When Shelley and Allen Secord moved back to the Dauphin area from Saskatoon about ten years ago to become the 4th generation farmers on the Secord land, Shelley wanted to do something special on their yard, something that would be family fun for folks to truly enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of the summer and fall seasons.
"We had this little chunk of land that's surrounded by willows that the folks who rent our land, they couldn't get their big equipment in on," explains Shelley. "And so, I started off trying to have a market garden, but my thumb is just not as green as my mother's. So, I mentioned to my husband maybe we should try a corn maze. A colleague of his had a bag of corn seed that had opened up and had asked him if he wanted it. He said Sure! And that's how it all began."
That started the Secord Corn Maze. The Secord's have been designing and creating corn mazes on their 5-acre patch for seven seasons just 3 miles north of Dauphin.
Shelley says she spends the winter deciding on her theme, and then maps it out on paper what that might look like. Planting the corn and watching it grow takes time and effort, but cutting in the trail takes Shelley and her husband working together to get it right!
Each year Shelley features a special theme, but this spring's wet conditions they opted for a maze themed around corn. "I try to have something in the maze that has bits of information, like last year our theme was all about sound and so we had a crossword puzzle, but it had tidbits of information that talked about sound waves and that sort of thing."
"This year our theme is all about corn, and so there's some trivia in there about how popcorn pops, and that kind of thing."
Along the pathway through the corn field, they have different stops like the periscope, activity huts, a big bell, a giant gong, and much more as visitors follows the paths that twist and turn through the corn field.
Outside of the maze the Secord's have a host of activities to offer including friendly farm critters, box hockey, and tackle the rope maze challenge. One can schedule a Farm Animal Discovery Tour. And for the little ones, there's plenty to enjoy with the Ladybug Trail, ABC Kids Maze, sandbox, and the all-new "Little Kernel Caravan" wagon train ride, even an escape room.
When cutting in the corn maze trail, Shelley says the weather is certainly one of the things that is always front of mind given the time of the summer season when the mosquitos are in full force and the heat and humidity are at their peak.
"Cutting the maze into the corn is super hard work and I don't like that period of time, simply because it is hot and the bugs ... but I do love every other bit of having the corn maze!"
"I love that creative part of it and I love this time of year when you've got lots of people coming out here all the time, it's just fun all the time!"
Please listen to more with Shelley Secord below!
Visit their website and Facebook page for more information and to pre-book your visit to Secord Corn Maze.