Where is the hardest corn maze in America, according to this book? North Danville, Vermont.

Dan D'Ambrosio, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic rearing its ugly head and spreading across the world, Mike and Dayna Boudreau had a decision to make about their creation in North Danville: the Great Vermont Corn Maze.

Should they open the 24-acre leafy puzzle, or not?

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"Like many businesses and families, we had to decide if it would be safe for our family, our staff and our community to invite visitors to our farm during a pandemic," Mike Boudreau said in a news release. "And the decision was tough because we work three months without pay to create our attraction each year before we open August 1."

From 2010: The Great Vermont Corn Maze in North Danville pays tribute to the Long Trail and the Green Mountain Club, which celebrate their centennial anniversary this year. Husband and wife team, Mike and Dayna Boudreau, have been creating an entirely different maze every year for the past 12 years. Their creation was recently selected as one of the top 10 mazes in America. Most years the average adult couple spends between 1 and 3 hours trying to solve their maze, which has become one of the most complex maze attraction in New England.

How bad would the pandemic be by August? There was no way to know. But after careful consideration, the Boudreaus decided to open, and as a result, the Great Vermont Corn Maze is featured in The Puzzler by AJ Jacobs, a book about the author's experiences solving a wide variety of complex puzzles. Jacobs calls the Boudreau's creation the hardest maze in America.

"After 24 years, we knew how many mazers we could safely handle each day," Dayna Boudreau said in a news release. "The maze covers 24 acres, so it is designed for social distancing."

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Soon after the maze opened in 2020, Jacobs set up a date to take it on.

More: Get lost in Vermont's corn mazes: No need to wait for fall

"AJ was great," Mike Boudreau said. "While we do have a shorter maze that typically only takes about 40 minutes, AJ insisted on challenging our Big Maze. He tried a variety of strategies before having to take several clues from me, and was finally able to solve the maze in about four hours."

The Great Vermont Corn Maze opens on Aug. 1. Tickets are available online. The Puzzler is available on Amazon.com.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 802-660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: The Puzzler: Vermont corn maze featured in best-selling book