Corn Maze on Farm

An aerial view of this year’s corn maze at DeVries Farm near Olathe. The maze is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ready to get lost on the farm? DeVries Farm near Olathe has created a fun corn maze again this year and it is now open. The maze is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily between now and Halloween (even later in the season if conditions allow). The maze is filled with fun agricultural facts and takes about an hour to complete. The corn maze and DeVries Farm is located off Highway 50 between Olathe and Montrose between mile markers 85 and 86. Cost is $6.50 for adults (13 and older) and $5.50 for kids ages 4 to 12 and senior citizens (60 and older). A family pass is $20 for the first four, and then $3 for each additional family member. Group rates and night mazes are available upon special request. According to Randy Friend, who came up with this year's design, there are more than three miles of trails in the maze, covering 12 acres. Kevin Davis put the design to paper, and Mesa Surveying took that drawing and put it into GPS. It took four people one whole day to lay all the points out from that GPS. After growing the corn, Friend spent hours rotor-tillering all the pathways and getting it ready for opening day - it took about 200 hours to actually build the maze! Upon entering the maze, you will find plants from six to 10 feet tall, planted in two directions to make it thicker and more challenging to find your way through the maze. After the maze season ends, the field should yield about 2,000 bushels - about 56 tons - of corn, which will be used to feed chickens at Foster Farms. The corn stalks will be baled and fed to the 62 buffalo at the farm. Along with the maze, DeVries also has a u-pick pumpkin patch which will open later in September. Unclaimed pumpkins will also be fed to the buffalo. Visitors will also find u-pick tomatos and roasted chilies, and a produce stand filled with fresh local fruits, vegetables and buffalo meat. Also watch for details of the Olathe Volunteer Fire Department's Punkin' Chunkin' event, set for Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. There will be activies all day long. Pumpkins will be thrown, the corn maze and pumpkin patch will be open, and contests for costumes, pumpkin decorating and pie eating. There will even be a haunted maze that night. Friend said, "We are very excited about all this year's events! We hope families will be able to have a fun-filled day on the farm."