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US: Great Lakes, Best Corn Mazes and Fall Festivals for Family Fun.Great Lakes Corn Mazes and Fall Festivals for Families From Minnesota and  Wisconsin to Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan the season looks promising for quick getaways and making memories.

Taste sweet apple butter or corncob jelly; carve a pumpkin or stuff a scarecrow; ride on a wagon full of hay or bob for apples; pretend at a RenFest; enjoy a film in Chicago. Make time for fun with your kids and family. Our list includes theFamilyTravelFiles reader’s favorites plus staff recommendations. See what it takes to be the best and make time for fun with your family.

Minnesota: Rochester, Tweite's Fall Harvest Festival and Corn Maze (10/1/2011 to 10/30/2011) Located 12 minutes West of Rochester off of US Hwy 14 Tweite's has been planting memories and harvesting fun for almost two deacades. They offer quality family enjoyment for the young and young-at-heart. Each weekend enjoy 10 acres of amusements including live entertainment. Enjoy wagon rides, an Enchanted Forest, the western town called Dodge City, Harvest Town with a back forty play area, more than 24,000 square-feet of permanent mazes including a six-acre corn maze, a tire dragon and the Indiana Bones Dino Dig. Bonus points: Many areas are interactive. Best part: Check out the remodeled dairy barn loaded with tasty treats including homemade caramel apples, cotton candy and kettle korn.  (Tweite's Pumpkin Patch 1821 Frontier Rd SW Byron, MN 55920. (507) 365-8035 or www.tweite.com)

Minnesota: Minneapolis, Sever's Corn Maze
(9/17/2011 - 10/30/2011). Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival delights maze-goers with a fun and challenging 14-acre corn maze. Again this year, Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival will boast the world's laSevers Corn Maze Camel Rides, Minnesotargest straw bale maze-1/3 of an acre in size. There will also be pumpkin slinger and an amazing corn kernal pit. Everyone loves the hayrides and the crazy but funny. For an adventure try a camel ride.  Best part: Make time for the exotic petting zoo with animals from around the world including lemurs and camels, and kangaroos. Bonus points: Live music is a great addition tot he weekend familyfun. Here's the deal. There is a discount coupon at their website. (Sever's Just south of the Twin Cities next to Canterbury Park, Shakopee. (952) 974-5000 or www.severscornmaze.com)

Minnesota: Shakopee, Minnesota Renaissance Festival (08/20-10/02/2011). Discover an enchanted realm of wizards and warriors amongst gourmet treats and unforgettable entertainment. Take a day out and time travel with your kids. Wander past eight lively stages and street theater featuring jugglers, magicians, fire eaters, and specialty acts. Check out live armored contact jousting three times daily, human chess matches, minstrels, maidens faire, peasants, fools, and royalty. Best part: Enjoy special theme weekends including ones dedicated to Scottish and Irish culture as well as a special Italian Carnivale weekend.  Here's the deal. Parking is free. (Minnesota Renaissance Festival 12364 Chestnut Blvd, Shakopee. Toll-free 1-800-779-4910 or www.renaissancefest.com) 

Wisconsin: Lodi, Treinen Farm Great Corn Maze Pumpkin Patch
(9/02-10/30, 2011). Not far north of Madison Treinen Farm provides a terrific farm day adventure. The 200-acre farm is anchored by interactive 15-acre cornfield maze including more than four miles of pathways some leading to  dead ends. Treinen Farm Lodi Wisconsin Corn MazeIt is best described as a living agri-art puzzle by those who have run the maze. Unique farm activities include encounters with chickens and goats, fun on the tractor-tire playground, and time in the corncrib play house. Almost everyone rides the wagon to the 13-acre pumpkin field and no one leaves without a pumpkin or two or twelve. Best part: The maze by daylight is both fun and challenging but, try Moonlight in the Maze – simply the best. Bonus points: The folks at Treinen Farm will organize special group activities for reunions, birthdays and clubs – just ask. (Treined Farm W 12420 Hwy. 60 Lodi, Wisconsin 53555. (608) 592-3481 or www.treinenfarm.com)

Wisconsin: Lebanon, Glacier Rock Farms Corn Maze (09/17-10/30/2011).  Navigate the maze searching for clues and markers. No two trips will be the same but the fun is in the process and it’s okay to ask your kids for help. In addition to the crazy maze puzzle experience families may enjoy pony rides, hayrides, the apple shooter and mining for gemstones. For more thrills visitors may wish to discover the Dark Side Haunt – an adventure that includes plenty of creepy tactile moments through a rotting corn maze, darkened tunnels and corpse infested mine. Best part: For city kids the farm animal encounters are terrific because it is possible to hold a pick up chicken, milk a cow, and pet the friendly goats for free. Bonus points: Farm visits are possible during the spring and summer months as well enabling parents or grandparents to share farm time with their kids. Visitors may feed the goats and sheep, meet Chili the chinchilla and Spike the hedgehog, pet llamas and bunnies, see baby chickens, goslings and ducklings in the spring. (Glacier Rock Farms N1255 Hoard Rd. Lebanon, Wisconsin 53036. (920) 273-0612 or www.glacerrockfarms.com)

