A-Maze-Ing: Animals Abound in Long Valley, Chester Farm Corn Fields

Their names are synonymous with fall, pumpkins, donuts – just about anything you can think of associated with falling leaves and temperature dips.

And that includes some of the coolest corn mazes in the state.

The aerial views are amazing, and weaving one’s way through the fields is about as entertaining as it gets, but the labor behind the structures is no easy feat.

This year’s themes at Ort Farms in Long Valley and Alstede Farms in Chester both include animals, but for very different reasons.

“My father-in-law works with The Seeing Eye and talks about how much he loves it,” said Nicole Ort Moke, manager at Ort Farms, about this year’s theme. “Back in March we were having a discussion about (The Seeing Eye) and I thought how awesome it would be to incorporate that into our corn maze.”

Ort Moke said she spoke with The Seeing Eye, based in Morristown, who were very eager to work with the farm, and the idea was solidified.

An aerial view shows Ort Farms’ corn maze on Bartley Road with the iconic photo of a person walking a leashed dog with the inscription, “The Seeing Eye” in the layout.

Ort Farm’s work with the organization won’t stop there, however.

“We’re going to have a special discount day for foster families of The Seeing Eye puppies and also have The Seeing Eye host demonstrations,” Ort Moke said. “We’re fundraising for them and our goal is $5,000.”

Ort Farm’s maze opens Saturday, Sept. 5, and is $6 per person for admission, and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 7. There will be “flashlight nights,” or maze walks in the dark, on Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30.

Months-long planning also took place over at Alstede Farms on Route 513 in Chester, when owner Kurt Alstede’s son, Karl, came up with the idea.

The young dinosaur buff told his dad it would be a great idea for the famous maze, which in recent years has honored firefighters and the Star-Spangled Banner.

The maze was designed electronically, the farm said, then inputted into a GPS device that was attached to a skid-loader. The machine was used to mow the field according to the GPS coordinates.

“The process took about 10 hours,” according to Alstede Farms. “Then, by hand, when the stalks were 12 to 18 inches high, they worked some more to trim and get everything in place including two bridges into the field and the multitude of signs. Overall, the process took hundreds of man hours.”

Once the season comes to an end, all of the corn in the farm will be harvested.

Alstede Farm’s corn maze will have an admission fee of $5 during the week, or as a free add-on to the weekend admission fee of $6.99. Free admission to the corn maze will also be available on the same mornings – from 9 a.m. to noon – that pick-your-own admission is at no charge from Mondays through Thursdays.

Stony Hill Farm on North Road in Chester has taken its theme back to the medieval times, going with Knights & Dragons, tasking maze-goers to conquer the dragon.

The farm’s maze opens Saturday, Sept. 5 and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with a cost of $12.99 per ticket. Customers age two and under are free. That admission cost includes the rope maze, tile maze, barnyard board game and Noah’s Ark playground, plus the giant corn maze and mini corn maze.

Extended hours will be available Sept. 18 to Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Pictured, from left: Ort Farms ‘The Seeing Eye’ corn maze; Alstede Farms ‘Digging Dinosaurs’ corn maze; Stony Hill Farms corn maze. Photos Courtesy Ort, Alstede, and Stony Hill farms.