A guide to Long Island's corn mazes, from spooky to kid-friendly 

Twist, turns and dead-ends are the challenges that make Long Island’s corn mazes such a big draw during the fall season. “I joke with people, ‘Don’t worry, if you get lost in here, we’ll find you in the springtime,’” says Steve Gee, who built the maze at Borella’s Farm Stand in St. James.

Some mazes have themes, others offer games, and a few even feature live characters in Halloween costumes who spring out and startle maze-goers. Here’s a roundup of choices — the silly, the spooky and the just plain fun.

BB AND GG FARM & NURSERY 625 N. Country Rd., St. James, 631-862-9182. Hours 9 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends until Oct. 31 and Columbus Day; call to see if the maze is open on weekdays. Cost $8 per person.

The plant-and-flowers farm’s self-proclaimed “basic, no frills” 15-acre maze is one of Long Island’s biggest, and it’s reconfigured every year.

BORELLA’S FARM STAND 485 Edgewood Ave., St. James, 631-862-7330, borellasfarmstand.com. Hours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October and Columbus Day and Halloween. Cost Check website or call for price.

The 5-acre maze has a lot of tricky spots; visitors can take pictures along the way by placing their faces through painted boards of Frankenstein or witches. “Even a person who is very good with directions is going to be challenged,” promises Gee.

FAIRVIEW FARM AT MECOX 69 Horsemill Lane, Bridgehampton; 631-537-6154, fairviewfarmatmecox.com. Hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and Columbus Day. Cost $14 per adult, $12 ages 4 to 11, free for 3 and younger.

This year’s 8-acre maze is, when viewed from above, the shape of a potato plant, says co-owner Harry Ludlow. It includes multiple choice questions about potatoes along the pathways, such as “Which country grows the most potatoes in the world?” (Hint: It’s not the United States.) Answer correctly and you’ll be pointed in the right direction.

FINKS COUNTRY FARM 6242 Middle Country Rd., Wading River; 631-886-2272, finksfarm.com. Hours 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends through Oct. 30 and Columbus Day. Cost $20 includes unlimited corn maze and hayrides.

This year’s maze is just under 4 acres. “We always put a design in our maze every year. When you see it aerial from above, we did a pinwheel in the center. The pinwheel symbolizes awareness of child abuse,” says co-owner Michelle Fink, referring to a "Pinwheel for Prevention" movement. From 7:30 to 10 p.m., on the last Saturday in October, it’s Spookie Flashlight Maze with live characters, with last entrance at 9:30 p.m. Bring your own flashlight. Price of Spookie Flashlight Maze is still being determined, check website for details.

GLOVER FARMS 633 Victory Ave., Brookhaven, 631-332-2012, gloverfarmsbrookhaven.org. Hours 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends and Columbus Day through Oct. 30. Cost $7 per person.

“This year’s theme is farm fun facts and riddles,” says Gail Glover, co-owner. Here’s one of the riddles: “Why should you not tell secrets on a farm?” Answer: “Because the potatoes have eyes and the corn has ears.” The maze is about 6 acres, Glover says.

HANK’S PUMPKINTOWN 240 Montauk Hwy., Water Mill, hankspumpkintown.com. Hours 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekends and holidays through Oct. 31. Cost Mazes are included with the cost of entering the festival area, $14 weekdays and $20 weekends and holidays. Children younger than 2 are free.

Hank’s Pumpkintown has three mazes of varying difficulty. The Spooky Pumpkin Maze is the easiest; a storybook about being different called "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" marks the trail at 13 locations. The second maze has a dozen “Corny Characters” hidden throughout the maze; part of the challenge is discovering them all. The Finger Funnies Game maze has explorers stop at five stations and color each finger with a different color chalk. At the end, match your hand’s color pattern to a key and be assigned a corresponding funny task.

HARBES FARMS JAMESPORT 1223 NY-25, Jamesport, 631-494-4796, harbesfamilyfarm.com/harbes-jamesport. Hours Open 9 a.m., with last entry at 5:20 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays through Oct. 30. Cost $10.

The touchless Robin Hood Trivia Challenge Maze offers a couple of live actors playing Robin Hood's merry men and women. Guests wind their way through the paths and answer trivia questions on signs regarding the story of Robin Hood.

HARBES FARMS MATTITUCK 715 Sound Ave., Mattituck, 631-482-7641, harbesfarm.com. Hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends. Cost $5 on weekdays and $6 weekends and holidays.

Dorothy, the Tin Man, Lion, Scarecrow, Witch and Wizard are cutout, hand-painted wooden characters visitors will encounter at the Harbes Family Farm South U-Pick "Wizard of Oz" corn maze.

