Historic Hathaway Farm celebrates 20 years of corn mazes with brand new mazes this year, along with the Big Maze and the Mini Maze, and a new activity in the play area called Punchin’ Pumpkins. The livestock barn gives guests a chance to meet all the farm animals and take a ride on the wagon train.
This year the maze is all about celebrating bees and flowers and the fascinating process of pollination. Navigating the 13 acres of corn and miles of paths is a fun challenge. Also featured is the Bloomin’ and Buzzin’ maze. (There are a couple of early exits available to “escape” if needed.)
As always there are some clues scattered along the paths of the maze. There are also the eight punches to find — A very challenging job to find them all. Upon completion participants are eligible to enter a raffle drawing.
A map of the maze with GPS location is available via smartphone. Access it by tapping the yellow band on the homepage of the Hathaway website or by scanning the QR code which is available at check-in and in a few different locations in the maze.
There are three bridges along the route of the maze, one of them being a four-way bridge. Then there’s the Grassy Knoll, a little field inside the maze to sit and relax in Adirondack chairs. On the weekends and through Oct. 30, a snack shack will be open with lots of hot and cold drinks, mini donuts, Hathaway Farm beef burgers, snow cones, popcorn and more. Beginning in mid-Sept. it will be time to pick pumpkins from the patch (and from the farm shop as well).
In the play area there are John Deere pedal go-carts designed for all ages — 2-years-old to adult. There’s also “redneck swings”, made from recycled tires.
The corn pit, the most popular activity in the play area, has been remodeled. There are now benches all the way around and it’s a little bigger. Other play area activities include the duck races, corn toss, sand box, farm twister, horseshoes, logic puzzles, steer roping, ladder ball, bouncy horse playhouse, tether balls and water mister.
Of course, a day’s adventure on the farm would not be complete without a visit to see the animals. The livestock barn is a great place to introduce children of all ages to the different types of farm animals, including the livestock barn including a friendly cow named Flossie as well as donkeys, sheep, goats, bunnies, pot belly pigs, guinea pigs and a variety of chickens.
Mini Maze
Another feature is Hathaway’s Mini Maze. This one is a much shorter adventure designed for toddlers and young folks to have fun exploring paths and finding their way through a smaller challenge than the Big Maze.
The Mini Maze features story pages at intervals along the way to read. The page stakes are numbered so they are easy to follow. The other activity in the Mini Maze is finding the two punches. They are hole punches located on two different signs located somewhere in the maze.
Midnight Madness
Saturday nights it’s Midnight Madness, a Big Maze challenge in the dark, 5-8 p.m. All other activities are closed at this time except the snack shack. Navigating the maze under the stars provides an extra challenge during the night as explorers attempt to find the way out. Upon entry, participants will receive a glow stick necklace or bracelet that must be worn so the bears can find you. Participants that find their way out get rewarded with marshmallows for roasting around the fire. There are several maze helpers to ensure participants don’t get lost all night in the cornfield. Hathaway Farm is open six days a week, closed on Tuesdays and for inclement weather. Hathaway Farm is located on Prospect Hill Road off Route 7 in Rutland Town. Look for the barn with “1880” in patterned shingles on the roof. For more information, visit: hathawayfarm.com.
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