Category Archives: Cary

Corn Mazes Around Raleigh Worth Finding in 2026

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Fall without a corn maze is like summer without a beach. They can be a lot of fun for all ages, and a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon outside. But where to go? How to get there? I have searched for the best corn mazes around Raleigh and the Triangle for 2026, so you don’t get lost before even entering the maze. Enjoy the cooler weather, stumble around the corn stubbles, and support these local businesses who are augmenting their farm income with a dedicated attraction. We haven’t decided yet where to go this fall, but below you find what will be my first choices.

Most corn mazes in our area are about 5 acres in size, and take on average an hour to find your way, although this can range from under half an hour to over two hours. Various additional activities invite you to stick around a lot longer.

a corn maze is seen from above
“Corn Maze” by katiebordner, CC BY 2.0 (not one of our local mazes)

The pioneer: Ken’s Korny Corn Maze

There is a reason Ken is listed first, and before going into details about what you can do in 2026, let’s do a quick dive into history. 30 years ago, in 1996, NC tourism meant beach and mountains, and farms meant corn, soy and ‘bacco fields, and never the twain shall meet. Ken Walker started stacking hay bales in fall 1997. In 1999, he planted the first real corn maze. And while he is not the inventor of the corn maze (that was a dude in PA, but only a few years earlier), Ken played an important role in introducing corn mazes and agritourism to the piedmont long before that was even a word. And this is not just my opinion: A few years ago, Ken Walker received the 2020 Innovative Farmer of the Year Award from the Wake County Agribusiness Council.

Now in its 27th year, Ken’s promises to be better than ever. Five acres divided into 3 sections, and that’s just the corn maze. All in all, they list a staggering 38 activities, including farm animals, tire mountain, music wall, swings, mini golf, and a picnic area.

If you’re afraid that your kids will be underwhelmed by the outing, come here. This has something for all ages, although if you’re focused on pre-schoolers exploring a maze, this one might be on the intimidating side. It also has among the longest hours, staying open until after dark.

Dates: Sept. 26 – Nov. 14, 2026
Hours: Fri 4p-9p, Sat 10a-9p, Sun 12p-8p
Address: 3175 Benson Road, Garner, NC 27529
Price: $20 (ages 3 and up)
Age recommendation: suitable for all ages, with maze exciting for older kids, but also many other attractions for the younger ones
Maze size: 5 acres in 3 sections
Drive time: 20 minutes South of downtown Raleigh
Website: Ken’s Korny Corn Maze

The local options for Cary and Morrisville: Phillips Farms

Another large operation is Phillips Farms of Cary. Many activities beyond the corn maze, including a petting zoo, pedal cart track, toddler town and a corn box. Some activities cost extra. They don’t list the size of their maze, but on the map it looks about the same as the others.

Dates: opened Sept. 19, end date not announced, but at least through 10/31, 2026
Hours: Thu 4p-8p, Fri 3p-6p, Sat 10a-6p, Sun 1p-6p
Address: 6800 Good Hope Church Road, Cary, NC
Price: $22 (ages 2 and up), or $35 (includes some of the activities that cost extra)
Note their weeknight deals: up to 3 kids 6 and under are free on Thu, buy one get one ½ off on Fri
Age recommendation: suitable for all ages, great deals on weeknights for larger families with kids under 6.
Maze size: around 5 acres (my own estimate)
Drive time: 30 minutes West of downtown Raleigh, 15 minutes from downtown Cary
Website: Phillips Farms

For Brier Creek and North Raleigh: Page Farms

Page Farms has fewer attractions, is cheaper, and for some of you closer, which makes it a good alternative to the large farms, and less overwhelming. Open during the week, this is also great for those not dependent on school hours and looking for less busy days. Located just off Leesville Rd near the 540/70 intersection, it is also easy to get to.

Dates: Sept. 19 – Nov. 1, 2026
Hours: Tue/Wed/Thu: 9a-1p, Fri/Sat/Sun: 9a-6p
Address: 6100 Mount Herman Road, Raleigh, NC 27617
Price: $14 (Weekdays), $18 (Fri eve and weekend)
Age recommendation: suitable for all ages
Maze size: 5 acres
Drive time: 25 minutes Northwest of downtown Raleigh, near the airport / 540&70.

Website: Page Farms

For Wendell, Knightdale, Rolesville: Crossroads Corn Maze

Crossroads in Northeast Wake is all about the corn maze, although it also has a handful of other activities like hayrides and lawn games. You also pay only for the corn maze, which might be a good option if you have a younger kid and teenagers that are too cool for corn mazes – they can just hang out for free while you chase the little one through the maze. The corn maze ticket also includes a hay ride and a pumpkin!

