Corn mazes have quietly become big business. Since they took off in the 1990s, these seasonal labyrinths have turned into the backbone of hundreds of American fall festivals — and for many small farms, they're a genuine lifeline. As one Hudson Valley farm manager put it, without a corn maze, people simply don't show up. With the US growing more corn than any other country, there's no shortage of raw material. Reviews site Islands has ranked eight of the best, and a few are worth planning a whole trip around.
At the top sits Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, California, near Los Angeles. Its annual Fall Harvest Festival pairs the maze with wagon rides, live music and themed weekends, and it holds a 4.7-star rating from roughly 5,000 Google reviews — by far the biggest review base on the list.
Close behind is Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant, Maine, home to the longest continuously running corn maze in the state. Navigating it involves a riddle-filled map, and finishing gets your name on the Hall of Fame board. The orchard also doubles as one of the East Coast's better pumpkin patches.
Hubb's Farm in Clinton, North Carolina, is another 4.7-star performer, a regular in USA Today's 10Best rankings. Its maze spans around 10 acres with roughly four miles of trail, built from three smaller mazes stitched together, plus nature trails if you'd rather walk than wander.
Size fans should look to Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove, Illinois: a 28-acre maze with about nine miles of trails and a 50-foot observation tower for checking your progress — or your losses. Maze Craze in New Springfield, Ohio, isn't far behind at 23 acres, with routes split between kid-friendly and grown-up difficulty levels.
Atmosphere seekers have options too. Bob's Corn and Pumpkin Farm in Snohomish, Washington, keeps its 12-acre maze open after dark on October Fridays and Saturdays, with fire pits cut into the corn. Exeter Corn Maze in Missouri goes full spooky season, running a haunted corn trail after 6pm Thursday to Sunday alongside axe throwing and go-karts. And in Hondo, Texas, under an hour from San Antonio, Graff 7A Ranch's South Texas Maize rounds out the list with hay rides, campfires and a pumpkin patch.
For travellers, these make easy autumn add-ons: most sit within day-trip distance of a decent-sized city, and entry-level fun like this usually costs little more than a farm-gate ticket. Time a visit for October, when foliage peaks in the northern states and after-dark events are in full swing.
Via Islands.
