I did a large project where I looked into all of the 4,000 labyrinths in the USA to classify them for a research study. You can read about it in the blog post Questions about US Labyrinths Answered. I also wrote a series of blog posts recommending labyrinths to visit in the US by state. Well as I was doing these projects I noticed many unique and interesting labyrinth shapes along the way. 85% of the labyrinths in the US are Classical, Medieval or Chartres style (a subclass of Medieval important enough to break out statistically). This blog post will focus on the other 15% of labyrinths that have fun and interesting shapes which show up mostly as slivers in this chart:
12 LABYRINTHS IN THE USA WITH INTERESTING SHAPES
Heart Shaped Labyrinths
The most popular “other” shape for labyrinths in the USA is the heart shaped labyrinth. There are around 20 in the US spread out across the country. My favorite heart shaped labyrinth is the Heart in the Park Labyrinth, located in Tonkawa, OK. Beyond the quality of the materials used, notice the dual pathways that meet in the center heart. This particular labyrinth was the result of a collaboration between stone sculptor Marty Kermeen, some consulting/CAD work from Jeff Saward and the concept by Audrey Schmitz. The pavers the outline the outer portion record the history of the area and if you look closely you will find 5 hearts in total ! It is featured on the cover of the book Oklahoma Labyrinths - A Path too Inner Peace by Gail Peck. Linda Yeingst, and Phyllis Pennington if you are interested in Oklahoma labyrinths.
Heart in the Park (HIP) aerial photo by Ken Crowder, Tonkawa, OK (August 2007)
Address:
Heart in the Park Labyrinth
Grand Avenue and Sixth Street, Tonkawa, Oklahoma, 74653
Butterfly Shaped Labyrinths
There are a handful of butterfly shaped labyrinths in the US and I am featuring the Folly Farm Nature Preserve Butterfly Labyrinth located in Safety Harbor, Florida. This labyrinth is located in a public park that is open from dawn to dusk, and the labyrinth comes with instructions - just look in the mailbox ! The butterfly contains internal gardens planted with butterfly friendly plants ! The labyrinth was designed by Gary Sawtelle, who was one of many builders and George Weiss donated the land for Folly Farm Park.
Heather Richardson from the Safety Harbor Art and Music Center(SHAMC) places a “How to Walk a meditative labyrinth” instruction note in the mailbox in the photo below.
Butterfly Labyrinth - Folly Farm Nature Preserve - Photo courtesy of the designer Gary Sawtelle
Address:
Folly Farm Nature Preserve Labyrinth
1562 Dr. MLK Street North, Safety Harbor, Florida 34695
Triquetra Labyrinth
This triquetra labyrinth, designed by Simon Watkins, is located at Ecclesia Houston in Texas. The design was originally used for a labyrinth in Kings Heath Village Square in Birmingham, UK, which inspired the construction of this labyrinth.
Triquetra Labyrinth - Ecclesia Houston - Photo courtesy of the church
Address:
Ecclesia Houston
1005 Edwards St., Houston, Texas 77007
Ethiopian Cross Labyrinth
The shape of this labyrinth at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, NC in based off of the Ethiopian Cross. The design is full of symbolism that reflects everlasting life, a mandorla, with nods to Ethiopian and Celtic design.
Ethiopian Cross Labyrinth - St. Ambrose Episcopal Church - Photo courtesy St. Ambrose Church Raleigh.
Address:
St. Ambrose Episcopal Church
813 Darby Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27610
The Triple Spiral Labyrinths
Spiral Labyrinths make up 1.6% of the labyrinths in the US. The largest labyrinth in the US happens to be a spiral. Less common are triple labyrinths like the one you can find at The Hermitage Community in Three Rivers, Michigan. This labyrinth is available to walk with an appointment which you can do on the communities website. Oh, and there are more interesting spirals in the US. If you are in Helena, Montana you can find a Quad Spiral Labyrinth !
