Bennett Farms in Heflin has designed intricate corn mazes every fall for six years. They offer a complete family experience with hayrides and other activities for children and their parents.
This year, the maze is intricate and has a high-tech element.
The "Sweet Grown Alabama" maze will wow the masses. Farm owner Jim Bennett said he wanted to pay homage to Sweet Grown Alabama for its help promoting farms across the state.
"We've teamed up with them since they started and they've been great to work with and help promote us and to give us some insight for farming and ways to market," Bennett told 1819 News. "So we've appreciated the support they've given us and we wanted to utilize their logo inside our maze this year to help promote and support them."
The maze features two routes: a challenging, mind-bending experience and an easier route for those who prefer to walk along the corn stalks without concerns about getting turned around.
When Bennett and his wife, Lexi, began creating mazes in 2019, they cut the maze out using GPS and machetes and a lawn mower. However, over the last several years, they have utilized a company called Maze Play to assist in designing and planting the maze using a specialized planter machine.
"It's really, really a cool and much easier process than what we were initially doing, so it's they've been great to work with," Bennett explained. "Once the corn starts to grow, you can see the pathways and we keep that pathway cut out with a zero turn just to keep the pathway clean."
A map of the maze is available, along with an app to help people navigate through it.
Bennett Farms will open to the public on the first weekend in October. They will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of October.
Admission is $14 for the maze, pumpkin farm, hayrides, a wagon train and admission to the pheasant farm.
"It covers all the activities, the slides, it's one price at the gate," said Bennett. "And it allows you to do everything you want to do as many times as you have time to do. But we also, of course, have food. Our food is a big hit. We cook food on wood-burning stoves and cast-iron wash pots."
Bennett said the experience for families is something his family enjoys offering.
"We're in the memory-making business," he said. "I mean, we enjoy seeing families come to the farm and enjoying it and their kids' eyes lighting up. There's a lot of aspects of family that make life busy and it's great to see families come and just actually enjoy themselves and see their kids running and playing and interacting on the farm."
Bennet Farms is at 1073 County Road 13, in Heflin.
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