El Paso-Area Corn Mazes Will Not Open This Year

It's official: the corn maze is the latest annual activity to get hit by the coronavirus.

The fall tradition of getting lost among the corn stalks will be put on pause until next year as all three El Paso-area farms have made the decision to pull the plug on their respective corn mazes.

Long story short, the guidelines and restrictions on social distancing and the number of people who can gather in one place at one time have forced El Paso’s Corn Maze, Mesilla Valley Maze, and La Union Maze to make the tough decision to not operate a maze this year.

But not all the fall fun has been canceled.

Although neither Mesilla Valley or La Union will be able to put on all the usual festivities and activities, they still have pumpkins. As 93.1 KISS-FM was the first to report, the pumpkin fields have yielded a bumper crop of gourds and you can still make your annual fall pilgrimage to Southern New Mexico and pick your own pumpkins.

Choosing the perfect gourd for carving and decorating will be done differently, however, as dictated by safety protocols. For example, to pick your own pumpkins from the field at La Union, you'll have to make an online reservation first and use your own vehicle to get to the pumpkin field. You won’t be able to pick you own off the vine at Mesilla Valley Maze, but you'll still be able to choose your own pumpkins from the Country Store.

Sure, it might be easier to get your pumpkins at a grocery store, but where's the fun in that? Going to the farm is an adventure. And supporting your local farm means they'll be around for years to come and we can pick up our traditions where we left off.