Can you handle Maize Quest?
Local corn maze brings fun — and fright — to the Halloween season
By Jessi Groover, contributing writer
Posted on October 26, 2006

MT. JACKSON — It’s the classic scene: a person running through a tall cornfield in the dark, carrying a flashlight, with only the sounds of stalks rustling and their heart racing.

While this picture may sound like something out of a horror film, many local residents and JMU students have been in a similar situation at Maize Quest, located at Bridgemont Farms, in Mt. Jackson.

This local corn maze, run by owner Tim Day, is in its seventh year as a place where those who visit can challenge themselves to finding their way out of one of the corn-filled paths. Many people have enjoyed this perfect way to celebrate the fall season and Halloween.

“It’s not haunted or anything,” Day said of the corn maze.  “It’s just a major challenge. The goal is not just finding your way out. We give you a game sheet and you have the option to try and find all 23 stations in it.”

The idea for Day to run a corn maze attraction came from his brother, who saw an article in a magazine and mentioned it to Day. Their family decided to use a particular part of their farm to make more money from the land.

Currently, Maize Quest averages approximately 7,000 visitors a year. It runs from August to November, with hours varying.

“October is really the peak of the whole season,” Day said. “At the end of October, it starts getting colder, and we give guests the most opportunity to come with special hours. Next week, [during Halloween], we’ll be open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We usually open for the week on Thursday.”

This year’s main corn maze is designed to look like a pirate ship, with corn as tall as 10 to 12 feet. It covers seven acres with about three miles of trails inside.  But perhaps the best part of the challenge is the thrill that one gets while inside the maze.

“You’re in the middle of a cornfield with a flashlight,” Day said. “It might not be haunted, but it’s not a walk in the park.”

For those that are looking to challenge themselves even further, Maize Quest has another maze that is seven acres of sorghum, a tall grain-bearing stem, where the height only reaches to four feet tall. Regardless of its lowered height, Day says that it is still challenging, with its own game sheet and stations to seek.

As for another feature of Maize Quest, there are paddle go-karts.

“They’re hilarious,” Day said. “We have three tracks that you can run them on.  One admission gets you access to [both mazes and the paddle go-karts].  Everything is all here, and it covers about 15 acres.”

What most local residents and JMU students who have visited have found is that the more people they have with them, the merrier. Day agrees by offering a special group rate. For 20 or more people, groups are allowed to make reservations and get a dollar off the usual rate of $7 per adult. Many fraternities, sororities, clubs, or even just a group of friends have discovered that Maize Quest is an ideal location for a social event or a random outing.

“I went to the maze with some friends looking for something new and different over the weekend, and we actually had a really great time,” senior Amanda Kaberline said. “We went when it was cold and rainy and thought it would be a bust, but it made it even better.”

Day says that not all JMU students are up for the challenge of finding the 23 stations in the main corn maze, but Kaberline and her friends were successful.

Whether you are looking for a way to celebrate fall with friends or a social event for your club or organization, Maize Quest is the perfect solution and way to branch out of the JMU community.

“I would recommend it to JMU students looking for something different, out of the way and fall-themed to do,” Kaberline said. “It’s a memory I always remember at this time of year.”