Ever get lost in a corn maze? They are created when a design is cut into a corn field. “The paths are cut out each year after the corn has reached a height of about six to twelve inches,” explained Robert Stephens, farm manager at Moulton Farm, “We use a map that has all the paths marked out, and begin using a trimmer, followed by a rotor tiller for the final turning under of the corn.”
Just two miles from Lake Winnipesauke in Meredith, New Hampshire is the Moulton Farm. The 30 minute scenic drive from Plymouth provides the perfect opportunity to survey the fall foliage through the backroads in Holderness that hug Squam Lake and wind their way to an intersection with a picturesque view of the largest lake in the state.
Family owned and operated for 114 years, the Moulton Farm consists of 60 acres with four greenhouses, a farm stand and over forty employees. The farm stand is open seven days a week with fall hours of 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Outside, fall colors of reds and oranges are presented within the large display of pumpkins and floral arrangements that welcome guests. The stand offers fresh produce and plants grown off the land. Through the doors of the store, the aroma of baked goods greets customers. The commercial kitchen bakes batches of homemade cookies, brownies, pies and many more delicious desserts daily. Local jams and jellies, ice cream and cheeses are just a few of the additional products that can be found nestled on the shelves inside the farm stand.
The biggest attraction on the farm in the fall season is the corn maze. The maze is open from Labor Day until November 1. The idea of the corn maze was started when the farm manager began gathering information off the internet about mazes out west. “This is the fifth year doing the corn maze,” said Robert Stephens, originator of the corn maze, “I have been designing the maze over the past four years with the help of my wife Tess. There are a lot of dead ends but we keep in mind in the design that it needs to be fun and not a discouraging event.” The Moulton Farm corn maze was one of the first mazes in New Hampshire.
The maze is designed on three and a half acres of corn with over two miles of trails cut out. The selection of corn that is used is not the sweet corn one might find on a picnic table, instead it is silage or feed corn for cows. The decision to choose this corn is to gain extra height in the hallways of the maze, have a stronger durability and keep the cost practical. To create dense walls, the spacing of the seeds is reduced from eight inches to four inches. “We then plant the field in two directions so that it looks like a large sheet of graph paper with a lot of blocks in it,” said Robert Stephens, “This is how we can match the maze up to the design on the graph paper.” Once it is completed, the corn maze is maintained weekly to clear the path of broken corn stocks, trash, and rocks.
The corn maze rests beyond the greenhouses and past the petting zoo (which consists of a pig and a Dexter cow.)
The cost is only $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children six and under. Moulton Farm offers a promotion card called the “Corn Maze Card” and after three stamped admissions are paid, the fourth one is free. Before the adventure begins, a trivia game sheet is given out to make the experience fun and educational. The answers to the questions are hidden around the twists and turns of the maze. This year’s theme is “What Vegetable Am I” and if all twelve clues are solved at the completion of the maze, a homemade cookie is the reward.
“We have had as many as 500-600 [people] go through on a busy weekend day, and I would figure that we would put through about 3,000 to 4,000 per year,” said Stephens. “On average it takes someone about one hour or a bit more to complete the maze.”
The corn maze is a unique and fun adventure to do during the fall. It tests sense of direction, as well as the ability for people to work together as a team to achieve the victory of making it to the finish line.
Plymouth State University junior Amy Cassidy recalled her experience, “It was fun to go with a group of friends. It ended up being a lot more challenging then I expected because it took us an hour and a half!”
“This year we decided to try the corn maze instead of a haunted house,” explained Mike Silva, 22 of Manchester. “I would definitely do it again.”The corn maze is also a great alternative to the common events in the Halloween season like haunted houses and hay rides. People participating should remember to dress warm, though.
Robert Stephens concluded, “We hope that when people leave the farm their experience has been fun, educational, and [they] look forward to coming back soon.”
For additional information and directions to the Moulton Farm visit their website: http://www.moultonfarm.com