HARBES ORCHARD 5698 Sound Ave., Riverhead, 631-683-8388, harbesorchard.com. Hours Daytime maze is open 9 a.m., with last entry at 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through Oct. 30; the night maze is open Saturday nights starting Oct. 8 and also Oct. 9, from 7 to 10 p.m., with last entry at 9:30. Cost The daytime maze is included in a combo value pass for $23-27 depending on day; nighttime maze is $21.

The daytime touchless Robin Hood Trivia Challenge Maze has a couple of live actors playing Robin Hood's merry men and women. Guests wind their way through the paths and answer trivia questions on signs regarding the story of Robin Hood. The maze transforms from a trivia maze into a spooky maze with live characters on designated nights. Bring a flashlight or purchase one at the cafe; refreshments available for purchase.

KRUPSKI’S FARM 38030 Rte. 25, Peconic, 631-734-7841. Hours Noon to 5 p.m. weekends and Columbus Day through Oct. 30. Cost $10

The haunted corn maze has actors dressed in scary costumes — but not so scary or gory that kids can’t enjoy it as well. “If you enjoy Halloween, you’ll enjoy the corn maze. We have a lot of fun with it,” says co-owner Al Krupski. “The nightmares only last for about a week,” he jokes.

LENNY BRUNO FARMS 740 Wading River Rd., Manorville, 631-591-3592, lennybrunofarms.com. Hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Halloween; haunted maze days run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost Check website.

The acre-plus maze is “pretty challenging,” says Dominick Bruno, who created it. It can take about 10 to 15 minutes to snake though, longer if people really get lost in it, he says. It will be “haunted” by live characters and props on Oct. 8 and 9 and 15 and 16.

LEWIN FARMS 812 Sound Ave., Calverton, 631-929-4327, lewinfarm.com. Hours 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends and holidays. Cost $7 per adult, $6 children 12 and younger.

This 4.5-acre maze next to the farmstand has seven numbered checkpoints along the way to let people know they are proceeding in the right direction, says co-owner Erick Lewin.

MAY’S FARM STAND 6361 Rte. 25A, Wading River, 631-929-6654, maysfarmny.com. Hours 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends through October. Cost $5. May's maze is 2 acres.

ROTTKAMP’S FOX HOLLOW FARM 2287 Sound Ave., Calverton, 631-727-1786. Hours 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through Oct. 30. Cost $5 per person, children 5 and younger are free.

The 3.5-acre maze is about the same every year; this plain corn maze is good for families, says co-owner Jeff Rottkamp. It’s the only attraction at the farm aside from the pumpkin patch.

F&W SCHMITT FARMS 26 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, 631-271-3276, schmittsfarm.com. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays through Oct. 30 Cost $10.

The daytime maze has an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. People start out with a black crayon and a paper picture finder with nine squares. At each of nine stations hidden throughout the maze, people do rubbings of characters from the story including Alice, Cheshire cat, White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. The farm also has a scary corn trail that isn’t a maze but rather a one-way walk-thru with character actors that’s open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in conjunction with the farm’s haunted house. That combo costs $39.99 to $41.99 depending on the night.

SEVEN PONDS ORCHARD 65 Seven Ponds Rd., Water Mill, 631-726-8015. Hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Thanksgiving. Cost $12, includes package with hayride, cow train ride and more.

The 3-acre “Finger Funny Corn Maze” includes five stations, and at each station, people color one finger of their hand with pastel chalk. Upon emerging, they check their hand’s chosen color pattern against a chart that shows what funny act people with that pattern must do. They may have to crow like a chicken or bark like a dog, says owner Tim Kraszewski. “It’s just something entertaining,” he says.

STAKEY’S PUMPKIN FARM 270 West Lane, Aquebogue, 631-722-3467, stakeyspumpkinfarm.com. Hours Noon to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 30. Cost $10.

Stakey’s made the maze more difficult this year, says co-owner Jim Stakey. “I like to give everybody a challenge,” he says. The friendly character maze has dead ends where people find cartoon surprises, including Super Mario, Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil.

WATERDRINKER FAMILY FARM AND GARDEN 663 Wading River Rd., Manorville, 631-878-8653, water-drinker.com. Hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends through October 31. Cost $15 per person weekdays, $20 per person weekends, 2 and younger is free

The 5-acre, family-friendly haunted corn maze features an added challenge beginning Oct. 1: the haunted scavenger hunt. Visitors first walk through the haunted tunnel to enter the maze, which will have four secret objects hidden within it. If visitors find all four along the way, they will get a bragging-rights treat or prize at the end. Spooky music will accompany them on the walk.

WINDY ACRES ORCHARD 3810 Middle Country Rd., Calverton, 631-727-4554. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays through Oct. 31. Cost $5 per person.

The design of the 3-acre maze is a tractor digging for potatoes, says owner Diana Yakaboski. “You just walk through and find your way,” she says; there are no signs or cutout characters.

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.