An Amazing Maze of Maize

Lethbridge, Alberta Corn Maze

There’s a crispness in the air and a brilliant clear blue sky overhead. I’m surrounded by 9 acres of corn that reaches well over my head and blocks my view. I’ve reached a dead end and can no longer see the tower that was acting as my landmark. I’ve made enough turns this way and that so I no longer even know which direction I’m facing. Crap. I should’ve left a trail of breadcrumbs so I could at least find my way out of the maze like a modern day Gretel in knee-high boots and Ray-Bans.

Corn mazes are one of those quintessential Autumn things to do. For a couple of years now I thought it would be fun to check out the corn maze at home in St. John’s, but for some reason it always seemed a bit odd to go there without children in tow. So when it was suggested by my friends that we check out the Lethbridge Corn Maze while I was in town, it got my vote of approval. We packed up the wee folk, some snacks, and off we went to Robinpick Berry Farm to get lost.

This particular maze was started in 2000 by Theo and Esther Slingerland and each year they design a new maze to keep visitors on their toes between the end of July until the end of October. Over the years their maze has grown to also include a teeny hay bale maze, small kids’ maze, a trivia maze (clues to help you go the right way), a giant slide, petting zoo, cow train and hayrides, pumpkins and a playground. If you’ve got the stamina it’s easy to spend a few hours here. There was even a “corn maze for blondes” consisting of a single cluster. *groan*

This is what a cow train look like – pulled by a lawn mower.

If you’ve got a crazy sense of direction or mad maze blazing skillz you can complete the big maze in about 20 minutes. Some people take up to 2 hours. Some people swear by hugging the left wall and backtracking when they reach a dead-end. Others completely wing it. If all else fails you could always thrash through the stalks in a straight line like you had some horror movie character chasing you, although I don’t really advise that. After making a few false starts and with dinner time approaching we decided to make technology work for us and navigated via photo. After a half hour we emerged from the maze victorious at the base of the big tower and took a triumphant trip to the top to survey our kingdom. 9 acres is a lot of corn.

Thank God for phones, 3G access and websites with overhead photos of mazes. Or I might still be in there.

Have YOU ever done a corn maze?

Fact Sheet

• Where: Robinpick Berry Farm
• Cost: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $7 students 7 youth, $3 kids 3-5, free for kids under 3.
• Hours: July & August, Mon-Sat 10am-9pm. September & October, Mon-Thu 5pm-8pm, Fri-Sat 10am-9pm.
• Time: Give yourself 1-2 hours for a visit, especially if you have children with you.