Find Your Way Through a Corn Maze

Finding your way through a corn maze can be fun and challenging. By being resourceful, finding your way out immediately in an emergency, and preparing ahead of time you can find your way through a corn maze with success.

Steps

Being Resourceful

  1. Note your exit. Before you enter the maze, know where you will be exiting. If it’s not apparent, ask an employee. Keep in mind the direction you’re heading while walking the maze.
    • While it helps to keep the exit in mind, remember mazes are made to be confusing. You may start venturing in the direction of the exit only to find yourself back where you started!
  2. Use a map. An employee should hand you a map before you get started. Use a pencil to follow the trails you pass so you know which direction to go. A map will also help you escape a trap.
    • While using the map, note your location. Keep note of turns and intersections that look familiar. Look for checkpoints. This will help assure that you do not walk down the same path twice.
  3. Look for noisy areas. Pay attention to where traffic sounds are coming from. If there are carnival rides or any other loud events, pay attention to their location to help you place where you are in the maze.
    • Ask people in your group to be quiet and listen for these noises, too. Working together can be more effective.
  4. Keep your group together. Stay together until you find your way out. Being lost as a group is hard enough. It's much more difficult to find your way out if you are also trying to find members of your group at the same time.
  5. Use your phone’s GPS. While you may not have phone reception deep in a corn maze, this step is worth a shot. Look up a nearby location on your phone as your destination location. Follow the directions of your GPS until you find your way out of the maze.
  6. Drag your hand along the wall. Choose either the left or right side and stick with it. Keep dragging your hand along the same side of the wall until you find your way out. This technique will not work if there are open areas where the wall ends.
  7. Follow others. Other may have already gone through the maze and know how to find their way out. While this technique doesn’t always work, you may feel better to have a bigger group with you.
    • They may have new ideas you haven't thought of yet.
    • If you are both confused, ask them if they want to work with you to find your way out together.
  8. Look for landmarks. While most areas of the maze will look the same after a while, you may find small differences that make certain areas stand out. Look for items that show up repeatedly. For example, if there is a Coke bottle in a corner that you keep coming across, you may realize you’ve passed this area before.[1].
    • Some mazes have clues throughout the maze to help you find your way. Answering the clues correctly will guide you in the right direction. Answering them wrong means heading in the wrong direction or back in a circle.[2]

Finding Your Way Out in an Emergency

  1. Stay calm. It is easy to get panicked if you are lost. Take a deep breath and count to 10. Sit down for a few minutes and close your eyes to regroup before trying again. Remember that corn mazes have preparations in place for those who get lost.
    • Good corn mazes keep count and have staff walk the maze. If you keep your head clear, you’ll make it out just fine.
  2. Look for an employee. A corn maze employee may have handed you a flag to use in case you get lost. Raise and wave your flag if you have one. Some other corn mazes have watch towers or call boxes where employees can keep an eye on you. Other have corn cops that wander through the maze in search of people who need help.[1]
  3. Yell. As a final resort, try yelling. An employee should be able to follow your voice to find your location in the maze. Yelling may also result in another non-employee person to come to your aid. Don’t yell unless you absolutely feel that you need to get out of the maze immediately.
  4. Call 911 if it’s a true emergency. Tell them the name of the farm. Give them your best guess as to your location in the corn maze. Let them know if anyone is hurt or the nature of your emergency.[3]

Preparing Ahead of Time

  1. Charge your cell phone. Make sure your phone is charged before you enter the maze. This will come in handy if you need to call 911. You will also be able to use your phone’s GPS to help guide your way out.
  2. Record the number to the farm. Look up the farm’s phone number ahead of time. Keep the number on a piece of paper in a safe place in case your cell phone dies. This way you can ask a patron to borrow their phone if you need to make an emergency phone call.
  3. Download a light app on your phone. Use your phone’s app store to read reviews on flashlight apps and download one of your choice. Test the flashlight app ahead of time to make sure it works. You’ll have a light on hand if it gets dark and you’re still lost in the maze.
    • If you don’t have a smartphone or don’t want to drain your phone’s battery, consider bringing a flashlight instead. Make sure your flashlight has fresh batteries in it.
  4. Go during the day. Don’t go at night, so that you have plenty of time to make it out of the maze. It’s much easier to find your way through a maze when you have daylight. Everything starts to look the same in the dark. Little ones might also get more scared if you are lost at night.
  5. Use a website for help. MazeGPS.com allows you to find your exact position within the corn maze and help you get out. The website is accessible for Apple, Windows, and Android products and can be loaded on your favorite browser. Ask a corn maze employee if they participate in this website. If they participate, ask them for their maze’s code.
  6. Observe the bird’s eye view of a maze. Some maze websites show a bird’s eye view of the maze so that you can view it before getting started. Print it out so that you have another version of the maze on hand. This will give you something else to use besides the map the employee gives you. [4]
  7. Note the safety measures of the farm. They should be explained to you by an employee. Ask questions to make sure you understand what to do if you truly get lost.
    • If you forget the safety measures, look them up on the maze’s website. While not all farms list their safety measures on their website, it doesn’t hurt to look.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.funtober.com/cornmaze/lost/
  2. ↑ http://www.washingtonfarms.net/corn-maze/
  3. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/US/people-lost-worlds-biggest-corn-maze-called-911/story?id=26868458
  4. ↑ http://www.peeblesfarm.com/corn-maze

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Find_Your_Way_Through_a_Corn_Maze&oldid=319889"