Govin’s 2017 Corn Maze

With so much focus on summer and winter in Wisconsin, it’s easy to forget about autumn until it’s almost upon us. But after summer’s final days pass by, we can expect to see crisp, vibrantly-colored leaves falling peacefully from the trees throughout September and October. Ready for the soft breeze to whistle through the air and wrap you in a cool embrace? There’s signs of fall on the horizon, and Govin’s is your first stop for fall fun.

Located East of Menomonie is a small, family-owned farm: Govin’s Meats & Berries. Dating back to the roots of farming, John and Julie Govin plant six acres of strawberries and pasture-raise all their animals on 55-acres of grass, ensuring that customers get the highest quality available with natural, antibiotic- and hormone-free products. Besides their meat shop and delicious berries, Govin’s has several season-specific activities for you to enjoy, such as their springtime lambing barn and their festive fall corn maze.

Year after year, Govin’s Meats & Berries continues to surprise us through the transformation of its 11-acre cornfield. In the spirit of connecting families to agriculture with education and entertainment, each fall the Govin family unveils a brittle, golden-brown-colored corn maze for families and friends to wander through. In the past, the maze has celebrated the Packers-Vikings rivalry, the Boy Scouts of America, and even Garth Brooks. What’s in store for the maze runners this year? An astonishing design of honey bees and honeycombs cut by The MAiZE Inc. 

While bees don’t get enough credit, these little critters play a critical role in pollinating crops. In essence, honey bees need healthy crops and healthy crops need honey bees. Large colonies of bees can move wherever they are needed, communicating direction and distance from hive to nectar sources. “Some of our crops need bees to pollinate the flowers so they can produce our food such as our pumpkins and strawberries, while other crops pollinate by the wind like our corn,” the farm’s website explains.

See the wind’s work and stroll along row upon row of harvest-ready corn. If you feel yourself going in circles, that could just be the honeycomb pattern giving you a buzz. Enjoy exploring the maze and playing games to help find your way out. Not enough thrill to feed your soul? Challenge yourself to walk the maze at night with only a flashlight. Just be careful – you never know who or what’s lurking around the corner.

The corn maze might be one of the bigger attractions at Govin’s Meats & Berries, but they also offer other amenities for a fun fall experience. Visit the three-acre pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin for Halloween carving, or shoot it out of the pumpkin cannon. End your day with a wagon ride, snacks from the concessions area, or by grabbing a spot around the bonfire.

Govin’s Meats & Berries • N6134 670th St. (just off Interstate 94), Menomonie • corn maze open Sept. 23-Oct. 29 • 4-10pm Fridays, 10am-10pm Saturdays, 11am-5pm Sundays • (715) 231-2377 • tickets are available at govinsfarm.com