While the majority of America’s corn production happens in the Heartland region, the South still grows its fair share of the grain. And as temperatures start to drop and cider begins to flow, there’s no better way to celebrate than exploring an intricate labyrinth of umber stalks. Below, find some of the South’s coolest corn mazes.
Maryland Corn Maze
Gambrills, Maryland
Not even corn mazes are safe from Taylor Swift’s grip on pop culture. This Baltimore-area maze is welcoming a new era with its 2024 design, in which visitors can wind through eight acres of Taylor-themed fields while partaking in a QR code scavenger hunt. The farm welcomes visitors day and night, and the entire journey takes around an hour, although the, ahem, swiftest of participants may find their way out in about forty-five minutes.
At’l Do Farms
Lubbock, Texas
At’l Do is no stranger to ambitious maze designs. This year’s theme, Llano Estacado, honors the region of elevated plains that runs from eastern New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle. Indigenous people, including the Apache, once hunted bison in the expansive grassland before the federal government intentionally eradicated the animals to force Native Americans to leave the area. The maze can be a challenge, so the farm also offers designated trails for families with young children.
Uncle Shuck’s
Dawsonville, Georgia
Only you can explore the six miles of trails running through this Smokey the Bear–themed maze. To celebrate the firefighting icon’s eightieth birthday, Uncle Shuck’s fifteen-acre field presents a detailed design of Smokey in all his forest-defending glory. Experienced (or lucky) maze-goers may finish in as little as thirty minutes, but the winding trails can take as long as two hours to navigate. For a spooky twist, consider visiting a second maze at the farm, the Dark Rows, on Friday and Saturday nights in October.
A-Maize-ing Farms
Mayfield, Kentucky
As if making it to the finish line of election season wasn’t hard enough, the self-proclaimed largest corn maze in Kentucky offers an additional challenge: a winding three-in-one adventure featuring corn-carved portraits of both major presidential candidates along with a message reminding visitors to exercise their right to vote. When you’re done, decompress on a hayride or in a bouncy castle. (If only you could do the same after visiting the ballot box.)
Liberty Mills Farm
Somerset, Virginia
Take a deep dive into this farm’s giant ocean-themed maze. While the design is impressive, it’s the size (thirty-four acres) that best replicates the vastness of the sea. The four-tiered experience includes a thirty-minute story maze, a sixty-minute trivia maze, a two-hour “hole punch” maze, and for the most adventurous, a mystery maze in which visitors are given no map to navigate the labyrinthine corridors.
Peebles Farm
Augusta, Arkansas
More than seventy-five farms across the U.S. and Canada were selected to partner with Peanuts for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the iconic comic strip. One of them, Peebles Farm, chose to celebrate by cutting the iconic image of Snoopy on his doghouse into its winding, sixteen-acre field (good grief!). Although the maze typically only takes half an hour, visitors can spend all day at the farm, trying their hands at paintball, hamster wheel races, and pumpkin blasting.
Oakes Farm
Corryton, Tennessee
Explore eight acres of twisting paths at this farm outside Knoxville. Aggies beware: This year’s maze is a tribute to the University of Tennessee’s World Series–winning baseball team. Wander the field to find hidden checkpoints and answer Tennessee trivia, then rest your legs during a leisurely hayride to the farm’s pumpkin patch.
