Getting Lost in the Corn Maze

Which way?

My friend Whitney and I have zero sense of direction. Case in point – we both require the use of GPS when driving throughout Northern Door. That’s a little pathetic. Stick us in a corn maze, it gets even more pathetic.

“Are we going in circles?” We study the map of an elaborately designed trail. If you were to fly over the field, expertly designed by Great Adventure Corn Mazes, we would have been somewhere between Cookie the Cow’s nose and mouth.

Somewhere along the lines we also entered a horse, a pig, a chicken, a dog, or at least we thought. Again, the whole direction, map-reading thing.

After an hour of giggling and gazing down one trail towering with corn stalks to the next, each taking turns decided which way to go, we made our way back to the exit, exhaled and decided we deserved a treat.

The Hilltop Dairy offers ice cream made right on the farm and includes over 30 flavors. You can watch the ice cream being made, just like you can watch the cows being milked. Yes, that I was not expecting.

Whitney shows off her pink pumpkin.

The largest dairy farm in Door County includes a viewing window where visitors can watch the cows being milked. “They are so cute,” said Whitney snapping pictures. Visitors can also learn about the milking process, the anatomy of milking cows, and give milking a try themselves with a mechanical Cookie the Cow.

And that’s not all. The dairy farm features farm animals for visitors to feed and pet: cows, horses, pigs, and goats.

This year the farm also offers pink pumpkins to benefit Door CANcer, a local charity that helps those fighting or coping with cancer.

Spent from conquering the corn maze, petting animals, learning about milking, eating ice cream, and choosing which pink pumpkin to display at our front doors, we bid farewell to the large statue of Cookie the Cow, noting the silos, the tractors. Does it get more Wisconsin than that?

Schopf’s Hilltop Dairy, open daily 10 am – 5 pm, is located at 5169 County Road I near Sturgeon Bay. For more information visit dairyview.com or call 920.743.9779.