2023 Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze Best Things To Do

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze opens September 16, 2023 for this year’s fall season of fun. The maze covers 15 acres in size, with approximately 6 miles of trails, making it one of the biggest corn mazes in Georgia! Every year the maze features a brand new design, with all new twists, turns, and paths to solve. There’s also a pumpkin patch at Uncle Shuck’s, in addition to a haunted trail, a kiddie maze, corn cannon, wagon rides, a goat walk, tire mountain, jumpy pad, and marshmallow-roasting over a bonfire. It’s one of our favorite things to do during fall in Georgia!

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze 2023 Dates and Hours

In 2023, Uncle Shuck’s opening day is on Saturday, September 16. It is then open weekends only throughout the remaining days of September before opening up fully for every single day in October. After Halloween ends, the November schedule returns once again to a weekend only schedule.

Here’s their full list of open hours for September through November:

September

• Fridays: 4 PM – 10 PM
• Saturdays: 10 AM – 10 PM
• Sundays: 10 AM – 6 PM

October

• Sun – Thurs: 10 AM – 6 PM
• Fri & Sat: 10 AM – 10 PM

November

• Fridays: 4 PM – 10 PM
• Saturdays: 10 AM – 10 PM
• Sundays: 10 AM – 6 PM

Our Review of Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze

Ready to get lost in a labyrinth, puzzled by passageways, and amazed by a maze that’s made from maize? Or maybe you’re a fan of Greek mythology and have always fancied to test your wits in a battle against Medusa’s stone cold gaze?

Our alliteration rhymes are CORNy; this we know (hehe). But Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze in Dawsonville, Georgia, just might be the place you want to go.

Of all the times we’ve visited Uncle Shuck’s, our favorite featured a face-off with Medusa. A favorite from Greek mythology, the Gorgon monster brandished snakes for hair, charmed men with her beautiful visage, and could turn mortals to stone with a mere glance if they dared to turn their gaze upon her eyes. We couldn’t wait.

The maze design and paths change every year, however, so you can visit year after year and always have a new challenge to solve. In 2023, the featured maze design will be a coastal Georgia wildlife theme.

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze – Arrival at the Farm (& Pretty Sunflowers)

Upon first stepping out of our car, we were immediately greeted by a row of sunflowers adorning the edge of the parking lot and marking the entrance to the farm. Although some of these flowers had already begun to wilt were a bit camera shy, we found a couple of eager, extroverted attention-seekers who didn’t mind having their photo taken with Dragon.

Uncle Shuck’s Pumpkin Patch

After waving goodbye to our new Sunflower friends, we crossed through the cute entrance gate, where you can see Uncle Shuck’s Pumpkin Patch just beyond the welcome sign, and then we proceeded further along towards the little red barn on the left to purchase tickets.

Adventurer’s Tip: If you arrive during the day, there’s not much of a line, and it takes less than five minutes to pick-up all your passes. Queuing up after the sun has set will deposit you smack dab in the middle of a horde of zombies anxious humans trying to push their way to the front of an endless line extending all the way outside the gates.

Updated 2023 Uncle Shuck’s Prices

The 15-acre Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze costs $17 in 2023 and includes 3 shots at the corn cannon, unlimited wagon rides, a kiddie maze, goat walk, tire mountain, jumpy pad, and even a bonfire with marshmallows after dark.

The Dark Rows Haunted Trail costs $22 and includes unlimited wagon rides, the kiddie maze, goat walk, tire mountain, jumpy pad, and bonfire with marshmallows. (Note: the Haunted Trail does NOT include the corn cannon, nor the corn maze.)

If you’d like to do both the corn maze and the haunted trail, there’s also a combo ticket that includes both, as well as ALL the other extras listed above, for $27.

Kiddos four and under play for free at Uncle Shuck’s. They don’t have a policy about dragons, but we promised not to set fire to any corn, so no one seemed to mind that we brought one in. We bought the Stalk combo pass for access to both the Corn Maze and Haunted Trail for sixteen dollars. Then we headed off to the entrance where a Selfie sign enticed us to pause for a quick photo session.

What to Expect Inside the Corn Maze

Before entering the corn maze, it’s important to first stop to take a selfie. Studies have shown that people who take selfies are 212 times less likely to turn to stone when confronted by Medusa’s gaze because they are too self-absorbed and preoccupied with looking at their own reflection in their phones to ever bother looking Medusa straight in the eyes. Studies have also shown that there is a 97 percent chance that every claim I just made in the previous statement is false. Carry on, friends. Carry on.

When you first enter the maze, you’ll find yourself standing in a large atrium-like open space containing a map of the entire labyrinth as well as three separate entrances to specific segments of the maze. Think Cornception, guys. It’s a maze within a maze. And it’s easy to get lost inside. You can explore these sections in any order you like. We chose to traverse the Maze of Knowledge first.

