From Anime Designs to Spooky Nighttime Tours, These Are Some of Wisconsin’s Best Corn Mazes

#image_title

#image_title

By Susan Lampert Smith

October 4, 2021

Get lost at these corn mazes throughout the state. Designs range from “Schrodinger’s Cat” to Greek myths.

So, is it a coincidence that corn mazes became an autumn tradition in Wisconsin shortly after the 1980s horror film franchise “Children of the Corn’’ began scaring the bejeebers out of anyone in range of a cornfield? 

We don’t think so, either. 

And if you like getting lost in the stalks, there are dozens of Wisconsin corn mazes to visit this fall.

Flyte’s Fieldstones Offer Fresh-Air Fall Fun

In the fall, the Flyte family turns its attention from raising organic blueberries and strawberries to creating weekends of fall fun at its Fieldstones Farm, located between Coloma and Wautoma on Highway 21. 

The corn maze opened Sept. 10, and it’s not the only fun down on the farm. There’s also a corn pit, hay maze, petting zoo, and pumpkin patch. And don’t forget the awesome pumpkin launcher. And there’s an ice cream truck that whips up shakes and sundaes using the farm’s berries.

Treinen Farm Crafts Elaborate Mazes for Math Geeks and Anime Fans

The Treinen Farm, located on Highway 60 west of Lodi, has been crafting some of the state’s most elaborate corn mazes since 2001. USA Today named it one of the top 10 corn mazes in the country. 

The family doesn’t use GPS, instead relying on hand-drawn grids to cut intricate patterns into their corn early in the summer, creating work of living art. Many of them have science themes, including this year’s “Schrodinger’s Cat (and other thought experiments),” and others have been based on fractals or the golden spiral. (Treinen’s offers school field trips with some math thrown in with the fun.) 

The theme varied other years from Greek myths to a tribute to Japanese anime called “Rainbow, Kittens, and Killer Unicorns.” The farm also has 18 acres of pumpkin patches and cool play areas, including a hay fort and spider webs in the barn, a little farmer play area, and hiking trails.

Treinen Farm near Lodi has some of the most intricate corn mazes in Wisconsin Photo via TravelWisconsin

Hidden Trails: One of Wisconsin’s Oldest and Largest Corn Mazes

Just east of La Crosse, you’ll find Hidden Trails, which is in its 24th year of maze-making. 

Visitors here can enter four separate mazes, featuring images of Dracula and Frankenstein. The two biggest mazes have checkpoints that offer rewards and discounts at local businesses. 

The two smaller mazes have mysteries that you solve by wandering the lanes and discovering clues. After you’re done being “Farm Scene Investigator” in the mazes, you can check out the farm’s pumpkin patch, play areas, and games, including “candy corn croquet.”

Vesperman Farms Has Southwest Wisconsin’s Most Challenging Maze

Vesperman Farms, located near Lancaster in Grant County, features mazes designed by famed British maze master Adrian Fisher. 

This year’s maze takes about a half-hour to complete and when you’re done, the farm has a pumpkin patch, play areas, and food, including hot cider donuts. 

There’s also a kiddie train, a tractor tire mountain to climb, and baby animals to pet. The farm on Stage Road has been in the Vesperman Family since 1900.

Schuster’s Playtime Farm Has Spooky Nighttime Tours of Its Corn Maze

It started with a historic round barn, but the offerings at Schuster’s have grown greatly since the family opened the farm for fall fun in 1994. Now the farm offers pig races, duck races, a tire maze, putt-putt golf, and a bonfire for making s’mores. 

There is a small maze for kiddos and a larger maze for adults, with lookout bridges and trivia and mystery games to solve inside the maze. 

And if you’re still looking for the Children of the Corn, Schuster’s invites you to bring your flashlight and try it at night, when it is so much spookier. In October, nighttime activities expand to include visits to “Camp Schuster,” located in the haunted forest. The farm is near Deerfield on Highway 12-18.

Schusters Farm in Deerfield offers spooky nighttime tours of its corn mazes Photo via TravelWisconsin

Grampa’s Farm Teaches Kids Traditional Farm Skills and Crafts

On Grampa’s Farm near Merrill, kids can learn how to milk a cow by hand, make a corn husk doll, and wash clothes on an old-fashioned washboard. 

The farm also has newfangled fun, including a corn trail (a simplified maze), petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and slingshot that shoots apples or potatoes. Kids can dress up in old-fashioned clothes and play in a vintage schoolhouse. 

The “Grampa” of the farm, James Severt, grew up there on Norwegian Road, farming with his own grandpa. Severt died in 2014, but his spirit lives on in all the fun things kids will find to do on the farm.

Author

CATEGORIES: Our Wisconsin

Politics

Local News

Related Stories
Share This