Jasper sunflower maze blooms in Steuben County, but time is limited

Brianna Siegrist says the inspiration to create a sunflower maze in the Steuben County Town of Jasper began taking root while she and her husband, Ezra, both 41, walked with their dogs around the couple's 140 acres of land on Route 417 and talked about the future.

Ezra, a milk truck driver, had raised beef cows for ten years but decided to sell the cattle, leaving Brianna, a freelance artist, thinking, “What are we going to do?"

Her first instinct was to develop a corn maze but then she remembered how much the couple and their three children enjoyed the sunflowers the family planted last year.

"We used to tell the kids they could have all their friends over every Friday night. We took photos in front of the sunflowers and it was so nice," Siegrist said. “Then I was like, ‘Let’s do sunflowers. Everybody does corn mazes. It is so much nicer to walk in the sunflowers.'"

Sunflower maze opened July 30

After several months of hard work, including converting a pasture into a parking area, the Jasper Sunflower Maze — spread over five acres of flowers with more than a mile of paths — bloomed late last month.

Siegrist said the maze had a steady flow of visitors during the first weekend it was in business, July 30-31.

“From the moment we opened Saturday morning we never had a time when someone wasn’t there," she noted. “I have been surprised how many have come from far away, some driving over an hour to get there.”

For subscribers:Farmers markets in the Southern Tier are back. Here's where to find them

Travel:Amtrak restores services to train lines west of Albany after shutdown Friday

Region:Kenzie Spaulding named first female Corning police chief

A herd of 13 Katahdin sheep is positioned near the maze entrance and offers a good petting opportunity before setting off on the journey.

The maze has several paths to go by and visitors will encounter four painted lambs and one small fox if they take all the dead ends to their conclusion.

The amount of time spent in the maze and how much distance is covered depends on how quickly its "mysteries" are solved.

According to Siegrist, it takes most people about an hour to go through, although some have taken longer and a group of young boys did it in about 25 minutes.

“If you didn’t get lost at all and took a direct route from the beginning to end, it’s maybe just under a half mile. But if you take every single detour, it is almost a mile and a half," Siegrist said.

Sunflowers bloomed early

Because of the type of sunflowers that were grown, Siegrist cautions that the look of the maze may surprise people. Think hedges, not towers.

“The variety of sunflowers we have are a little bit different than some people picture," she said. "A lot of sunflowers grow really high over head, so when you go in it would be like a corn maze. But ours are not like that. The flowers start out knee- to waist-high when you first enter, and then as you go through, there are taller ones that are about eye level or higher. You can see over the field as you are going through.”

The sunny, mostly dry weather had the sunflowers in full bloom earlier than expected.

“We weren’t sure when the flowers were going to bloom, so when we first made our schedule, we said (we would be open) the whole month of August," Siegrist said. "But they are really strong right now, so we are guessing we are maybe going to get two more weekends. The weekend of Aug. 20, I’m not sure if we will still have blooms by then.”

For now, the Jasper Sunflower Maze, located at 3465 state Route 417, Jasper, is scheduled to be open for the next two weekends. Here is the current schedule:

• Friday, Aug. 5: "Friday Night Flashlights." This is for ages 12 and up. Starting at about 8:30 p.m. Siegrist said "bring a flashlight and a date" and take on the "Lion Chase" mystery. She compared the event to the board game "Clue" and to an "escape room, but not quite." Cost is $5.
• Saturday, Aug. 6: Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and up. Ages 11 and under, $2.
• Sunday, Aug. 7: Open noon to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and up. Ages 11 and under, $2.
• Friday, Aug. 12: Second "Friday Night Flashlights." Cost is $5.
• Saturday, Aug. 13: Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and up. Ages 11 and under, $2.
• Sunday, Aug. 13: Open noon to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and up. Ages 11 and under, $2.

Water, souvenirs and sunflower bouquets are available. Check the Jasper Sunflower Maze Facebook page for schedule updates and additional offerings at the farm.

Turning Jasper into 'Sunflower Town, USA'

Siegrist said there are already plans to make the maze an annual attraction and she imagines a time when Jasper becomes known for its sunflowers.

“We have 50 acres across the street and I can picture that whole thing being sunflowers someday," she said. “My grandmother lives in Minnesota and she was telling me there is a town out there that is known for tulips and they have this big tulip festival and everybody comes from all over to see the tulips.

“Wouldn’t it be so cool if we kept doing this and doing this, and got bigger and bigger, and we became a sunflower town?”

Follow Neal Simon on Twitter @HornellTribNeal. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.