The theme of this year’s corn maze at Sinkland Farms celebrates America’s 250th birthday.
Marty Gordon
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Sinkland Farm’s Pumpkin Festival is less than two months away, and prep work has already begun on its annual corn maze.
USA Today has ranked the Riner attraction as the number four corn maze in the country.
This past week, Sinkland’s Susan Sink described the process.
“We had to create the design and put into a CAD (computer-aided design) system. From there, a tractor is guided along the paths,” she said.
Corn maze attractions are a widely popular agritourism tradition across America, drawing millions of visitors to hundreds of farms for seasonal family entertainment. Originating in the modern commercial form during the 1990s in Pennsylvania, the concept expanded rapidly into a nationwide fixture of rural community engagement and farm revenue generation.
In many cases, corn mazes serve as a financial lifeline for modern family farms, transforming seasonal acreage into high-traffic tourist destinations.
Operations exist in nearly every U.S. state, scaling from small community plots to massive labyrinths covering over 30 acres such as Liberty Mills Farms in Somerset, Virginia.
Professional design firms utilize advanced grid systems, GPS technology and complex artistic themes. The experience blends outdoor recreation, puzzle-solving and educational components. Frequently, and just like at Sinkland, corn mazes are paired with complementary activities like pumpkin patches.
The corn had been planted at Sinkland almost a month ago, and the path will be tended to weekly until it opens Sept. 19. The total acreage for the maze is five acres with six-foot paths.
Sink described it as a long process that lends itself to a specific design.
“We chose this year’s to tie into the 250th anniversary of the country,” she said.
The corn itself should be fully grown in the next month, thus creating the overall effect of the attraction.
Of course, that design is not necessarily seen by those walking through the maze. So, educational facts about the founding of the country will be placed at 12 stops with the maze.
Sink said typically it takes up to 30 minutes to walk through the maze, and yes, if you get lost, there are maps on what correct path to take to find the exit.
This is the 20th year for the coin maze and 35th for the festival itself.
