Jim Thorpe and the Amazing Corn Maze

I've heard of Jim Thorpe, the athlete, as well as the town. The town originally was called Mauch Chunk and changed its name to honor the Olympic athlete. Until now, I'd never been there. I'm not really sure why I'd never ridden through there. I've been close by but hadn't managed to get there. I found I'd been missing something. Jim Thorpe is a great little town. It's sort of cross between an artsy sort of place and a Pennsylvania hill town. There are all sorts of craft stores, antique shops, galleries and nice looking restaurants. Then there's the old County Jail that's open for tours weekend afternoons, some old trains to see at the train station and until the end of October, the Amazing Corn Maze.

The maze is located at Mauch Chunk Lake Park, about 6 miles west of downtown. It's open through the end of October Monday to Friday 4PM to 6PM, and weekends from Noon to 6PM. Even if it's too late in the year to make it to the maze, the town is worth the trip.

Now that you know where you're going, the question remains, how are you going to get there? As if you have to ask. Twisty little backroads, of course. This month you can start at the Red Apple Rest, located on NY 17 in Southfields, New York. From there it will be a quick trip through the onion fields up to Port Jervis, NY. From there, up NY 97 through the Hawks Nest to Barryville, NY. I'll admit that those are nice roads, but now the real fun begins because you'll be diving into the Endless Mountain region of Pennsylvania. If you manage to ride this in October, there's still a good chance that you'll see some spectacular colors on the trees as you ride down through Promised Land State Park. The route then alternates between newly paved state highways and some twisty county roads. You'll also see some interesting sights along the smaller roads, including what looked to be a reservoir that had been drained so low that you could see what the land looked like before it was flooded.

As you navigate the backroads of Pennsylvania look out for the little white signs that the state puts at each intersection. They've given numbers to nearly every single road in the state. State highways have three digit numbers, 940 for example. The sm aller roads get four digit numbers, SR2055 to pick one that you'll run along. The smallest ones are town roads, some of them have a 'T' designation, such as T301. If you've got a good map you can easily find your way onto great little roads. Just follow the SR numbered roads.




			Jim Thorpe and the Maize Maze
			
	Mileage 
	Total  Leg

	0.0	0.0	EXIT LEFT	From the Red Apple Rest 
	0.3	0.3	BEAR RIGHT	LIGHT - Up the ramp to 17A
	0.5	0.2	RIGHT		STOP - NY 17A

	 7.9	 7.4	BEAR RIGHT	NY 17A Cont.
	 8.0	0.1	BEAR LEFT	NY 17A Cont.
	14.4	6.4	LEFT		NY 94 South

	15.0	0.6	RIGHT		Orange Co. 1A - Follow OC 1
	22.6	7.6	BEAR RIGHT	Orange Co. 1 Continued
	25.1	2.5	BEAR LEFT	Orange Co. 1 Continued

	27.9	2.8	STRAIGHT	STOP - Cross NY 284
	31.6	3.7	LEFT		STOP - US 6 West
	36.9	5.3	STRAIGHT	LIGHT - US 6 West - Follow US 6

	38.6	1.7	STRAIGHT	LIGHT - Join NY 42 (US 6 goes right)
	38.9	0.3	BEAR RIGHT	NY 97 - Up the hill - Follow NY 97
	57.8	18.9	LEFT		BLINKER - PA 434 South
	
	65.1	7.3	LEFT		STOP - T - PA 434 Continued
	66.8	1.7	LEFT-RIGHT	STOP - Cross US6 - 'TO: I84'
	70.9	4.1	STRAIGHT	STOP - Cross PA 739

	74.7	3.8	STRAIGHT	STOP - Cross PA 402
	77.0	2.3	LEFT		SR 4002 - Just past steel grate bridge
	79.4	2.4	LEFT		PA 390 South - STOP - T

	87.6	8.2	RIGHT		TO: Greentown
	91.5	3.9	LEFT		STOP - T - SR 3001
	92.5	1.0	LEFT		STOP Brink Hill Rd.

	92.7	0.2	LEFT		STOP - T - PA 507 - Follow PA 507
	95.3	2.6	BEAR RIGHT	Y - PA 507 Cont.
	106.4	11.1	RIGHT		BLINKER - STOP - PA 435 North

	108.0	1.6	LEFT		BLINKER - TO: Thornhurst
	120.7	12.7	RIGHT		PA 115 North - STOP - T
	128.2	7.5	LEFT		SR2041 to White Haven

	139.4	11.2	RIGHT		PA 940 - STOP
	139.6	0.2	LEFT		PA 940 Cont.
	140.7	1.1	LEFT		Lehigh Gorge Rd. - SR2055

	150.9	10.2	LEFT		STOP - T at the bridge
	153.3	2.4	LEFT		PA 93 South
	159.4	6.1	LEFT		US 209 - STOP - T

	162.9	3.5	STRAIGHT	LIGHT - In to town
	168.5	5.6	LEFT		Boat Launch B to Corn Maze