It may only slightly feel like fall is in the air, but at Berry Acres Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, there are signs of fall all around with the pumpkins, hay bales and corn maze.
The corn maze will be back this year after missing last season due to the flood, and will be at Berry Acres, near Green Thumb Greenhouse on County Road 15. Calvin Berry, owner of Berry Acres, said the corn maze will be open Saturday, and the hours of operation will be from 9 a.m. to dark on Saturdays and Sundays and from noon to dark on Monday through Friday.
For people interested in trying their skills at walking through the corn maze, the cost is $6 per person, with children age 3 and younger free of charge. There's also a kid train ride that costs $1, Berry said, and pedal carts for $2. The pedal carts are for individuals age 7 to adult, while the kid train is geared toward the younger kids.
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The corn maze at Berry Acres, is about nine acres and will be open Saturday, Sept. 15. Their hours will run from 9 a.m. to dark on Saturdays and Sundays and from noon to dark on Mondays through Fridays. The last two Saturdays in October, the corn maze will be open until midnight. Cost is $6 per person and free for children ages 3 and younger.
This is the second year for the corn maze at Berry Acres, and Berry said the maze is in the design of the Enbridge logo since the company sponsored the maze. The corn maze is about nine acres total, he added.
There's no need to worry about getting lost in the corn maze as Berry said he walks through and helps people. There's also a halfway mark and people can get out at that point or walk through the full maze.
"This maze is a little harder than last time," he said, "but we also have a kid maze that's easier."
Usually the weekends are the most popular times for people to walk through the corn maze, Berry said. They also have flashlight night on the last two Saturdays in October from dark until midnight, he added.
They start planning the corn maze in January with a design of what they want the maze to look like. Precision Corn Maze out of Missouri designs the maze, Berry explained. The corn was seeded in mid-May while the pumpkins were planted the first week in June, he added.
The corn maze was Berry's idea. He said they'd always planted produce, but he added the corn maze to prolong the season for a month. He had thought about turning the corn maze into a haunted corn maze the first year, he noted, but then it snowed the last weekend in October.
"We might do a haunted corn maze this year on Halloween weekend," Berry said.
There are a few differences from the first year of the corn maze to this year's corn maze. Berry said there are two exits instead of just one like they had before, and this maze is more challenging. The kid maze is also a new addition, he added.
People looking for a way to celebrate fall can walk through the corn maze or pick out some produce.
"We have all the fall squash, gourds, corn all the fall produce," Berry said.