Photo: Abbotsford Sunflower Festival
As the summer season begins to shift into fall, it’s a great time for a rejuvenating stroll through rows of blooms or winding corridors of corn stalks. Spend some time in the fresh air at Vancouver’s sunflower festivals and corn mazes.
VanDusen Botanical Garden
Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden has blooms all summer long. But you have to wait until August when the sunflowers have soaked up all that summer sun to create their huge flowers. The Alma VanDusen Garden Meadow on the west side of the garden has a large patch of sunflowers. Walk the path through the middle and marvel at them towering over your head. Take a break for lunch at The Shaughnessy Restaurant to enjoy dishes made with ingredients from the garden.
Richmond Sunflower Festival
Get lost in over 20 acres of sunflowers, dahlias and other flowers at the Richmond Sunflower Festival. With over 90 varieties of sunflowers blooming over a period of weeks, you’ll find lots of yellow sunflowers to take photos with. They also have a sunflower maze. If you get hungry, there is a picnic area with food from local vendors. Or you can visit the farm shop to stock up on heirloom local produce.
Photo: Jordan Cormack/Unsplash
Summer Sunflower Weekend at Gabriel Farms
This summer Gabriel Farms is opening up their sunflower fields for one weekend only. Wander the rows of brilliant yellow blooms on August 24th and 25th. They also have a mini corn maze, farm animals, wagon rides, and a play area for kids. You purchase corn and sunflowers to take home with you. Mark your calendar: On weekends in September and October Gabriel Farms has their annual Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch event.
Eagle Acres Dairy Corn Maze
Family-friendly Eagle Acres Dairy in Langley has lots of fun and educational activities for all ages. Kids will love the farm animals and hayrides. Everyone will enjoy getting lost in their corn maze, made up of 250,000 corn plants. This year’s maze design celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Eagle Acres corn maze. The farm is just a few minutes from the Fort Langley neighbourhood where you can browse the boutiques on Glover Street, grab lunch, or walk along the river on the Fort to Fort Trail. You can also visit Fort Langley National Historic Site, a reconstructed fur trade fort that will transport you back to the 19th century.
Photo: Allef Vinicius/Unsplash
Laity Pumpkin Patch Corn Mazes
In the late summer and early fall, Laity Pumpkin Patch in Maple Ridge offers more than just pumpkins. The farm is split into two sections, across the street from each other. The North section is best for kids under 6 and includes a toddler-friendly one-acre corn maze along with a playground, farm animals, hay wagon rides, and more. Adults and families with older kids should visit the South section to challenge themselves in the two-acre corn maze. They also have a pumpkin cannon, a glow-in-the-dark garden, and more mazes.
Abbotsford Summer Flower Festival
Lakeland Flowers grows millions of blooms and each year, they open to the public for the Abbotsford Summer Flower Festival. Walk between the rows of sunflowers, peonies, marigolds, cosmos, snapdragons, and more. The incredible mountain backdrop is perfect for photos. Admission includes access to the U-pick sunflower field so you can take some flowers home with you. And this year you can also sign up to create a hand-strung marigold garland.
Photo: Lakeland Flowers
Taves Family Farms Corn Maze and Sunflower Garden
Taves Family Farms in Abbotsford is famous for its Apple Barn, but each fall they also have a popular corn maze, a sunflower garden and lots of other seasonal attractions. Be sure to visit their Country Store to pick up fresh fruit and veggies. They also have apple everything: apple cider, apple butter, apple pies, and of course, bags of freshly picked apples.
Maan Farms Corn Mazes
During the day Maan Farms in Abbotsford has lots of kid-friendly fall attractions including a pumpkin patch, farm animals, a zipline, and a corn maze for families. But if you visit at night, be prepared for a fright at the Scariest Corn Maze in Canada. Navigate the twisting rows of corn to make your way through the haunted maze. This Halloween adventure includes elements of a corn maze, a haunted house, and plenty of jump scares!
Photo: Maan Farms
Greendale Acres Corn Maze
This year the Greendale Acres Corn Maze in Chilliwack has a country music twist. The maze features a portrait of country legend Luke Bryan and on Saturday nights in August, you can enjoy live country music from local musicians including Ryan McCallister and Tanner Olsen. The family-friendly event also includes kids’ activities, food and drinks.
Photo: Greendale Acres