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World-record corn maze salutes America’s farmers

Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon offers 40-acre maze and other Halloween fun

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 24, 2025

This corn maze outside Dixon has been certified as the world’s largest. Courtesy Cool Patch Pumpkins

Along Interstate 80 in Dixon is a world-famous landmark, sprawling over 40 acres and visible only a few weeks each year. Besides causing gawkers’ block, it wouldn’t be Halloween season without it.

It’s the Cool Patch Pumpkins’ corn maze, certified twice by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest on the planet. And there’s only a few more days left to wander its miles of amazing paths.

Open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Oct. 31, the maze is a major attraction with people from around the nation – and the globe – trekking to Dixon to explore its living puzzle.

In addition to the maze, there’s plenty for kids of all ages to get into the Halloween spirit. More than 150,000 pounds of dried corn fills a “corn bath” for little kids to dive into. Food is offered for sale on weekend nights. Of course, visitors will find thousands of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes or they can choose their own future jack-o’-lantern in the you-pick pumpkin patch.

But the maze is the really big draw. Visitors take on average about 45 minutes to navigate its course, including five raised bridges or lookouts that allow people a chance to get their bearings.

“Every year, the maze is completely unique,” posted its owners, the Cooley family, who opened their first growing roadside attraction in 2001. “This year, our corn maze is dedicated to celebrating American Farmers and the incredible agricultural industry that keeps our nation thriving.

“Farming has never been an easy job – it takes long days, hard work, and a deep sense of pride to care for the land and provide for others,” they added. “Most people don’t choose this career for any conveniences; they choose it because they love it, and because they understand how important it is for every family in every community. We all owe a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the men and women who rise with the sun, face the elements, and put food on our tables.

“Back in 1790, nearly 90% of Americans worked in agriculture,” the Cooleys noted. “Today, that number has dropped to just 2%. But whether your grandparents farmed, your great-great-grandparents, or even further back, farming is part of your family story. No matter where you come from, you have agriculture in your history. It’s in your roots, it’s in your blood, and it connects us all. So as you explore the twists and turns of this year’s maze, take a moment to remember the farmers – past and present – who have helped shape our country.”

Maze admission is $22; anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Note: The maze is closed during rain.

Cool Patch Pumpkins is located at 6150 Dixon Avenue West, Dixon.

Details and directions: https://www.coolpatchpumpkins.com/

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Halloween corn maze corn field corn bath Dixon farming agriculture pumpkins family event seasonal event daily event October fall autumn seasonal event Sacramento gardening

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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