Is Cornbelly’s Wheelchair Accessible? We Found Out

Short answer: yes, with the right wheels

Is Cornbelly’s wheelchair accessible? It is, if your chair can handle gravel, dirt and bumpy fields. Ours can. So we brought six Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchairs to Cornbelly’s in Spanish Fork for a fall day with our friends from Live Empowered, a Utah organization offering host homes and day programs for adults with special needs, and Outdoor Access Project.

The result: a corn pit burial, bubbles, some donkeys, a giant slide, lots of fun photo ops, and a corn maze. Sam narrated this video himself. Watch it first, then we’ll tell you what we learned.

Where a standard wheelchair gets stuck at Cornbelly’s

Cornbelly’s started as a single corn maze in 1996 and now runs 90+ attractions across two Utah locations. We went to the Spanish Fork location, on the Herbst family’s home farm. That’s a lot of farm to cover.

Most of it sits on gravel paths, loose dirt and uneven fields. As Sam put it in the video: “The gravel paths and bumpy fields are difficult for normal wheelchairs.” Small front casters dig in, push rims get heavy, and whoever is pushing earns their corn dog.

That’s not a knock on Cornbelly’s. It’s a farm, and farms should feel like farms. Making Cornbelly’s wheelchair accessible for more guests doesn’t mean paving the corn maze. It’s giving guests a chair built for the terrain.

What we actually did at Cornbelly’s in Spanish Fork

Too many riders, not enough pushers. Six riders rolled in on six all-terrain chairs, which is more chairs than pushers. Ryan ended up pushing two at once. Sam’s report: “He’s still complaining about his shoulder hurting because he’s so old.” Ryan would like the record to show the chairs rolled fine. The shoulder is a separate issue.

The bubble station. Ryan made a giant bubble. Per Sam, “Ryan was the only one impressed.” Accurate.

The corn pit. Think ball pit, but corn. Sam got buried in it and loved it. Getting a chair right up to the edge on loose ground is exactly where all-terrain wheels pay off.

The donkeys. Sam loves the donkeys. He has additional thoughts about them, which you’ll have to ask him about in person.

The tube slide. Sam admits he was “too chicken” for this one. Others in the group went down and had a blast. Choosing to skip a ride is a lot different from not being able to get to it.

The corn maze. We got lost. For a long time. Luckily Sam found a snack in his pocket left over from the corn pit, so nobody starved. The maze paths are dirt and corn stubble, and the chairs handled them start to finish.

Narrated by Sam

This one’s a first: Sam asked to do the voiceover himself, and he roasted Ryan at every opportunity. He’s proud of it, and he should be. It’s the best narration this channel has had, and Ryan has done a lot of them.

If you enjoyed it, leave Sam a comment on the video.

The right equipment changes the whole day

Six riders, six chairs, nobody waiting at the entrance. That’s the whole point. Nobody sat out the corn pit because the ground was too loose, and nobody watched the maze from the parking lot.

Everyone got the same day: the bubbles, the animals, the pit and the maze. Sam even got to skip the tube slide because he didn’t want to go, not because he couldn’t get there.

On a farm like this, a standard wheelchair usually means sticking close to the few smooth spots. With all-terrain wheels, the whole map opens up.

We’d love to see Cornbelly’s keep a few all-terrain chairs on hand That would make Cornbelly’s wheelchair accessible for every family, not just the ones who bring their own chairs. If you run a farm, park or attraction and want to see how the chairs handle your ground, get in touch.

FAQ: Visiting Cornbelly’s in a wheelchair

Is Cornbelly’s wheelchair accessible?

Much of Cornbelly’s is on gravel, dirt and uneven field paths, which are hard going in a standard wheelchair. In all-terrain wheelchairs, our group did the corn pit, the animals and the full corn maze.

Does Cornbelly’s have all-terrain wheelchairs to borrow?

Not as of our visit. That’s what we’d love to see change.

Can you take a wheelchair through the corn maze?

Yes, with an all-terrain chair. Expect dirt, stubble and the occasional dead end. Bring a snack.

Which Cornbelly’s location did you visit?

Spanish Fork, on the family’s home farm. There’s also a Cornbelly’s at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi.

Get outside with us

Want to see where else an all-terrain wheelchair can go? Check out the Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchair, or apply for a chair through Outdoor Access Project.