Corn Mazes in Arizona, by Region

Corn doesn’t grow tall in the desert without help, but Arizona farms manage it every fall, and by late September the stalks are high enough to cut a maze into. The corn maze arizona farms build for the season ranges from a straightforward daytime puzzle for grade-schoolers to a full after-dark scare once the same stalks go dark. Both versions run at the same handful of farms, often on the same property, just at different hours.

This is a region-sorted guide to the mazes worth the drive, from the West Valley to Tucson and up into the high country near Prescott. Dates, hours, and prices move every season, so treat this as a map rather than a calendar, and verify current information on each farm’s own site before you load the car. Scarizona Scaregrounds runs its own three haunts down in Mesa every October, so we keep a close eye on how the rest of the state does the season.

How Corn Maze Season Works in Arizona#

The stalks go in during summer and get tall enough to cut by late September, which is when most Arizona corn mazes open for the year. The season runs through Halloween at most farms, with a few pushing into early November. Weekends pull the heaviest crowds by far, so a weekday evening earlier in October is the easier visit if your schedule allows it.

The bigger variable is what happens after dark. Some mazes are a single daytime attraction, closed and empty once the farm shuts down for the night. Others run two versions on the same field: a gentle family maze during daylight hours, then a separate haunted cut once night falls, often with actors, fog, and a cover charge on top of the daytime ticket. None of that is guaranteed from one season to the next, which is exactly why the farm’s own site is the source to check before you plan around it.

Phoenix Metro and the East Valley#

Vertuccio Farms in Mesa bills itself as the Valley’s longest-running corn maze, and it backs that up with a full Fall Festival built around it, including a ropes course, wagon rides, and a jump pad for the daytime crowd. Once the sun sets, the same property runs Field of Screams, an after-dark maze walk aimed at guests old enough to want a scare rather than a photo op. It’s the East Valley farm most likely to work for a family afternoon and a teenage night out on the same ticket.

Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek cuts its maze into the larger Pumpkin and Chili Party, one of the biggest fall festivals in the state. The maze here shares billing with 25-plus rides, hayrides, and pig races, so it reads more as one piece of a full day out than a standalone attraction, and it stays a daytime, family-built experience.

West Valley#

Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale runs the clearest split of any Arizona maze: a family corn maze during the day, cut separately from a haunted corn maze that opens once it gets dark. Both run through October alongside the farm’s pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and train, so a family can spend the afternoon there and older kids can come back for the scare later that same week.

Tucson and Southern Arizona#

Marana Pumpkin Patch and Farm Festival north of Tucson stacks a corn maze into a fall festival with 15-plus attractions, a train, and a petting zoo, running Thursday through Sunday through October. It stays a daytime, family-first operation and is the closest large maze festival to Tucson proper.

Buckelew Farm near Marana runs its own maze during the day, then turns it into Terror in the Corn after dark for guests who want a scare instead of a stroll. It’s the southern Arizona counterpart to Tolmachoff’s split maze, with the same daytime-versus-night divide built into one property.

Apple Annie’s Orchard out near Willcox, about ninety minutes east of Tucson, is a working produce farm first, and its corn maze is one piece of a fall season that also includes u-pick apples and vegetables and a sunflower field. The maze stays strictly daytime here, and the drive through the high desert is part of the draw.

Northern and Central Arizona#

Mortimer Farms near Dewey, between Prescott and Camp Verde, cuts its maze into a larger Pumpkin Fest with rides and u-pick pumpkins, running in genuinely cooler weather instead of desert heat. It’s a common day trip from the Valley for anyone chasing actual fall temperatures, and like the other high-country farms it keeps its maze a daytime, family attraction.

Daytime Maze or Haunted Maze: Know Which One You’re Buying#

Most Arizona corn mazes are built for families and stop there. Marana Pumpkin Patch, Apple Annie’s Orchard, Schnepf Farms, and Mortimer Farms all run their mazes as a daytime activity with no scare elements, which makes them the safer pick for kids under twelve or anyone who just wants to get pleasantly lost for twenty minutes.

A smaller group runs two products on one field. Tolmachoff Farms, Vertuccio Farms, and Buckelew Farm each keep a family maze open during the day, then switch on a separate haunted version after dark, usually as its own ticket with actors and a different mood entirely. If you’re bringing young kids, go during the day and skip the night hours. If you’re chasing a scare, that’s the version built for you, though it’s worth knowing it’s a corn maze with actors added, not a full production haunt.

For anyone who wants the second thing without the first, three haunts run on one ticket at Scarizona in Mesa through October. It’s a purpose-built walk-through set rather than a maze with a scare bolted on, and it’s intense by design, so it’s not recommended for anyone under twelve.

Plan the Rest of Your Arizona Fall#

A corn maze fills an hour, maybe an afternoon if the farm around it has enough going on, but it’s rarely the only stop worth making during Arizona’s short cool window. Pair it with a pumpkin patch on the same trip, or check our roundup of fall outings for the rest of the season’s options. The haunt calendar, including single-night events, lives on the event nights page. Pick a maze, verify the dates on the farm’s site, and get out while the weather actually cooperates.