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze of Knowledge

The Maze of Knowledge occupies the smallest corner of space in the corn maze, and navigating its few passageways requires hardly any skill. Instead, the focus of the mini-maze centers on education via simple paths aligned with information signs.

Uncle Shuck’s calls these little tidbits of info “Fun Facts,” and every corner we rounded beckoned us to read another piece of corny (heh) trivia.

Most facts appear to target younger readers. They share common knowledge or simple truths easily understood by all. Others engage readers with more advanced reflection– Did you know corn can be used to produce ethanol which can, in turn, be used to make gasoline to power our cars?

Dragon liked the maize sign best, though. Because it’s a well documented fact (a fun fact?) that dragons are witty fellas who adore alliteration. And what other sign would better offer the opportunity to proudly profess that you’re amazed by a maze made of maize, eh? It’s fun to say, guys– try it; I’ll wait. :p

Uncle Shuck’s Maze Checkpoints – Can You Find Them All?

Traversing the entire Maze of Knowledge takes a mere five minutes and upon its conclusion deposits you right back inside the open space where you first started. From there, the only two maze entrances that remain feature hunting for checkpoints– there’s an entrance for Checkpoints 1-6 and an entrance for Checkpoints 6-12.

This picture serves no other purpose than to show you that I’m a bit of a weirdo. And that the maze is that way.

Some of the checkpoint stations are marked by a podium. Dragon used this one to catch his breath and rest his tiny feet. Running from the snakes in Medusa’s hair is hard work for a Dragon.

Other stations stand completely erect as signs mounted on poles. Every station includes a hole punch–Every time you find a new checkpoint, you stamp the corresponding number on your playing card. The goal is to find them all, and each station features a different shaped stamp–heart, star, moon, square–so that players cannot cheat by simply using a single hole punch to stamp all the numbers on their card at once.

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze Bridge

Somewhere in the center (or maybe it was along the edge?) lies a small bridge that adventurers can climb to rise above the corn and get an overhead view of the labyrinth.

I was hoping to get an aerial shot of Medusa’s head, but unfortunately the bridge wasn’t elevated high enough to see much more than a row or two. So instead I settled for taking this shot and falling on my face moments afterwards. Fair trade. The sun also set within minutes after taking this photo, so capturing more magical moments on film soon proved futile, but I assure you there were many more instances of slipping on hidden mud pits cloaked by darkness and embarrassing myself sans camera before the night concluded.

Navigating the maze after sunset proved to be a completely different experience than exploring its passageways by daytime. Checkpoints are fairly easy to find by following the postcard map provided. With sunlight we found the first five in less than ten minutes. But without the sun to guide us, our world quickly turned to blackness and our map soon became obsolete. We hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight, so we pulled out our phones and tried to find our way by the small amount of light they could provide. It wasn’t enough. We couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces. We couldn’t determine where paths of corn ended and mud began. We gave up on trying to use the map to find checkpoints and soon gave up on trying to find checkpoints altogether. We could have walked passed them and not even noticed in the dark. So our mission of conquering the maze was abandoned in favor of adopting a new mission– find our way out of the cornfield before the farm closed. Medusa laughed at us, and we trudged along, walking in circles. We were lost, and we loved it. Thirty more minutes elapsed before we emerged from the cage of corn and stepped out into the open field leading back to our cars. We’d escaped unscathed, but Medusa still lived. A battle for another day, perhaps?

The Dark Rows Haunted Trail at Uncle Shuck’s

Uncle Shuck’s Haunted Trail is only open on Friday and Saturday nights in October, unlike the regular corn maze, which also runs during weekdays (and all day). Its most defining feature is that it’s lit only by the glow of the moon, and flashlights are not allowed whatsoever. The trail opens at dark, and the last tickets are sold at 10:00 PM. This is a PG-13 haunted trail, aimed to be family-friendly, with no elements of extreme gore, violence, or torture, but children under 12 must still be accompanied by an adult.

Food for 2023 at Uncle Shuck’s

If you get hungry while at Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze, they have a full concession stand ready to keep your tummy happy. They even have unique snacks like fried candy bars and fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Here’s some of the foods and snacks you can expect in 2023:

• turkey legs
• hamburgers
• hot dogs
• corn dogs
• chicken tenders
• chicken sandwich
• peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• BBQ sandwich
• Quesadillas
• Nachos
• Roasted Corn
• Chili Cheese Fries
• Boiled Peanuts

Fried Food Favorites (& Other Desserts):

• Fried PB&J
• Fried Strawberries
• Fried Oreos
• Fried Candy Bars
• Fried Twisted Chips
• Funnel Cakes
• Cotton Candy

Drinks:

• Hot Chocolate
• Lemonade
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Orange Aide

EXPERIENCE THIS ADVENTURE:  Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze is open during the fall season and features a new design every year. For any additional information, please visit their website below:

Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze and Farm website
4520 Highway 53 E
Dawsonville, GA 30534
1-888-OSHUCKS
or (770) 772-6223