Harvest Time - Corn Mazes and Pumpkins - Greater Vancouver

by Nathan

Activity

Look forward to the Fall-are you kidding? I'd take the dog days of summer any time. If your kids sound like me, let me tell you about some pretty cool activities you can do only in the Fall. One of them is called Meadow Maze. It's a gigantic maze carved out of a 15-acre corn patch. What you have to do is find stations in the maze so you can stamp your card. It takes about an hour to hour and a half to get all the stamps. I remember Coleman started to cry (probably because wouldn't let him walk in the mud) and we had one of the employees running to our rescue within seconds. So you don't have to be afraid about getting lost, because there's always someone nearby to help you. Getting back to the mud-you should have seen these four teenagers-they were covered in mud. One of them had to take his glasses off because he couldn't see through them anymore. I asked Mom if we could roll in the mud too. She said, "sure so only you don't mind walking home!" When we finished the maze Mom took Coleman to the petting zoo while Dad took Jen and me for a snack. They have a pretty neat gift shop selling crafts and souvenirs, and corn, of course. The only bummer is that Meadow Maze is all the way out in Pitt Meadows. If you don't know your way around, you better take a map. We were lost for about half-an-hour, and Dad was driving! Meadow Maze is at Hopcott Farms and the address is 13672 Reichenbach Road. Phone 604-460-0603 if you want to know more. Which reminds me, this Meadow Maze cost a little more than Mom and Dad thought it would. Our family added up to $24 (Mom and Dad cost $7 each and Jen and I were $5 a piece). The next fun place to go is Laity Pumpkin Patch. We only paid a dollar to get in here, and they have a whole lot more than pumpkins. We got to touch a baby bull in the petting zoo and pan for gold. Although the gold-panning looked pretty lame; nobody was finding anything. Dad told Jen the veins of gold were all dried up, but I think somebody just forgot to plant the fake gold nuggets in the trough. They also had a small Western town and maze with all kinds of exhibits to look at. One even had prehistoric dinosaur bones. You should have seen Coleman when he saw all the pumpkins. There was thousands, I mean literally, and he wanted to touch every one of them. In the end he picked out one of the ugliest ones. It was even shriveled in the middle. Then he dropped it, so we had to keep it. I wanted to pick my own. I must've spent an hour wandering around the pumpkin patch, trying to find the perfect one. Eventually I asked Mom to pick one for me because I just couldn't decide. Our three pumpkins cost us only $9. This place is good for families because everyone (including Coleman our two year old) can have fun. You can find the Laity Pumpkin Patch in Maple Ridge, on 21145 - 128th Street.

Details

On top of these two Fall activities, there's a bunch more, which we haven't tried yet, but I'll tell you about in case you're interested. Most farms are open early Summer to mid-Autumn, please call the telephone number listed for exact dates and times. The Apple Barn Pumpkin Farm 333 Gladwin Road, Abbotsford 604-853-3108 Activities: Hayrides, pumpkin patch, mazes, petting zoo, u-pick apples and pumpkins. Chilliwack Corn Maze 41905 Yale Road West, Chilliwack. 604-819-6203, www.chilliwackcornmaze.com Activities: 9 acre corn maze, petting zoo, hay rides Bose Corn Maze 16390 - 64th Avenue, Surrey. 604-576-8997, www.cornfieldmaze.com Activities: 15 acre corn maze, night mazing Meadows Maze Corn Maze 13672 Reichenbach Rd. Pitt Meadows, (604) 460-0603, www.meadowsmaze.com Willow View Farms 288 McCallum Road, Abbotsford 604-854-8710, , Willow View Farms Activities: Hayrides, petting zoo, pumpkin patch, games, fresh fruits, U-Pick apples Wiseby Veggies Yarrow/Cultus Lake (exit 104 on Highway One) 604-823-4617 Activities: pumpkin patch, home-grown vegetables, fruits; Yellow Barn Country Produce 39809 No. 3 Road, Abbotsford 604-852-0888 Activities: five acre pumpkin patch Capella Farm Market 5276 - 160th Street, Cloverdale 604-576-2465 Activities: u-pick pumpkins, fruits, and vegetables Reynelda Farms 2485 Westham Island Road, Delta 604-946-7152 Activities: u-pick pumpkins, scarecrow and pumpkin displays Westham Island Herb Farm 4690 Kirkland Road, Delta 604-946-4393 Activities: u-pick pumpkins, carved pumpkin display, fruits, vegetables, dried flowers Baykey's Farm Market 5954 River Road, Ladner 604-940-2358 Activities: Corn maze, pumpkins, vegetables, fruits, free range eggs Aldor Acres/Anderson Farms 24990 - 84th Avenue, Langley 604-888-0788 Activities; pumpkins, hayride, vegetables, fruits, farm animals Dave's Orchard 5910 - 216th Street, Langley 604-534-9979 Activities: pumpkins, vegetables, fruits, farm tours Laity Pumpkin Patch 21145 - 128th Avenue, Maple Ridge 604-467-4302 Activities: Different varieties of pumpkins, giant sunflowers, hayride, petting zoo, farm animals, children displays, maze Grant's Farm 2420 Burns Road, Port Coquitlam 604-941-2474 Activities: pumpkins, squash, pumpkin displays, festive ghosts Richmond Country Farm 12900 Steveston Highway, Richmond 604-274-0522 Activities: pumpkin patch and festival, fruits, vegetables Chu Lin Farm 17535 - 40th Avenue, Surrey 604-574-0268 Activities: u-pick pumpkins, vegetables, fruits, free range eggs Law Pacific Vegetables Ltd. 4586 - 176th Street, Surrey 604-574-7708 Activities: u-pick pumpkins, fruits, and vegetables

Area

Multiple locations

Season

Summer, Fall

Here's Mom and Coleman trying to find their way through the corn maze

Follow the maps that are handed out otherwise you'll end going around in circles

Laity Pumpkin Patch: Take your pick