“It’s a shame we ran out of time to do the big maze.” These words come from my husband on the return journey to Saskatoon from Rosthern. It is a shame, but I can’t think of any better way, to sum up, the king’s ransom worth of treasures that Youth Farm Corn Maze has to offer!
Our family made the quick 45-minute journey to Rosthern on a beautiful Sunday afternoon this September. We’d allotted 2+ hours to enjoy whatever Youth Farm Corn Maze had to offer. I’d heard there were lots to do but figured we’d run around the maze for an hour or so and that would leave plenty of time for the ‘extras’. It became clear soon after our arrival that I’d grossly undercalculated! Youth Farm is the hub of all the seasonal farms and family-fun one can imagine and the corn mazes (there are two!) are a sideshow.
Upon arrival, we knew we would be pressed for time so we headed immediately to the ‘Little Stalks’ maze, a more modest challenge for the little legs in our crew. We managed to conquer it in 20 minutes or so and figured we’d save the larger ‘Crazy Cobbler’ maze for later. Our older kids were begging to try the pedal kart course so we headed over but got sidetracked by the impressive petting zoo. Our youngest daughter couldn’t get enough baby goats while my son enjoyed spending time with the bunnies. It should be said that Youth Farm is a real-deal petting zoo. Visitors are able to feed the animals with food available on-site and even get right into the enclosures with some of them. This was definitely a highlight for my animal-loving kids who left begging to take a bunny home! From there we made another pitstop at the corn pit where the kids had a blast digging and burying themselves and generally getting very dusty! We finally made it to the pedal-kart track which my older kids were able to zoom around with ease. This added another layer of dust and fun to the experience, but we were only getting started!
At this point, we noticed there was only a short wait at the climbing wall so we took the chance and sent the kids up 20 feet in the air! Our two older kids LOVED that they could go at the same time and relished the opportunity to race to the top and ring the bell.
In the distance, our little ones caught sight of a gigantic colourful pillow-looking thing protruding from the ground complete with hoards of children bouncing all over it! They rushed over to it and anxiously waited their turn on what it turns out is a ‘Jumbo Jumper.’ Think bouncy castle meets trampoline. As it turns out, this was the highlight of Youth Farm for our kids, and my husband and I enjoyed watching them hop and bounce about as the dust flew from their clothing. We had to beg them to take a break! Luckily, a gigantic hayride trailer + tractor rig pulled up and enticed them into going for a relaxing ride through the fields. The Youth Farm Corn Maze grounds cover a full 8 acres of lovely farmland, and the hayride gives riders the opportunity to enjoy beautiful vistas of the ripe and ready-for-harvest backfields. This really was a lovely and unique opportunity for our city-bred family to enjoy some farm-fresh air and country scenery. Unfortunately, by the time we returned there was just enough time to enjoy one last bounce on the Jumbo Jumper before heading back to Saskatoon for soccer practice!
We herded all three kids towards the exit while they protested, “But we didn’t even get to do the big maze!” I didn’t point out that there was also a water pumping rubber ducky race, a rider-pride train, a pony ride, and a potato cannon that we’d missed, but hey…
Next time…
*** With special thanks to Youth Farm Corn Maze which is easily accessible and clearly signposted from Highway 11 north of Saskatoon near Rosthern ***
