By ESTHER YU
A brand new Utah corn maze just cropped up.
The Crazy Corn Maze, a life-size, temporary maze, opened in West Jordan last Friday.
Corn mazes pop up in the early Fall every year. However, there are only a few in Utah.
The Crazy Corn Maze is made up of three and a half miles of twisted trails sitting on 13 acres of land. The average person can make their way out of the maze in about an hour but some people have taken much less time or much more time — several hours, said Kendall Schmidt, 24, a senior from West Jordan majoring in business management.
“Some people just have a better sense of direction and are better able to keep their wits about them,” said Schmidt, who is one of four co-owners of the Crazy Corn Maze.
He said someone walking through the maze without meeting any dead-ends will walk only about a mile. However, an individual making every wrong turn possible will walk about three miles.
The maze was created with the help of a designer which the Richard Schmidt Family hired from western Iowa. Richard Schmidt is owner of the farm as well as the father of Kendall Schmidt.
The Schmidts decided to make the maze for the first time this year because they already had the means, being in the agriculture business and owning 100 acres of land, Kendall said.
“It’s hard to stay competitive in the agriculture business … this is a way to turn our lemons into lemonade,” Kendall said, referring specifically to what the market is for corn now — $2 a bushell.
The Schmidts believe a corn maze will be more profitable than simply trying to sell the corn. Kendall said 550 people have already gone through the maze since their opening last week.
“They’re fun, something you have to do at least once when you’re in Utah,” said Aaron Chan, a 1998 BYU alumni, who has been to the corn maze held at Thanksgiving Point, Lehi in previous years.
He suggests that the best time to visit a corn maze is when the corn husks are tallest and have not been trampled over, as happens toward the end of the maze season. It’s too easy to see over the tops of the maze or through them after they have been worn down by too many people going through.
The Crazy Corn Maze, located at the corner of 90th South and Bangerter Highway in West Jordan, is open 5 p.m. to midnight, Mondays through Fridays, or noon to midnight, Saturdays. Bring your own flashlight or rent one for $1 with a $1 deposit.
Prices are $6 per person or $4 for children ages 7-12. Group rates are also available at 569-2356. For more information, call Steve Ames at 978-0820.
