When was the last time you packed up your entire family and took a Sunday drive to enjoy the fall colors? I know, I know, why would you take great pains to pry a football-loving husband off the couch just so you can get to a tree-filled park and have your 12-year-old refuse to look up from his hand-held video game? Ah, the joys of parenting in our modern society.
Okay, so forget the tree-filled park… how about enjoying some family time by traveling to a corn maze? We head out to our local corn maze each year and it has proven to be a great way to spend time with friends and family members outdoors prior to hibernating for the winter.
Corn mazes can be found in just about every state in the nation—from Maine to California, Wisconsin to Texas. The majority of them are open from September through Halloween or mid-November (it usually depends on which region of the country the maze is located). To locate a corn maze nearest you can either contact your local tourism office or click on the map at www.cornfieldmaze.com.
The corn maze we visit is located about 45 minutes from our home in Wisconsin. We have made it an annual event and typically invite several of our friends and relatives to join us for the “adventure.” We have found that a trip to a corn maze is an ideal group activity, especially if you have children of varying ages. The corn maze we visit has an easy walkthrough for young children (that’s where the moms usually hang out with the infants and toddlers) while the dads take the older children on the multi-acre odyssey, which usually takes about an hour to navigate. (Our large group usually breaks up into three smaller groups that compete to see who can make it out first.)
Without fail, each year I stand in utter amazement (no pun intended) looking at the intricate labyrinths the farmers carve out of their fields. This year our corn maze’s design is that of a cow riding on a tractor in a pumpkin patch—amazing, right? But, with so many corn mazes out there, designs can vary from maps of states to presidents’ faces to sports logos… and much more. Of course, most of the designs can only be appreciated from an aerial view (most locations have a picture of the maze taken from above displayed at the maze’s entrance). While you’re inside the maze, all you see is a 12-foot-high wall of cornstalks on each side. In the end, we always joke that it’s hard to tell who had more fun rummaging through the maze—the kids or the adults.
Look for my continuing series of blogs on where you and your family can travel to enjoy seasonal activities this fall.