Both photos courtesy of the Hermitage(click to view larger versions):
Address:
The Hermitage Community
11321 Dutch Settlement Road, Three Rivers, Michigan 49093
Celtic Spiral Labyrinth
Photos used with permission from the Blue Frog Garden Nursery. Plan a visit to this family owned nursery located in Gig Harbor, WA on their website. This labyrinth was designed by Russ Smith and you can read about its design and construction on its dedicated page of the website. It was inspired by interlocking Celtic knots.
Address:
Blue Frog Garden Nursery
12510 110th St NW, Gig Harbor, Washington 98329
Common Ground Dual Entrance Labyrinth
St. Hilda’s Episcopal Church in Monmouth, Oregon features this unique labyrinth design, based off of the Vesica Piscis symbol. From the entrance you may go in either direction, each of which leads to the other, with an option to stop in the center of the labyrinth at the fish shape.
Photo courtesy of St. Hilda's Episcopal Church Common Ground Labyrinth - Monmouth, Oregon
Address:
St. Hilda’s Episcopal Church
245 Main St. W., Monmouth, Oregon 97361
Serpent Labyrinth
This beautiful serpent labyrinth was previously owned by Rev. Vera DeCicco, but now can be found in Park Slope, Brooklyn at the Old First Reformed Church with Pastor Cheri. The artwork is made from acrylic paint on canvas and was painted by Crow Mitchell based on a dream of the original owner, Rev. Vera DeCicco.
Serpent Labyrinth - courtesy of Rev. Vera DeCicco
Address:
Old First Reformed Church
729 Carroll St, Brooklyn, New York
Ear Shaped Labyrinth
The Here-ing Labyrinth in Lawrence, Kansas is in the shape of a very large human ear ! Designed by Janine Antoni, this labyrinth is cut into the grass and is located at the Suzanne Ecke McColl Nature Reserve. The best explanation of this labyrinth can be found on the artists website.
Address:
Roth Trail Head
E 1600 Road, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044
Triangle Labyrinths
The shape might not be surprising in this list of labyrinths, but the actual example I selected might be. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri has a triangle shaped labyrinth made with glass walls in their sculpture park. Plan a visit on their website. This labyrinth, designed by Robert Morris is the perfect type of labyrinth to check out a satellite view of.
Address:
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64111
Turtle Shaped Labyrinths
I am going to feature the Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Park because it has such a nice story. Built over 20 years, this labyrinth park features a turtle made up of many labyrinths. The head of the turtle is a 7 circuit Chartres style labyrinth, the body of the turtle is made from a modified 11 circuit Reims style labyrinth and the tail of the turtle is made from a triple spiral labyrinth with 5-circuits per spiral. At a combined 266 x 174 feet this is one of the largest labyrinths in the US (The internal Reims style labyrinth is 174 x 174 ft on it’s own). Plan a trip on the parks website.
Address:
Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Park
7440 US Hwy 54 N. Alamogordo, New Mexico, 88310
Even more Labyrinth shapes to explore:
I had even more unique labyrinths to choose from I found and I will highlight the most interesting here, just without the photos and info (click on the name to see it’s labyrinth locator page). I start with the most famous character featured, a Snoopy Labyrinth is at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. Another animal labyrinth, this one at the University of Connecticut, Avery Point Campus features a crab!
For religious themed labyrinths we have labyrinths that feature a cross like this one at Saint Peter Lutheran Church, although there are more cross labyrinths around the country. The Blue Ridge Mountain Clan in Enola, PA has a Wiccan Pentacle Labyrinth– a star within a circle. The Sacred Circles Hilltop features 7 different labyrinths in Ramona, CA, including a Pentagram Labyrinth. The Atlanta Unity Church in Georgia features a labyrinth made of pavers that spells out GOD.
The La Puerta Natural Burial Ground in Belen, NM has a vortex labyrinth that features a spiral center and different entrance/exit. If you want to walk an Infinity Symbol Labyrinth, you can find one at Infinite Healing and Wellness in Middletown, NJ. The design features hearts instead of teardrops in the internal design…if that makes sense. Tree Labyrinths are popular (see these examples: GA, IL, MN).
Have you found another labyrinth with a great shape ? Let me know and send a picture !