Pumpkinland opens for its 21st year

Falling leaves, earlier sunsets and combines in the field are all signs of autumn in northwest Iowa. Fall is also the time that Pumpkinland opens its doors for people of all ages to experience fun fall activities.
Pumpkinland started 21 years ago when the Huitink family sold a few pumpkins on their farm from their front lawn. In their second year they sold 70 pumpkins from their front step. Since then it has grown into a yearly project run by their children and grandchildren along with their friends and a few employees. Helen Huitink said, “Pumpkinland has become successful beyond what we could have imagined.”
“It seems Pumpkinland is a place people love to bring out of town guests to show them a real working Iowa farm” said Dave Huitink. People have signed Pumpkinland’s guestbook from all the surrounding towns and nearly every state. International guests also frequent the family-run business.
For $6 you can wander through the seven-acre corn maze. Mazeland is the main attraction for college students. The Munchkin Maze is a smaller, easier version for children. If you call ahead for a group of 15 people, you can get a discount on the admission price for the maze.
The mazes are first planned on graph paper and then a grid is built on the corn fields. After the pictures are mapped on the corn fields, the paths are cut with a lawn mower. Past pictures have been silos, hot air balloons and a tractor.
The corn maze is approximately one mile if you walk all the paths. The whole maze takes about 45 minutes to one hour to walk. There are mailboxes hidden throughout the maze and prizes are given to those who are able to find all  six of them.
Northwestern senior Jenelle Dunkelberger has gone to Pumpkinland every year since coming to NW. Her favorite part of the maze is the mailboxes. She said, “The prizes at the end are pretty big incentives.”
The petting zoo, known as Animal-land, is home to llamas, goats, sheep, turkeys, ducks, geese, peacocks, exotic chickens, kittens, puppies, bunnies and a painted turtle. Young families with small children as well as 80-year-olds all enjoy them.
When asked what her favorite part of running Pumpkinland is, Helen Huitink said it’s the family traditions. “We thoroughly love hearing a young couple with a small child say that when they were young they came to Pumpkinland with their parents.”
Pumpkinland is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to dark until October 31.