Nothing says fall like spending a crisp afternoon winding your way through a corn maze, and most of these Midwest mazes feature other fun activities like pumpkin patches and apple picking—if you can find your way out of the maze.
LessIs it actually the world’s largest corn maze, as advertised? That’s a bit difficult to fact-check, but there’s no doubt that the Richardson Corn Maze is gigantic, cutting through 28 acres of corn and offering maze-goers almost 10 miles of trail. That might sound daunting, but the maze is actually made up of four smaller mazes, each with a way in and out. Visitors can complete one or all four, and take advantage of checkpoints and bridges over the corn for a bird’s-eye view of the paths below.
There’s so much to do at Exploration Acres, you may want to plan for an entire afternoon. Want to fire a corn cannon that uses compressed air to fling corn cobs 500 feet in the air? Or bury your significant other in a gigantic mound of straw? Hop on a hayride for a trip to the 11-acre pumpkin patch, but don’t forget the main attraction: a 23-acre corn maze with more than 10 miles of paths. Check online for opening dates during the season.
What began as a small roadside apple stand in 1977 has burgeoned into the Louisburg Cider Mill, a must-visit stop in northeast Kansas. Fall is especially festive at the mill, with food trucks and live music each weekend, as well as a large country store, stuffed full of seasonal souvenirs. Grab a fresh apple cider donut and head to the 10-acre corn maze. A hayride through the 10-acre pumpkin patch on the way out rounds out a perfect fall afternoon.
There are two mazes at the New Salem Corn Maze, one meant for family-fun, daytime exploration and one designed to deliver Halloween frights after dark. We suggest saving yourself for a visit to one of the Midwest’s spookiest haunted mazes. Each night, the 13-acre maze turns into an outdoor haunted house, with special effects, fog, and plenty of horror-movie-worthy actors.
The corn maze at Maze Craze features four mazes in one. Visitors can complete all four mazes, with checkpoints and interactive games in each. After completing the maze, there are hayrides, a pumpkin patch, a kiddie zipline, and more. Check online for opening dates during the season.
Each year, the Treinen Farm maze is truly a family labor of love. First, Angie Treinen spends weeks brainstorming and designing the maze. Once finalized, her husband Alan plants the 15-acre field in a giant grid and, when the corn is less than a foot tall, the family cuts the trails using the grid and Angie’s design. The Treinen Farm corn maze regularly wins best-of awards because of its intricacy.