Haunted Hayrides and Creepy Corn Mazes on Long Island

Even in broad daylight, there is something truly creepy about the living monsters lurking behind tall walls of corn and popping up between the gnarled orchard trees of Long Island. The corn mazes are the scariest, because the paths are so narrow and you are never quite sure where the snarls and screams are coming from! But the hayrides can be surprisingly unnerving as well. The tractors don’t move very fast, but the monsters do and they often chase you.

Please call these venues ahead to be sure they are open especially if the weather is bad or there has been a big storm. Also give them a call if you want details on just how violent the displays are. These days bloodless ghosts and skeletons tend to be replaced by bone-gnawing zombies and dismembered corpses. For the mazes you should wear good walking shoes, as the ground is uneven and can be quite slippery. Here are the haunts we have found … good luck!

As I have said in previous posts, I strongly recommend that young children be given a prop to “defend” themselves with. If they think they are protecting you, they may not get as scared. I suggest a small magic wand or suitably harmless-looking space gun, although really anything will work. When my 8-year-old nephew was driven to tears at a haunted hayride, I gave him my empty water bottle to brandish (not throw) at the pursuing werewolf. That did the trick, and a disaster was turned into a favorite memory.

The Dees' Nursery Haunted Walk
69 Atlantic Avenue
Oceanside
516-678-3535
Hours: Weekdays (except Tuesdays) after school (3–4pm) until 7pm
Saturdays and Sundays in October 8 am–6 pm
Ages: 8 and older
Cost: $4.99 per person
The Dees are reintroducing their Haunted Walk this year and it is quite spooky and not intended for kids under 8. There is a fair amount of grisly corpse material and faux blood. The pictures on their website will give you an idea of what to expect, and they are very helpful on the phone. The “after-school” openings are just that, they open between 3pm and 4pm when they get enough kids coming by. If you enjoy this walk let them know because they are hoping to expand it a bit each year and welcome your feedback.

Bayville Scream Park
Not–So–Scary Haunted Train and Hay Rides
8 Bayville Avenue
Bayville
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 11am–6pm until Nov 4^th
Cost: $5.75 or $18.75 for unlimited VIP pass
These rides have fewer effects than the other creepy attractions at Bayville and there are no live actors involved. With the unlimited VIP pass you also have access to arts and crafts, the mirror maze, a slightly toned down haunted house and a pumpkin bounce.  See our detailed report on Bayville Scream Park here.

12^th Annual Halloween Hayride
Northport Village Park
1 Main St.
Northport 
631-754-3905
Hours: Sunday, October 28 12–4pm
Cost: $3
The Northport Chamber of Commerce puts on this event each year, and this is a good hayride for the younger kids. In addition to the hayride, admission includes one pumpkin per child, which can be painted, a petting zoo, Halloween treats, and a costume contest with prizes. 

Schmitt's Family Farm
 Robin Hood Corn Maze
26 Pinelawn Rd

Melville

631-271-3276
Hours: Saturdays, Sundays 9 am–5 pm
Cost: $8
The farm features a huge interactive Robin Hood themed corn maze with live actors. There is also a child-friendly version of the farm's nighttime haunted house open until 5pm for $5 per person. However the haunted house simply tones it down by removing the live actors and turning the lights on. The sights are still pretty gruesome and not recommended for children under 8 or 10. After 5 pm, the haunted house and the corn maze become seriously spooky and are not appropriate for children. At 7pm the maze becomes truly creepy. For $11 you can stumble about in the dark pursued by terrifyingly animate monsters. For $23 you can also visit the even scarier haunted house. These are NOT recommended for children under 8 and are probably best for tweens and teens. There is a $3 discount coupon available here.  If you bring a nonperishable food item to donate you will save $4.

Benners Farm
 Haunted Hayrides
56 Gnarled Hollow Rd

East Setauket

631-689-8172

Spooky hayride: Saturdays and Sundays 12–4pm
Live monster haunted hayride: Wednesday, October 31 5–9pm
Cost: adults $7, children $4
On weekends Benners farm offers a hayride dotted with spooky props that is appropriate for most children. They also have animals you can feed and a giant oak tree with a swing. On Halloween the fields are home to living monsters that caper and cavort and try to frighten the hay riders!  

Finks Country Farm Spooky Corn Maze
6242 Middle Country Rd
Wading River
Hours: Saturdays 7pm
Admission: $9 per person
631-886-2272
Bring your own flashlight to Fink’s Farm on Saturday evenings in October and tour this large corn maze by night. There are no scary props, just the fun of wandering among the rows in the dark. That all changes though on October 26 and 27 when the maze becomes spooky. Then on Sunday, October 28th 9am–5pm the kids can trick-or-treat through the maze, as well as join in the rest of the farm’s October weekend festivities for $13 per person. A portion of the weekend proceeds goes to the Dale Curtis Stolz Foundation, helping families in the local community with ailing children.

Harbes Nightime Spooky Maze
5698 Sound Avenue
Riverhead
631-298-0800

Fridays and Saturdays 7–10pm (last admission is 9pm)
Cost: $9.95 per person
Bring your own flashlight to navigate this giant monster-filled maze.  This maze has traditionally not been filled with blood and gore but by scary giant spiders, orcs, nazgul and other creatures of Middle Earth.  It is definitely intense but not especially violent.

Harbes Robin Hood Maze
5698 Sound Avenue
Riverhead
631-298-0800

Hours: Daily 9am–6pm
Robin Hood and his merry men wander through this huge maze and will teach kids to shoot a bow and arrow. You may even get a chance to rescue Friar Tuck from the Sheriff of Nottingham if you can best him in a mock sword fight.  This maze is challenging to solve and the actors are fun and great at engaging kids of all ages. Just be sure the kids are up for a half hour of walking.

Harbes Wild West Maze
1223 Rte. 25
Jamesport
631-298-0800

Hours: Daily 9am–6pm
This Harbes maze is infested with old-time Western outlaws. Try to help the sheriff round them up. This is another fun maze with live actors that is suitable for any child who doesn’t mind tramping through the maze for a bit.