Affordable family fun is goal at Larry’s Corn Maze
A destination for autumn activities is under new ownership. Posing with the new sign are owners Caley and Andrew Olsen along with children Emma, Emery, Emily, Ella and Else Olsen; niece Grace Lancour and nephew Matthew Lancour. (Courtesy photo)
This photo was published in the Mining Journal of Marquette when Hayes Corn Maze opened in 2002. As of htis year, the farm has a new name -- Larry's Corn Maze -- and new owners. (Courtesy image)
Children climb on the hay mountain at a farm in Rock that will open in September under new ownership. The hay mountain will continue to be a feature. (Courtesy photo)
Petting and feeding goats and other farm animals is one of many activities available at Larry's Corn Maze in Rock. (Photo via Larry's Corn Maze Facebook)
An advertisement features Larry, the corn cob mascot for a refreshed operation in Rock.
Lenore and David Hayes, pictured in this 2002 Daily Press clipping, have exited the business. It is now owned by their daughter and her husband -- Caley and Andrew Olsen -- and bears the name "Larry's Corn Maze LLC." (File)
A destination for autumn activities is under new ownership. Posing with the new sign are owners Caley and Andrew Olsen along with children Emma, Emery, Emily, Ella and Else Olsen; niece Grace Lancour and nephew Matthew Lancour. (Courtesy photo)
This photo was published in the Mining Journal of Marquette when Hayes Corn Maze opened in 2002. As of htis year, the farm has a new name -- Larry's Corn Maze -- and new owners. (Courtesy image)
Children climb on the hay mountain at a farm in Rock that will open in September under new ownership. The hay mountain will continue to be a feature. (Courtesy photo)
Petting and feeding goats and other farm animals is one of many activities available at Larry's Corn Maze in Rock. (Photo via Larry's Corn Maze Facebook)
An advertisement features Larry, the corn cob mascot for a refreshed operation in Rock.
Lenore and David Hayes, pictured in this 2002 Daily Press clipping, have exited the business. It is now owned by their daughter and her husband -- Caley and Andrew Olsen -- and bears the name "Larry's Corn Maze LLC." (File)
Trending
ROCK -- After 25 years of business, a local farm and corn maze is preparing to enter the 2026 season under new ownership.
Larry's Corn Maze -- with Larry being the name of the anthropomorphic, sunglass-wearing corn cob mascot -- is the new title of what had previously been Hayes Corn Maze. Andrew and Caley Olsen took over earlier this year and have been working on updates.
David and Lenore Hayes opened Hayes Corn Maze at 3474 St. Nicholas Rd. in 2002 and became known for the patterns they would cut into the corn field to create a new maze each year. After 24 seasons of providing autumnal activities to visiting families, the couple has entered a new phase of their lives. They passed the baton to one of their children -- a daughter, Caley -- and her husband, who is from Cooks -- incidentally, a place also known for corn.
Back in 2002, Daily Press reporter Mary Feldhausen wrote an article about the opening of Hayes Corn Maze, even briefly speaking with then-15-year-old Caley, who said that working on creating the maze "sounded like fun and I wanted to be a part of it."
Caley grew up, served in the military, and met Andrew while she was home on leave. The two have been married for 17 years and lived in Augusta, Georgia for a couple of those while Caley was based at Fort Gordon before relocating back to the Upper Peninsula. The couple is now raising their five children -- Emma, Emery, Emily, Ella and Elsie -- on a farm in Cooks that has been in the Olsen family for five generations.
The Olsens are excited to open the corn maze in Rock for its 25th season with a new life. They registered the company name "Larry's Corn Maze LLC" with the State in April and signed paperwork to transfer the business in June.
For the last few months, they've been making some improvements. The property has been getting a bit of a "facelift" with the repainting of barns and outbuildings. The store is getting remodeled; Emma -- Andrew and Caley's oldest -- is going to be learning some business skills and plans to introduce some new products.
"Our goal for the whole thing is affordable family fun," Caley said. "We can’t go and do a lot of stuff because it just costs too much money, having five kids. But we want to make an opportunity for families to afford the food, to afford the drinks, to afford the ticket prices. Family is so special to us. It's something we want to encourage, and especially if you have a big family, we want to encourage that even more."
As the St. Nicholas farm is where Caley grew up, she is looking forward to share new experiences with her children and provide opportunities for other guests to revel in the many opportunities on her "old stomping ground."
In addition to the labyrinth, Larry's Corn Maze offers a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, a hay mountain for climbing, a smaller maze for young children, hay rides, an animal barn where people can pet and feed goats and other critters, a play area and an apple slingshot. A bounce house will be new this year. Storytime will be made available at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
When asked what she looked forward to about running the business: "I really like seeing the kids smiling. That’s really special and important to me. I want to see parents looking at their kids playing, and watching (children’s) eyes light up when mom’s watching them, and seeing families bond," Caley said. "I think that’s so special and so necessary, you know -- to unplug from the world for a few minutes and get our feet dirty on the farm."
Similar to in past years, Larry's Corn Maze is creating a game for the maze with prizes.
The design of the maze -- historically created by David with the aid of GPS -- was created by Caley this year. She said the former owners guided her and Andrew somewhat in the beginning, but that the Hayes couple is now mostly hands-off.
As a seasonal business, Larry's Corn Maze intends to be open from Sept. 19 to Nov. 1. Public hours will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays; group reservations are available during the week by appointment.