The Bowden Sun Maze: Happiness at Eagle Creek Farms

If you've ever dreamed of strolling through a sea of smiling sunflowers, awash in the golden glow of their sunny blooms, then it is my honour to inform you that making this dream come true is possible. Journey to the Bowden Sun Maze, located on the grounds of Eagle Creek Farms outside the town of Bowden in central Alberta.

The sunflower maze is only a small part of what Eagle Creek Farms has to offer its visitors, but indeed it is the most famous part of the attraction.

Read on to find out what you can discover while exploring the Bowden Sun Maze!

The Bowden Sun Maze is a great place to spend the day!

Let's get the details out of the way. The Bowden Sun Maze is located less than 10 minutes out of Bowden, near the city of Red Deer, Alberta. Finding the sun maze is incredibly easy - I used my phone's GPS combined with the map directions found right on the sun maze's website to locate the farm. Even if I didn't have the GPS and Maps right at my disposal, there are wooden signs directing you to the farm all along the route. You shouldn't miss it, if you keep your eyes peeled.

Admission to the Bowden Sun Maze is very affordable. The cost for one adult is $9.00, while students aged 5-17 are $6.50, and kids 4 and under are free. I found the prices to be extremely reasonable, and should leave guests with a little extra moolah to buy some fresh veggies, delicious canned food, and even a bouquet of sunflowers!

The sunflowers were often as big as your head! 

There are rules, which aren't even rules but mainly common sense, when it comes to enjoying the Sun Maze. The owners beg you to not litter, not curse, not pick the flowers, and avoid trampling the plants or using short-cuts which would lead to the trampling of said plants. Basically, just use your head and be respectful, because sunflowers are quite sensitive and delicate plants. Be good to them so you can continue to enjoy use of the Sun Maze in the future!

The sunflower stalks were tall enough to engulf my kiddos!

The Bowden Sun Maze is also more than just a sunflower maze. There is also a corn maze, a tree maze, a petting zoo (of sorts), a courtyard with wooden maze and walking maze games. I'll get into those activities more in a moment.

We began first thing by entering the Sun Maze - I had made an arrangement with one of the owners, Jon, to fly my drone early in the morning before any members of the paying public arrived. He graciously let me arrive 30 minutes before opening so I could soar my drone over the fields and capture some beautiful images of the blooming sunflowers. (Thank you, Jon! I hope you like the video footage!)

Part of the maze pathways forms the image of a honey bee! So cute!

After I drained my drone's batteries, we began to explore the maze's pathways and trails. I kept getting distracted by the stunning sunflowers, their vibrant yellow tops nearly as big as my head. The kids would run ahead, find me missing, and double back to drag me along with them. You really don't mind getting lost, being surrounded by all those beautiful blooms!

There were a lot of bees and wasps (naturally, considering one is standing amid a field of flowers) so I recommend you bring some bug spray if possible. If you are allergic, this is something to take into consideration.

Running through the beautiful sunflower maze. The kids were so excited!

As we wove through the fields, I noted that one half of the sunflower maze was fully blooming, while the second half was still green with nary a yellow petal to be seen. Jon explained to me that they had purposely planted their field in 'shifts', staggering the blooming periods so that the maze would have golden yellow flowers from early August into the fall, hopefully all the way until the end of September. Smart thinking, I told him.

As the kids and I progressed, we met the edge of the sunflower maze which then blended into the next section: a corn maze. While the sun maze had been beautiful, it wasn't very tall and I never at any point felt 'lost'. But the corn maze was considerably higher, so the challenge became a touch tougher once we entered the tall, green stalks.

Where the sunflower maze meets the corn maze

The one maze we didn't get to was the tree maze, labeled on the map we'd been given at the admission desk. According to the map, there is a 'future tree maze' in the works, so this gives me something to look forward to in the future on another visit.

We got a little bit lost in the tall corn stalks...

After an hour and a half, the kids were done with wandering through the trails, and we left the mazes behind us. We crossed a type of courtyard as we strolled back towards the admission desk and general  entrance, and in the courtyard we ended up staying. There was a lot more inside that courtyard than the picnic tables and public washrooms!

First of all, there is a mini petting zoo, with a variety of animals including chickens, a goat, a pony, and the fuzziest rabbit I've ever seen. The kids said hello to all of them, fed the pony some hay, and made friends with a very friendly black and white farm cat.

The fuzziest bunny I have ever seen! 

Once we'd made the rounds of the farm animals, the kids turned their attention to the plethora of activities offered in the courtyard. There were wooden mazes on poles, where the kids could 'drive' their finger along the grooves of the maze to reach the end. There were also walking mazes and maze games, which required participants to walk their feet through the space and make choices based on arrows, math games, or riddles. Quite fun!

We also had some fun with the wooden photo cut-outs, sticking our heads through the face holes and making silly expressions for the camera. I never get sick of those tourist traps!

The kids enjoying one of the photo cut-outs

Before we left, we stopped in the entrance area - I think it was the front portion of a large barn - and checked out what Eagle Creek Farms had for sale. The farm does offer a U-Pick program, where visitors can go out into the fields and greenhouses and harvest their own produce. Stock includes potatoes, corn, beans, peas, strawberries, beets and much more - that's just what I can remember off the top of my head!

If you aren't into picking fruits and vegetables yourself, the entrance / gift shop area also had a cooler piled full with fresh, bagged vegetables and fruits. AND if you aren't into preparing fruits and vegetables yourself, you could also buy canned jams, jellies, salsas, pickled vegetables and whatever your heart desires. On top of all of that, you could also purchase beautiful bouquets of sunflowers and mixed flowers. It was one of the most stomach-rumbling-inducing gift shops I've ever been in.

I would definitely go back to the Bowden Sun Maze - maybe a sunset trip next time?

We loved our experience out at the Bowden Sun Maze. I'd definitely go again, and I'm not talking about next year. I'd love to go back in a week or so, when both sides of the field are blooming. I'm also interested in their evening admission, where you can photograph the sunflower fields at sunset. How stunning would that be? Who wants to come with me?