Get Lost in a Field of Gold

Written By Claudia Milroy

Located in the beautiful countryside surrounding Penn Yan, Keuka Harvest Farm is a perfect place to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures of summer. This local farm’s sunflower maze adds a little adventure to your day! Instead of simply admiring the flowers from the edge of a field, visitors can step right into the blooms and follow the winding paths through them.

Beauty in Detail

Walking among the towering sunflowers is part maze and part nature experience. The flowers create a cheerful canopy of yellow and green, while the paths invite you to explore and see where they lead.

Allow yourself to wind through the paths, chase the butterflies, and smell the sunflowers. Up close, a sunflower is a burst of summer in miniature. Its broad, golden-yellow petals radiate outward from a rich, textured center, where hundreds of tiny florets form an intricate spiral pattern. The petals are soft and slightly delicate, while the center feels almost rough and earthy, packed with geometric detail. Water beads sit gently on the florets. The stalks are beefy and slightly prickly. 

Bees often disappear into the center, collecting pollen among the florets, adding movement and life to the scene. Viewed this closely, a sunflower is more than a bright field of yellow; it's a beautifully complex little world, full of texture, pattern, and natural symmetry.

Sunflower Adventures

The combination of brilliant yellow flowers, blue summer skies, and the rolling landscape around Penn Yan creates plenty of opportunities for family fun and memories. The sunflower maze is for all ages. Get lost, have a good laugh, and, of course, get a little turned around - that is part of the fun!

This summer the sunflower maze is an intricate path in the shape of a butterfly. Along the path you’ll find fun facts about sunflowers. Each fact has a whole-punch for your ticket so you can keep track that you found every station in the maze. Children can turn their punched ticket in for a prize while your party can also take a sunflower or two home!

On your way out be sure to spend a little time with the farm’s goats, Clover & Timothy, and the bunnies, Picket & Joe. They are super friendly and cuddly. Just outside the goats and bunnies, a bin of corn sits for kids to dive in and explore.

If you're visiting Penn Yan or looking for a unique Finger Lakes outing this summer, put a sunflower adventure on your list. Follow the path, enjoy the flowers, take plenty of pictures—and don't worry if you get a little lost.

Tips:

  • Plan for an hour for the maze and additional time to pet the goats

  • Wear comfortable shoes for walking through the field

  • Wear sunscreen and/or a sun hat

  • There are plentiful bees buzzing around, be aware and prepare if you or anyone in your party has a bee allergy

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Keuka Harvest 

Location: 2932 NY-14A, Penn Yan, NY 14527

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keukaharvest14A/


Check the farm's current social media for the latest information about bloom conditions, maze hours, admission, and any special events.

Claudia Milroy

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you stay awhile and come back often. I started the weekly newsletter and this website for tourists and locals alike. I once was a tourist (over a decade ago) and now I’m a local, living here, working here, raising a family here! And I sure do love it!

Naturally I first fell in love with the rolling hills and cool lake breezes. But as I returned again and again, for a different season and different reason, Penn Yan stuck with me. I recall first it was the hint of grape when you drive by a vineyard and then the caramelized, roasted air that wafted down Main Street from Birkett Mills. Visit after visit my husband and I hit all the tourists stops because of my curiosity. Full disclosure - my husband was raised in Penn Yan and he knew all the ins and outs of the area to woo me! Travel & history nerd here! So, through our years of dating and early years of marriage (p.s. we got married in the Finger Lakes!) we would visit family, friends, and our favorite spots. Then the day came when our son was just 6 months old and we decided it was time to move to Penn Yan! Now 10 years later I’m here to share my love of this place with you!

I hope you enjoy this, I hope you take away some cool and fun inspiration for your next adventure. If you're planning a trip, please don’t hesitate to reach out - I’d love to personalize an experience or a 7 day itinerary for you.

https://waterandwineweekly.com
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