Of the 12,000 people who entered the Clearwater Corn Maze in Lewiston last year only a few ended their tour with a call to the rescue number for help getting out.
Usually the calls come after dark, says John Foltz, associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Corn cops, in this case UI students who work at the maze in October, answer about one to three calls a night.
“We tend to get more earlier in the season when there are fewer people in the maze. Most people just start following somebody,” Foltz says.
This is the nonprofit maze’s third year in Lewiston. Starting Oct. 5 it will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and Halloween, when the maze will be haunted from 6 to 10 p.m.
The maze is a partnership between the university, Kaufman Farms in Lewiston, which tends the crop, and the Lewiston Roundup on whose grounds the maze is located. This year’s design was created using GPS waypoints and celebrates the UI 4-H program centennial. If you went down every dead end you would cover a little more than three miles of trails through 11-foot-tall stalks, Foltz says.
Each year more attractions are added outside the maze to keep the event interesting, Foltz says. This year there will be a pumpkin cannon built by UI engineering students and a “cow” train ride for kids that will take them on a cornfield safari. Two FFA clubs, Troy and Genesee, will sell concessions Fridays and Saturdays.
Admission to the maze is $5 for ages 4 and older. Part of the proceeds will finance UI student clubs. The maze is also available for school tours by contacting Foltz at (208) 885-7984. What: 2012 Clearwater Corn Maze
When: Open weekends Oct. 5 through Oct. 31
-6-10 p.m. Fridays -Noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays -Noon to 5 p.m. Sundays -A haunted maze is 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 31
Where: Adjacent to the Lewiston Roundup grounds
Cost: $5 for ages 4 and older