Illinois: Chicago International Children's Film Festival (10/21/2011-10/30/2011). For a city event this one is splendid. This year's festival will feature 200 animated and live action films from 40 countries. It is the largest competitive festival of children's films in the United States and is hailed as the Cannes for Kids; the festival presents the very best in non-violent multicultural films for children ages 3 to 13. Best part: At every screening, a panel of kids cast their votes for the Best of the Fest Award as well as other awards and prizes for excellence. Bonus points: There will be post-screening discussions with more than 100 directors, producers, and actors in attendance.   (Chicago Children's International Film Festival (773) 281-9075 or www.cicff.org)

Indiana: Hobart, County Line Orchard Fall Harvest Festival and Corn Maze
(09/3/2011- 10/28/2011). Start with the eight-acre corn maze and move ob to an orchard tour. They offer u-pick apples and pumpkins for an authentic farm experience. The farm animal petting experince and bee barn are worth the trip. See working bees at observation hives in the orchard, baby chicks hatching, and goats up in the trees. Watch Peter Pumpkin Eater getting his teeth cleaned after munching on pumpkins. Best part: The barnyard has miniature tractors, tools, wheelbarrows, and even a kid-sized barn and a Moo Choo. Bonus points: Trio of Fears not for the faint-hearted but lots of funn. It includes a wagon ride, dimly lit path through the trees, and a crawl through darkened passages plus Nocturnia the haunted barn. (County Line Orchard & The Barn 200 County Line Rd., Hobart (219) 947-4477 or www.countylineorchard.com)

Michigan: Traverse City, Jacob's Corn Maze
( 08/20-10/30/2011) Identified by the State of Michigan's Historical Commission as a Centennial Farm, Jacob's providesan authentic American fam experience. During the fall season family friendly activites include barn dances, horse-drawn wagon rides and hotdogs by campfire light.  Best part: While any maze is fun and challenging by day Jacob's encourages families to return and try the journey by falshlight.Ghosts among the stalks may or may not be present depending on the moon. Bonus points: Jacob's Farm provides visitors a chance to pick seasonal fruits and vegetables and make memories with their kids and grandkids. (Jacob's Corn Maze 7100 E. Traverse Hwy. Traverse City, Michigan 49684. (231) 632-MAZE (6293) or www.jacobs-corn-maze.com)

Michigan: Michigan Renaissance Festival
(Weekends 08/20/2011-10/2/2011). Discover an enchanted realm of wizards and warriors amongst gourmet treats and unforgettable entertainment. Wander past eight lively stages and street theater featuring jugglers, magicians, fire eaters, and specialty acts. Check out live armored contact jousting three times daily, human chess matches, minstrels, maidens faire, peasants, fools, and royalty. Best part: The festival also has special theme weekends like Highland Weekend, featuring the US/Canadian Highland Games and Bagpipe Blowout as well as International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is recommended for grandparents and children. (Michigan Renaissance Festival 12600 Dixie Highway, Holly, Michigan 48442. 800-601-4848 or www.michrenfest.com)

Michigan: Belleville, DeBuck's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch.
Grab the kids and romp through DeBuck's 13-acre of corn maze, and wander through 12 acres of pumpkins. Enjoy a free wagon ride through the pumkin patch and select a pumkin for purchase. Try uour skills in a pedal go-kart race or fire a corn cannons. Make time for a calming farm animal encouter or slide on the super slide. Best part: Sample scrumptious cinnamon donuts and farm made apple cider. (DeBuck's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch 502 Martz Road Belleville, Michigan 48111. (734) 260-0334 or www.debuckscornmaze.com)

For the best corn mazes and fall festivals in Ohio CLICK HERE

Tell Mom at The Family Travel FilesWe want to expand the list and need your help. If you have a favorite fall festival or know of an awesome corn maze please "Tell Mom" and we will add it to the list. Make sure to include the name of the festival or event and its location on the planet as well as why you like it or what makes it worth the trip. Our next round up will include family-friendly winter celebrations and enchanting Santa Trains. We are building the list right now and would love to have your feedback. So just "Tell Mom!"


Information compiled from our extensive database as of August 2011. Video courtesy of Jacob's Farm, and images from Tweite's Corn Maze and Sever's Corn Maze. Sometimes things change, so please confirm details before making plans. Updated by Scott Kamps-Duac, Copyright 2011.

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