Dates: Oct. 2 – Nov. 1, 2026
Hours: Fri 1p-9p, Sat 10a-9p, Sun 1p-7p
Address: 5712 Watkins Rd, Wendell, NC
Price: Free if not going through maze or under 5, $14 (6-12) $17 (age 13 and up)
Age recommendation: suitable for all ages (free entry under 5)
Maze size: 5 acres
Drive time: 30 minutes Northeast of downtown Raleigh, less from N Raleigh, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest
Website: Crossroads Corn Maze

If it absolutely has to be the biggest maze: Hubb’s Farm

Did your kid speedrun the maze in 15 minutes last year? Do they want a Zelda: Breath of the Wild sized labyrinth? Then go the extra miles and make the 1hr-trip down to Clinton and Hubb’s Farm. Around 15 acres and 3x as big as the local mazes, it will present a formidable challenge to even the most ambitious maze runners. Note that “not all activities are running” on weekdays.

Dates: Sept. 19 – Nov. 7, 2026
Hours: Wed-Fri 10a-2p, Sat in Oct: 10a-9p, Sat in Sep+Nov: 10a-6p, Sun 10a-6p
Address: 10276 US Hwy 421 North, Clinton, NC 28328
Price: $18 (weekdays, not all activities are running), $24 (weekends)
Age recommendation: suitable for all ages, but best for teenagers and older kids looking for a bigger challenge.
Maze size: 15 acres (3 separate mazes)
Drive time: about an hour from Raleigh towards the coast
Website: Hubb’s Farm

a happy child in a corn maze
“Corn field maze” by Beth Rankin, CC BY 2.0 (not in one of our mazes)

Briefly mentioned:

Pope Farms of Knightdale has a pumpkin patch and more, but no corn maze.
Naylor Family Farm is in Fuquay and has many attractions, some of them year-round.
Hill Ridge Farms is in Youngsville, seems focused on younger kids, and no corn maze.
Grasshopper Farms is in Knightdale and looks cool and at the lower end of the price range.
Holder Hill Farm is a bit further, towards Durham, with similar offerings incl. corn maze.
Porter’s Farms is open year-round, but has limited dedicated fall activities.

For all sites, check the website before going. (I verified all the information on September 28, 2026.) I have personally only visited Ken’s and another one that no longer exists. Some of the places close if the weather is iffy, as it can be in October. Also check when it gets dark, which is around 7pm at the beginning of October, but comes much earlier (6:20p) towards the end of the month.

The Beach Is Right Here: Raleigh’s Lake Spots for the late summer

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It’s the end of August, you are coming back from the beach, from Florida, the Caribbean, or wherever you may have been. Speaking of the beach: You can catch a nice sunset while sitting on a sandy shore right here, close to Raleigh: While not as pristine as the Maldives and less trendy than Ibiza, Falls Lake and Jordan Lake are a quick ½-hour-ish drive away, for a relaxing Saturday afternoon or even a quick dash after work / school.

We have six options for lake beaches near Raleigh: Jordan lake has three beaches open for swimming, and so does Falls Lake. You prefer a short hike instead of a splash? I’m planning to write about both Lake Johnson and Shelley Lake, which have nice hiking trails that are mostly in the shade and have lake access (not for swimming though).

Jordan Lake: Seaforth (nicest view) – Ebenezer Church (smaller) – Parkers Creek (largest)

Falls Lake: Beaverdam (no motorboats) – Sandling Beach (largest) – Rolling View (also nice)

Hours and Fees

Note: The NC State Parks website is nice and full of information, but it can be hard to navigate, and it is difficult to determine when and where swimming is permitted. For example, it may say “during summer season” (but not the exact dates), and more importantly, all parks are one big website, so it’s easy to look at a specific park in Raleigh, click on an activity, and suddenly see the opening hours of a Charlotte location – so pay close attention. They also often jsut recommend calling, so do that, and hope they have the time to answer the phone.

Swimming in Jordan Lake

“Jordan Lake State Recreation Area (2)” by Gerry Dincher, CC BY-SA 2.0

First, a warning to level your expectation: Jordan Lake is neither a blue lagoon, nor a crystal clear mountain lake. The water is brown with sediment and sometimes infested with algae – but the kids won’t mind. Also, the water is not “dirty”, it just contains a lot of suspended clay that gives it the brownish color. You do have to take the algae seriously though – and they will issue advisories if the algaes are bad. Be especially careful if you have a dog, they can get really sick from the toxins. (Also, they are not allowed on most beach areas.) If you’re still reading, Jordan Lake is right for you. There are three locations where day visitors can swim, 

Note that most campgrounds don’t allow day visitors for swimming, and swimming near boat ramps is forbidden for obvious reasons. If you go, call ahead and be flexible; note that the three Jordan Lake sites are all close together, if Seaforth is too busy or closed, head over to Ebenezer Church Rd.

