Cache Valley features one straw maze and two mazes of maize
Green Canyon Corn maze
Behind North Logan’s Eccles Ice Arena lies a maze of corn different than any other in the valley – its 14 acres of twisting paths form the giant shape of a spider in a web.
The web design is appropriate for the experience one is likely to have while feeling trapped inside this maze.
“For the first bit of the maze our group tried using sense of direction, but it soon became the blind leading the blind,” said Natalie Buehler, a senior studying elementary education.
With corn stalks stretching nearly 10 feet in the air, the only means of orientation are the stars in the sky. Night or day the maze offers a challenge. Small maps are provided to guide, but they don’t help without a flashlight to read them.
Ron and Nancy Jensen have been providing Cache Valley with this twisted idea of fun for four years.
“Last year our maze was on 11 acres and [we] had over a mile of trail – if you took the right path all the way through, hitting no dead ends,” Ron said. “This year we added a few acres and it’s said to be considerably more difficult than the previous year’s maze.”
Record times for the maze should give an idea of the challenge it poses.
“The fastest time out was 40 minutes,” Nancy said. “But, it’s rumored that one girl took about five hours.”
If the corn maze alone doesn’t satisfy, they also show films projected on a large screen outside, the Jensens said.
The cost to enter the maze is minimal, and group rates are available. Some warm clothes, a flashlight, star navigation skills, and a bathroom break before entering are four recommendations before entering the maze.
American West Heritage Center
“Covering eight acres, this year’s maze is bigger and better than ever,” said Jim Bailey, director of operations at the American West Heritage Center corn maze in Wellsville.
“I can run through it because I know the way,” said Jennifer Perez, part of the maze staff. “But some people take two hours to get through.”
This year’s maze is geared toward family fun. The center also features HogWarts Castle, a maze for children. On Saturdays, the castle hosts storytelling, hay jumps, baby animals and a candy cannon. There is also the option of buying Halloween pumpkins from their patch.
For weekend visitors there is also the Haunted Hollow, which runs along a 2000-foot nature trail.
“It is guaranteed to frighten even the bravest of souls,” Bailey said.
Straw Maze
The bright spotlight that shines in the night sky leads to a straw maze at 2200 N. 200 East.
This maze is built of bales of hay stacked on top of each other.
“On weekends, the maze is haunted,” said Blain Christensen, maze director.
Either the maze staff does the haunting, or some other force does the dirty work, he said.
This maze adds a few new twists to its competitors. There are parts of the maze that have coffins with something moving inside. A wrecked car with blood all over the windshield was another means to spook maze-goers. A dark tunnel with a foam-covered walkway makes it difficult to move, all while being haunted.
“We got out first in our group of 50,” said Logan Sampson, a sophomore majoring in business, talking about himself and his wife, Adriane. “It was the best maze we have been to yet, and there are a lot of dark dead ends, if you know what I mean.”
-gspaul@cc.usu.edu
The American West Heritage Center maze as viewed from an aeriel perspective. (Photo by Scott Davis)
A view of the Green canyon corn maze from above shows the giant spider in the middle. (Photo by Scott Davis)