Vacations Blog

You thought the current maze of healthcare legislation was bad? Or the Washington twists and turns in The Lost Symbol? They’ve got nothing on the Barack Obama corn maze at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, Connecticut.

Following a child through the corn maze may be your best bet.

Here in New England, visiting apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes are all a part of Fall. In fact, if you’re vacationing in New England during the season and you’re not doing one of these things, why are you here? Just for leaf peeping? C’mon, get out of the car and actually do something!

One of the best local farms and corn mazes in Connecticut is Lyman Orchards. This year, the maze features the portraits of George Washington and Barack Obama. And every chief executive from first to current will be given a special day—from Washington on September 5 to Obama on November 1. On Halloween, they even encourage you to go dressed as your favorite president. (Don’t everyone go rushing out for that Grover Cleveland mask.)

Aerial view of the Presidential Maze

Lyman Orchards takes its corn mazes seriously. For full disclosure, I have to admit that my family and I have actually gotten lost in there. The time seemed to go by pretty quickly in the cornstalks, but my wife said we were walking for thirty or forty minutes. And, for at least ten minutes of that, we were going in circles trying to find our way. I had been afraid that there would be too many people going through and we’d end up just following a line, but that didn’t happen. The maze was so big that we weren’t following anyone. We just ran into a few other lost folks occasionally…and told them not to follow us.

Tom and Jerry pull the hay ride.

For those not willing to venture into the maze, the orchard also has hay rides, apple picking, a store and barbecue, and some of the best apple pies in the state. Or, if you really love mazes, there’s a sunflower maze too. Hours, prices and other details are on their website.

Of course, you don’t have to come to the best corn maze in the nation. Your President just wants you to. If you can’t answer his call, check out some of the best sites for apple picking, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes in your state too.

Aerial photo copyright Lyman Orchards. Other photos copyright Darren Farrington.