The following information should be correct as of summer 2026; Vista Point may be open for day use swimming (website is not clear), and White Oak theoretically too, but is often closed for private groups. These three areas are the best bet for day use.

Jordan Lake – Seaforth

Address: Seaforth Beach Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312

Distance: about 35 min from downtown Raleigh

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, nice playground near beach, beach volleyball, restrooms, showers, picnic tables and grills, some shade near beac/playground

Hours: Nov-Feb: 8a-6p, Mar/Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept/Oct: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car  (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Jordan Lake – Seaforth access (see NC Parks website note above)

Jordan Lake – Ebenezer Church

Address: 920 Beaver Creek Rd, Apex, NC 27502

Distance: about 35 min from downtown Raleigh

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, playground, restrooms

Hours: Nov-Feb: 8a-6p, Mar/Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept/Oct: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car  (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Jordan Lake – Ebenezer Church (see NC Parks website note above)

Jordan Lake – Parkers Creek

Address: Parkers Creek Beach Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Distance: about 35 min from downtown Raleigh

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, playground, restrooms, showers, picnic tables and grills

Hours: Nov-Feb: Closed Mar/Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept/Oct: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car  (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Jordan Lake – Parkers Creek (see NC Parks website note above)

Swimming in Falls Lake

“Falls Lake” by VirtKitty, CC BY-SA 2.0

Falls Lake, like Jordan Lake, has to deal with development pressure on its shores, and is no clear mountain lake. But nothing beats swimming in a lake, and I know that since I grew up on a lake. There are three areas that allow swimming, and when you go, call ahead and be flexible; note that the three Falls Lake sites are also close together, if Beaverdam is too busy or closed, head over to Sandling Beach.

The following information should be correct as of summer 2026. 

Falls Lake – Beaverdam

Beaverdam is a nice area for hiking, mountain biking and boating (no motor boats), and also has a nice swim beach. There are restrooms, but I’m not sure if there are changing facilities and showers. While the boat ramp is right next to the beach, there are no motorboats allowed on this section of the lake.

Address: 14600 Creedmoor Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587

Note that this address is both the entrance to Beaverdam (to the East) and Sandling Beach (to the West)

Distance: about 30 min from downtown Raleigh, 20 min from Wake Forest

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, grassy area with some shade, small playground, restrooms, picnic tables/shelters (but not all close to the beach)

Hours: Nov-Feb: 8a-6p, Mar/Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept/Oct: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car  (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Falls Lake – Beaverdam access  (see NC Parks website note above)

Falls Lake – Sandling Beach

Sandling Beach has no boat ramp, but it is not the part of the lake that has motorboats; however, not too many come down this sidearm. Sandling Beach has a small playground and showers, with picnic tables close to the beach and further away.

Address: 14600 Creedmoor Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587

Note that this address is both the entrance to Beaverdam (to the East) and Sandling Beach (to the West)

Distance: about 30 min from downtown Raleigh, 20 min from Wake Forest

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, some grass, plenty of shade (trees), small playground, restrooms, showers, picnic tables.

Hours: Nov-Feb: 8a-6p, Mar/Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept/Oct: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car  (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Falls Lake – Sandling Beach (see NC Parks website note above)

Falls Lake – Rolling View

Rollingview is on the opposite shore, and while Sandling Beach and Beaverdam get full sun exposure well into the evening, Rollingview provides welcome shade on hot afternoons as soon as the sun goes down just a little bit.

Address: 4201 Baptist Road, Durham, NC 27703

Distance: about 40 min from downtown Raleigh, 30 min from Wake Forest

Amenities: roped off swim area, sandy beach, some shade from trees, playground right on the shore, restrooms, showers, picnic tables.

Hours: Oct-Mar: closed, Apr: 8a-8p, May-August: 8a-9p Sept: 8a-8p

Cost: $10 per car per day (all week from Memorial to Labor Day and weekends in Apr/May/Sept; free entrance on all other days)

Website: Falls Lake – Rolling View (see NC Parks website note above)

Before you head out

While I have extensively kayaked on both lakes, I’ve only been to Beaverdam, Sandling Beach and Parker’s Creek myself, all other information is from the online research. I also tried to determine which is the most crowded, but there is contradictory information; from what I can tell, Ebenezer Church and Sandling Beach are likely the most crowded, but it varies and is also a very subjective impression. And if someone tells you “this place is crowded”, take it with a grain of salt, it always compares what you compare it to.

