It’s A-mazing!
Cornfield Mazes in A-mazing Arizona!

Schnepf’s Farm in Queen Creek is throwing their annual Pumpkin & Chili Party weekends through October 27th, with chili, pumpkin pie and chicken dinners served with sweet corn and homemade brownies.

For children, there are carousel rides, a “spooky train,” hayrides, a giant slide, a petting corral and a nightly marshmallow roast.

A 4-acre corn maze challenges visitors to use a flashlight to maneuver through twists and turns. One year the maze was of Larry King. Then they were corny over Oprah. Last year it was the Diamondback’s farewell to “Gonzo” and this year, it’s Muhammad Ali!

This is the 11th year for the event, which began as a weekend celebration that drew about 6,000 people. Now, more than 100,000 people attend.

For more Arizona celebrity viewings, visit Around Arizona.

Phoenix has their mazes, too, out on the west side.

Giant Pumpkin Patch: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. The farm offers pumpkin-picking and pumpkin-painting along with hayrides, farm animals, a grass maze and more. Hours: farm and grass maze open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; corn maze open 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Mother Nature's Farm, 1663 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert. Call for price. (480) 892-5874.

Great American Corn Maze: every Tuesday-Sunday (through Nov. 26). Location: 4011 S. Power Road, Mesa (Between Elliot and Warner Roads). Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $6 Adults; $4 for children ages 6 to 11; Free for children 5 and younger. (480) 497-0706.

Arizona Sunsets Cornfield Maze: every Wednesday-Saturday (through Dec. 9). Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday. (Also open Oct. 30-31). Location: 83rd and Northern Avenues, Glendale. $7 adults; $4 ages 6 to 11; 5 and younger free. (623) 386-7491.

Goldfield Ghost Town: Through Oct. 31. Haunted underground mine tour, spooky train ride, campfire, roasted marshmallows, steak house and saloon. Benefits the A.R.C.H. foundation. Location: 4 miles northeast of Apache Junction on Highway 88. Dates: Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 26-31. Call for times. Free admission into town. (480) 983-0333.

Harvest Nights Planetarium Show: Oct. 27-31. Learn about the relationship between the seasons, star watchers, farmers and Halloween, and the origins of the autumn feasts around the world. Call for show times. Arizona Science Center, 600 E. Washington St., Phoenix. $3 planetarium admission only; free for members. (602) 716-2000.

Flyin' High Arizona Cornfield Maize: every Wednesday-Saturday (Oct. 27-Dec. 9). Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday. (Also open Oct 30-31). Location: 99th and Glendale Avenues. $7 adults; $4 children ages 6 to 11; 5 and younger free. (623) 386-7491.

MAiZE is credited with cultivating more than 330 corn mazes in the U.S., Canada and Europe since Herbst started the company in 1995.

This year alone, his company will cut about 137 mazes, he said.

Herbst, whose last name means "autumn" or "harvest time" in German, was contacted by cell phone in a corn field somewhere in Arizona, cutting another maze.
Herbst said he avoids global positioning and other electronic means to lay out the design for a simple grid pattern created by planting perpendicular rows of corn.

The points where the rows intersect are used to plot the maze, he said.

"We feel we can be more accurate working off the corn," Herbst said.

Herbst said he usually sends two employees to computer design and cut a maze. The fee is usually $1,200 plus travel and expenses, Herbst said.

Vertuccio Farmers Market in Mesa. Cono Vertuccio and his wife, Angela, are Arizona State University alumni, and have done a giant Sparky (mascot) as well as a past design of election-year Statue of Liberty.

Their maze, with 6 checkpoints and staff and maps throughout, is so big (10 acres) it required a global positioning system for the cutting. “The whole thing is planted solid with corn, Vertuccio said. “Then we plot the coordinates with a GPS and overlay the image into PowerPoint, with some software that ties in together with the GPS. We have the image of the maze on a laptop with a blinking dot to mark out position; every time we move, that dot will move with our screen. We follow the outline of the maze, and behind the person with the laptop and antenna is a person with, basically, a giant lawn mower.”

The corn is first cut when it’s a foot tall, “and the rest of the corn just grows around that pattern,” he said. They keep the paths clean, chopping all the weeks out until it reaches full height, around 7’.

People call this Great Adventure Corn Maze, corn-fusing with its twists and turns leading visitors through 3 miles of trail, and , if all goes well, to the finish line.

More Farms, events and Mazes in Arizona. Find one closest to you!
More mazes!
Adrian Fisher (author of best-selling “Secrets of the Maze”) is internationally recognized as the world’s leading maze designer. For 21 years, he has had the extraordinary vocation of designing and creating unique and beautiful puzzle mazes all over the world. Check out his pumpkin maze! Find your maize maze closest to you, whatever state or country!

Have a wonderful and fun Halloween!