It’s that time of year, when we celebrate agricultural bounty by getting lost in massive labyrinths. Corn mazes usually take the spotlight, but with heat waves and drought causing cancellations in California and beyond – runty stalks a good maze don’t make – perhaps it’s time to celebrate the blocky, Minecraft-like joy of hay mazes. Here are some fine places to get disoriented in dried grass in 2022, and they’re open through Halloween:
Mickelson Pumpkin Patch
Grab the gunner handles, look through the iron sights and hit the button – boof! You’ve just launched an apple at terrific speed into the side of an old beater car. The compressed air-powered “apple cannon” is one of the attractions at Mickelson’s gourdfest, which also includes pony rides, a pit of dried corn kids can dig into, like dogs at the beach, and of course, the hay maze, which measures about an acre and has a climbable hay pyramid with sight lines to the exit. (If lost, you can also holler for help from the teen employees who walk the hay walls like prison guards.)
Details: The hay maze is $7 per person. Open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 5495 Redwood Highway, Petaluma; mickelsonpumpkinpatch.com.
San Francisco Zoo
Did you know giraffe hooves are the size of dinner plates, and that orblike kunekune pigs get their name from the Māori for “fat and round”? You would if you chased down all the animal facts hidden through the zoo’s harvest hay maze, billed as the largest in San Francisco. It includes special play areas and a hay pit to frolic in. Test your kid’s navigational skills, then have a treat at the seasonal Zoo Brew Haus, with German fare and exclusive “Zoo Beer” that honors meerkats and lemurs.
Details: Free with zoo admission ($25 for adults, $18 for children). Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily on Sloat Boulevard at the Great Highway, San Francisco; sfzoo.org.
G&M Farms
The farm that David Letterman liked so much, he featured it twice, is well known for its sprawling, “haunted” corn maze. But it also has a lovely pumpkin patch – where children place sacrificial gourds in little red wagons to carve or cook at home – with a free hay maze. In the maze’s orbit are all kinds of other activities, including pedal carts, a “cow train” that goes through the corn maze, fresh produce for sale, and cute farm animals to hobnob with and learn about. The idiom “sweating like a pig”? Actually pigs hardly sweat at all, and you can thank G&M for teaching your kids that.
Details: Free hay maze hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at 487 E. Airway Blvd., Livermore. Other attractions have different hours and prices. Check gmfarms.com for details.
Arata’s Pumpkin Farm
What’s scarier than being lost in a hay maze? What about knowing that somewhere in the labyrinth is a half-man, half-bull monster hunting you? But don’t worry: At Arata’s “Minotaur’s Labyrinth Hay Maze,” the bovine dude just wants to hand your kids a golden pumpkin for participating. The farm’s huge maze changes every year and can be a real challenge to finish, due to walls only Manute Bol could see over. After you exit the maze, try some of the other fun things on the farm, including a petting zoo, train ride and 6,000-square-foot haunted barn.
Details: Tickets for the maze are $15 during the day and $20 at night. Open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 185 Verde Road in Half Moon Bay. Check aratapumpkinfarm.com for details on the maze and prices for other attractions.
Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch
This eight-decade institution got a new location this year, but some things remain the same, like the free hay maze for children. Adults might want to try it, too, but at three-bales high, that might be seen as cheating. For them, there’s the corn maze, which has expanded from one to four acres and takes about 30 minutes to finish. If you get lost and need assistance, like a helpless puppy, there’s a number to call for extraction. Restore your bruised pride afterward at the “pumpkin blaster,” a cannon that launches gourdes over the horizon.
Details: The hay maze is free. Open daily from 9 a.m. into the evening at 225 Laguna Ave. in Morgan Hill. Check spinafarmspumpkinpatch.com for details on the maze and prices for other attractions.
