Corn Mazes Come Alive for Fall

As crisp mornings roll into pleasant days, fall in the True South is the ideal time to explore and enjoy Mississippi’s abundant agritourism attractions. Wandering through a pumpkin patch, visiting a dairy farm and learning how muscadine wine is produced are only a few of the many opportunities available around the state.

“Mississippi’s agricultural industry is flourishing, and our state continues to produce some of the most diverse and enticing attractions for visitors seeking an authentic experience,” said Malcolm White, director of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division. “Visiting our agritourism sites is a great way to gain hands-on experience and learn how things are grown, made and produced in a natural setting. And more importantly, it’s fun for the whole family.”

Where once cotton was king, now industries such as catfish farming and buffalo ranches along with family farms are springing up to welcome visitors and extend Mississippi’s warm southern hospitality. These attractions allow visitors a chance to delve into life on the farm and indulge themselves in a culture that is unique and still alive today.

Far from the old ways of growing crops, the farm has become a haven for advanced technology. GPS technology tells a farmer exactly where his fields lie and exactly the path to follow to cut interesting designs in a corn field to become a themed attraction for young and old alike.

People continue to discover the thrill of being lost and found in these mazes. Add some “fright night” thrills to the maze in October and a hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping escapade emerges.

In addition, attractions are charming visitors with demonstrations of everything from catfish feeding, sorghum making, dairy farming, alligator viewing, cheese making, cotton farming and vegetable gardening. It’s all here – and more – in Mississippi.

Sprinkled across the kudzu-splashed rolling hills, palmetto-designed coastal plains, meandering fertile delta, bustling river region, and lush black prairie pines, the diversity of agritourism makes its presence known all across Mississippi. Farms, each unique in their adventurous offerings, old country stores from the 1800s, farm life history museums, pottery shops, farmers’ markets offering the best in fresh produce, old historic plantations – many now B & B’s, old operating gristmills and old country bakeries all proclaim their ties to this famed “Mississippi mud.”

Travel our Agritourism Trail, which guides visitors to all these locations in every region of the state and discover the heart and soul of the True South. Highlights of this trail include sites all across the state. Below is a sampling of agritourism locations in Mississippi:

Adkins Farms, Booneville

Bamboo Emu Farm, Meridian

Biloxi Shrimping Tour, D’Iberville

Burton’s Sugar Farm, Michigan City

Mitchell Farms, Collins

Old South Winery, Natchez

Wise Farms Corn Maze, Pontotoc

North Mississippi Fish Hatchery Visitor Education Center, Enid

Catfish Capitol Visitor Center & Museum, Belzoni

Country Girl Creamery, Lumberton

Nichols-Boyd Pumpkin Patch & Tree Farm, Brandon

Cedar Hill Farms, Hernando

Landrum’s Country Homestead, Laurel

Circle Y Equestrian Center, Corinth

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum, Jackson

Wells Ranch, Yazoo County

Check out the agritourism attractions listed above, as well as many other sites you’ll want to visit, by going to http://www.VisitMississippi.org. Click on “SEE & DO,” then “Trails” for a link to our Agritourism Trail, which includes attractions across Mississippi. While you’re on the website, be sure to find out more about upcoming events in October that will make your trip to the True South unforgettable.