of a map to find and piece together. “If you really get stuck,” writes one reviewer, “you can ask for assistance from the helpful workers sitting up in the tower by talking to them through a long black hose.”
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway
Floral Park, New York 11004-1129
5. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm Maze — Pennsylvania
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Cherry Crest Maze. Their 2018 theme was ‘board games,’ and the maze featured dice, pawns and a victory star at the end. Cherry Crest’s mazes are specially designed by Don Frantz with three levels of difficulty, depending on the route and clues you choose. And there are helpers to point you the way if you start to panic. “Rest assured,” the website tells us, “we haven’t lost anyone yet!”
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm
150 Cherry Hill Road
Ronks, Pennsylvania 17572
6. Lost Vegas — Massachusetts
It took 13,000 hours to build the Vegas-themed Davis Mega Maze in 2007. The eight-acre maze included three miles of trails and eight bridges that were moved each day to make the route different. Only 5% of challengers made it through the real thing without help (apparently 8-12 year-olds do best!), so varying difficulty levels were created – including a junior version that “allows those who are truly stumped to still cross over the Victory Bridge before they lose their mind.”
Davis Mega Farm Festival
142 Redstone Hill Road
Sterling, Massachusetts 01564
7. Lentini Farms Maze — New Jersey
Lentini’s mazes cover a 10-acre plot with corn stalks up to 10 feet high. They are so baffling that one year a stranded visitor called 911 to be rescued. But the owners aren’t completely merciless! “We put clues, so you have different stations throughout the corn maze,” says farmer Anthony Lentini. “We put a secret message in there, and if you get the secret message, you win a pie or something like that.”
Lentini Farms
251 High Street
Route 94 South
Fredon Township, New Jersey 07860
Summary
Lentini Farms has apparently been closed permanently, according to Google Maps — but it was still included in this article for three reasons: you can still try to solve its maze; the Facebook account of Lentini Farms is still active: and in case it is closed and the maze is taken over by someone else who may continue the tradition.]
You never quite know what is around the corner — but remembering some of the greatest pleasures of fall is important — from good food to being able to go out and get lost in a good ol’ corn maze!
The keepers of the corn maze at Ferguson’s Orchards have shown just how interconnected values like these are in the best way they know how: by creating a corn maze that spells THANK YOU HEROES in giant letters. When the most heroic thing you can do is to stay home and stay safe, a puzzle is a great way to pass the time and keep your mind sharp. Now… anyone know the way out?
I do not recall ever being in a corn maze; but the last time I walked through a maze was in New Zealand, which was at a place called Puzzling World.
Photograph ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
Solutions to Aforementioned Mazes
Treinen Farm Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch
Treworgy Family Orchards
Gull Meadow Farms
Queens County Farm Museum
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm
Davis Mega Farm Festival
Lentini Farms