Parker’s Creek and Rolling View are closed in the winter, all others are open year round. (However, it does not say anywhere if swimming is allowed in the off-season. I’ll have to find out.)

Touch a Truck in Cary

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Bright Horizons Centers in the Triangle is hosting Touch-a-Truck day at their location in Cary (800 Weston Parkway, Cary, North Carolina 27513). It is $5 per child, and benefits the Bright Horizons foundation. Their Bright Spaces program provides homeless families and families in crisis a place to play and serves thousands of homeless children nationwide every month. (Just picture yourself for a moment, homeless, with children…)

So anyway, a worthy cause, and also a Touch-a-Truck day that is a bit closer than the other one I’m aware of and have written about, in Chapel Hill.

Note the limited time, from 10a-12p on Saturday morning. It does not say on the event page how many exhibits there will be, but they promise “a wide range of trucks and vehicles for kids and adults of all ages to explore”. Go, have a look, and touch a truck!

Touch a Truck!

Eastern Triangle Farm Tour

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First off, I was wondering why this is the Eastern Triangle Farm Tour. Is there a competing Western Triangle Farm Tour? Is it only in the Eastern part of the Triangle? Neither is the case, so it will have to stay a mystery. (Unless you know and tell me!) 27 farms, all over the Triangle and beyond, are opening their gates and barns to curious foodies, goat fans, and homesick farmer’s granddaughters.

You need to buy a ticket ($30 per car), and can visit as many farms as you can squeeze into four hours. (Or eight, if you go both days.) Farms are open from 1p-5p, so it pays to plan your route if you want to really see more than just 1-2 farms. Print the guidebook ahead of time.

One potentially good route would be to head out towards Bunn, where four farms are relatively close together. Don’t try to squeeze all four in, consider it three visits with one backup. Another option is to head South, where three farms are scattered around the Holly Springs / Fuquay-Varina area.

Here my personally picked tour: Leave Raleigh on Capital Blvd. and continue on to Hwy-401. Eventually you take 98-East and follow directions to Ray Family Farms, a meat farm with large black hogs, cows and free range chicken. If you’re vegan, you’ll like the next stop, Vollmer Farms, focusing on berries and vegetables. They also have a large unique playground (“The Back Forty”). Next stop could be Sun Raised Foods, a solar powered farm that raises lamb (sold at Whole Foods). Rare Earth Farms, if you still have time, focuses on Natural Grass-Fed Beef. Continue down Hwy. 39S and then on Hwy 64/264 back home. To conveniently load all addresses and directions in Google Maps, use this link.

Robot Extravaganza at the library

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robot

Wake Robotics is a non-profit that aims to bring robotics to Wake county kids. They have many camps and semester long  programs, among them FLL and First Robotics teams.

They are hosting an outreach event this Saturday at Eva Perry library in Cary from 1p-2p. This is for kids from Kindergarten through 5th grade, and registration is required at 919-387-2100.

Photo by Nate Swart, used under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Festival Ritmo Latin

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The Latin Rhythm Festival has rhythm, music, bands, and dancing, but also all the other ingredients for a good festival like food, vendors, artists, and stuff to do for the kids.

The event was rescheduled due to rain and is now planned for this Saturday.

Here a video of one of the bands, Orquesta K’che. (Skip to about 1min in.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0KIm4jccu8]

National Train Day in Selma and Cary (Sat 5/11)

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train_day

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Amtrak celebrates National Train Day this Saturday, and there are two ways to participate:

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  • First, you can drive to Cary, where a quite large event is taking place in the downtown depot. Even better, you could take the (short) ride on the Amtrak from Raleigh to Cary; leave Raleigh at 11:45am and get back at 3:11pm, about 15 minutes on the train each way. Train fare $11/adult.
    The event has a Chuggington exhibit, model trains and free train whistles, live music, hot dogs, and other things that get rail fans excited.
  • Secondly, you can take the train to Selma, where National Train Day is a major event for this  quaint Eastern Piedmont town. For this trip, you would leave Raleigh at 10:25am and get back at 4:42pm, and spend closer to 40 minutes on the train each way. (You could of course also drive to Selma.) Train fare $16/adult.
    Selma’s event is probably a bit smaller, but not any less exciting, with a live band, food vendors, kids activities and so on. There will also be trains arriving and departing while you’re there, going to far-away places like New York or Savannah.

If you’re planning to take the train to one of these events, let me know.