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Kara Lewis, front right, her mother, Sherrie Larsen, front left, and five seasonal employees pose for a photo at Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is shown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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A blue pickup at Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is shown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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A girl goes down a slide at Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is shown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is shown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Glen Ray's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is shown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Leland.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Though the community of Leland has largely been absorbed by Spanish Fork and Benjamin, some unincorporated land along the Interstate 15 corridor still stakes claim to the farming area that was founded in the 1850s.

Upon the land is a seven-generation family-owned farm first cultivated by Danish immigrants that raises cattle, corn, barley and alfalfa.

Eight years ago, sixth-generation family member Kara Lewis and her husband bought her grandparents’ house and moved their family to the farm so their boys could be raised there and learn responsibility. Soon after, they started Glen Ray’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch.

Each autumn, the family invites the community to experience the region and family heritage at the farm and take part in the festivities it has to offer.

“We just want people to feel like when they come here that they’re part of our family,” Lewis said. “We want them to feel that they’re coming home to the farm, and that they are experiencing a break from the really difficult things that are going on in the world right now, and they just get to come and just be with their family, just be grounded in the earth and in nature.”

The corn maze is named after Lewis’s grandfather, Glen Ray Larsen, a decision she said came to her in the middle of the night. Born and raised on the farm, Larsen was a staple of the Leland community and was instrumental in preserving its history by writing a book on the community and putting up a monument on 900 South in Spanish Fork to show its original boundaries.

Larsen is remembered throughout the 20-acre corn maze and fall festival area. His old pickup truck and tractor are both on exhibit near the entrance, and the maze’s logo is Larsen depicted as a “corn fairy,” a nod to the nickname he was affectionately given because he delivered sweet corn on his blue truck to people’s porches.

With the farm legacy in mind, Glen Ray’s, which opened Sept. 19 and will run through Oct. 30, runs less like a Halloween carnival and more like an immersive farm experience.

Several varieties of pumpkins are grown for purchase, farm-owned concessions sell homemade doughnuts and livestock can be petted. Many homemade amenities were built by Lewis’ husband, including a man-size hamster wheel, a basketball pop-a-shot converted from a wagon, and the newest addition, a large slide for kids.

The corn maze itself has three separate paths: short, medium and large. A popular attraction for teenagers and young adults, The Field of Fright Haunted Corn Maze, is just east of the main area.

It’s all operated by the Lewis and Larson families as well as 55 seasonal employees, many of whom go to nearby high schools.

“We want it to feel like a farm,” Lewis said. “Everything we plant is harvested. At the end, the corn maze, we harvest that and sell it to chicken farms and it’s used for feed for chickens. Everything is still a working farm, even though during these six weeks we are inviting the community to come out and enjoy it.”

Preserving the farm

Running a family farm in the 21st century offers challenges — especially in rapidly growing southern Utah County.

Since Lewis moved there eight years ago, she said the change has been dramatic, as Spanish Fork, Salem and Payson all seem to creep closer toward them.

Lewis’ father, Rex Larsen, who is the farm owner, receives inquiries from developers about selling the property almost daily, she said, and the family is working with Utah County to put in agricultural protections.

“All the land around us just annexed into Spanish Fork City and is owned by developers,” Lewis said. “They have plans of developing everything around us. So we’re trying to get some protections put in place so that we can keep farming and keep doing the things that we want to do here.”

Government leaders assure them they can stay farming as long as they want, she said, but eminent domain actions made to serve the area’s growing population have put that to the test.

When Loafer Mountain Parkway was constructed, it took out much of the farm’s winter pasture area and forced Lewis’ father to sell a large portion of his cattle.

The state plans to expand 8000 South, which goes through their property, she said. Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed power line from Spanish Fork to Eagle Mountain is also planned to pass through the property — and the company is asking for the family to take off the roof of their shed because of it, Lewis said.

“All these different things could really affect us,” she said. “So we’re in the process of dealing with that right now as well. … It would be so much easier to just sell the farm and have a nice paycheck, but that’s not who farmers are.”

The agritourism business is a way for the family to continue prevailing. Money from the autumn corn maze supplements the farm income. Lewis said the state of Utah is very supportive of agritourism endeavors and has resources available to help people start agritourism businesses.

She also enjoys inviting the growing community to experience what the area once was.

“We know that the area is growing, and we know people are going to move in,” Lewis said. “So instead of trying to fight that, it’s like, OK, let’s create a place where we can invite people and educate while they’re here, while they’re having a good time.”

Glen Ray’s is open from 4-9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays.