A Collection of Maze and Labyrinth Resources

Below is a list of websites and resources I have come across that I found helpful as I have researched various maze and labyrinth subjects.

labyrinthlocator.com

The leading worldwide search tool to find labyrinths near you or to plan a visit while you are on vacation. Includes locations, pictures, and contact information for over 6,000 labyrinths in an easy to search database. I have personally used this to find a nearby labyrinth to walk while I was on vacation.

Maize Map and Maze Play Maze locator

Between these 2 websites, you can find local corn mazes near you in the US, a perfect Fall activity !

veriditas.org

Non-profit dedicated to the spiritual aspect of walking labyrinths. Founded by Lauren Artress, author of the book Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice. Has an extensive calendar of events that include a pilgrimage to Chartres in France. Also offers facilitator training for leading spiritual labyrinth walks.

labyrinthsociety.org

Non-profit dedicated to “to support all those who create, maintain and use labyrinths, and to serve the global community by providing education, networking and opportunities to experience transformation” to quote their mission statement. Includes a wonderful events calendar that includes worldwide walking events.

www.mazegenerator.net

Exactly what the domain suggests, an online maze generator. You can select between 4 shapes, 4 styles of cells, along with the height and width.

labyrinthe.at

Labyrinth resource specializing in labyrinths in Austria. Wonderful for persons who are German speaking. Has a listing of labyrinth walking events in Europe, typically including Chartres Cathedral in France, as well as events in Austria and Germany.

hrp.org.uk

The historic royal palace website in England with a direct link above to the most famous maze in the world, The Hampton Court maze. Includes vistor information for tickets, and some historical information.

cathedrale-chartres.org

The Chartres Cathedral in France has the most famous church floor labyrinth. This pattern is thought to be the most copied labyrinth pattern. You can find pilgrimages there on many of the sites on this page, or you can plan a trip yourself on their website.

blogmymaze.wordpress.com

A blog about labyrinths from Erwin Reißmann and Andreas Frei. The cumulative amount of information is impressive and the research is excellent. Has been around since 2008.

relax4life.com

Site dedicated to holistic education and mindfulness that focuses on the healing power of labyrinths. They sell a variety of labyrinth themed products like labyrinth blankets, canvas labyrinths and an extensive collection of finger labyrinths.

sagebrushexchange.com

If you live near Kansas City, Missouri stop by the Prairia Labyrinth. Also explains the use of 7 chakras to spiritually explain the walk of a classical labyrinth.

paxworks.com

A little bit of everything labyrinth wise, with links to labyrinth themed books, music, videos, and a photo gallery.

Here are some of my most viewed posts that delve deep into topics:

The Ultimate Directory of Maze and Labyrinth Builders: The Top 13 Builders in the world

For anyone who wants to build a physical maze, this blog post will help you find the biggest and best designers and builders of things like stone labyrinths, hedge mazes, and corn mazes.

The 12 Most Important Retro Maze Video Games to Lose a Day With

You may not think of video games when you think of mazes, but there are many maze games, think Pac-Man, and this post highlights some of the most important.

Maze and Labyrinth Movies

A collection of over 120 reviews of movies that have either mazes or labyrinths as part of the story. For a sortable spreadsheet of all the movies listed here is the link to the google sheet.

44 Different Types of Mazes and Labyrinths

Not a comprehensive, but a good overview of the different types of mazes and labyrinths with examples.

And from this site:

How to make a Digital Maze (over 40 different types)

How to make a variety of Digital Labyrinths

The Surprising Benefits of Solving Mazes

classical labyrinth

A Collection of Common (and uncommon) Maze terms

Sure, you could use a dictionary, but why not look right here for the maze and labyrinth term definitions you are wondering about. Certainly not a complete list, but it should include most things you are looking for.

ADJUSTABLE MAZES - Real world mazes (Often hedge mazes) that can be changed by using maze gates.

ANFRACTUOSITY - A winding channel or course as in a maze.

ARROW MAZE - A maze where you must follow the direction of the arrows to solve the maze. Or - A maze containing arrows to limit the direction a solver may take the pathways.

AXONOMETRIC - A type of grid that allows a maze creator to draw an object in 3 dimensions on a flat piece of paper by rotating the line of sight.

CAERDROIA LABYRINTH - A type of Welsh turf maze based on the Cretan labyrinth design.

CHAKRA-VYUHA - An Indian labyrinth pattern used to focus a mother during childbirth.

COLOR MAZE - A type of conditional maze that uses color and color patterns to determine path decisions you can make to move forward in the mazes.

CONDITIONAL MAZE - A maze where rules or conditions are established on where or how you can move.

CORN MAZE - (Maize maze in UK) - A maze made from the strategic planting of corn stalks (or alternatively the removal of corn stalks).

DEAD END - A path in a maze that ends without reaching the goal where you must turn back and choose a new pathway.

DEAD END FILLING - A method of solving a maze by filling in dead ends until only the correct pathway remains.

DIRECTIONAL MAZE - A maze with one way passages where you must follow the direction indicated. A type of conditional maze.

ENTRANCE - The start of the maze or labyrinth where you enter it, although not all mazes have an entrance !

EXIT - The goal of the maze where you exit. In a labyrinth the exit is typically in the same location as the entrance although there are some exceptions such as a Baltic Wheel Labyrinth.

FREE DRAWN - A maze that does not use a pre-determined grid pattern for structure.

GOAL - The end of a maze !

GRID - A frame of spaced blocks that create the backbone to the design of many maze types.

HEDGE MAZE - A maze whose barriers are made of hedge.

HAND ON WALL SOLVING METHOD - A method of solving a real world maze that works on any “SIMPLY CONNECTED” Maze.

HIDDEN MESSAGE MAZE - A maze where the solution forms a written message.

I'ITOI - The creator and God of the O'odham people who is the man standing in the Man in the Maze symbol.

IMAGE PUZZLE / IMAGE MAZE - A maze where the solution forms an image !

INTERACTIVE MAZE - A maze that changes as you move through it. Often achieved in WATER Mazes.

LABYRINTH - A maze with no decisions or junctions. Moving forward will get you to the goal.

LOOPS - A type of maze pathway that leads the solver back to the original location, essentially wasting time and not being closer to solving the maze.

MAZE GATES - Gates used to adjust mazes and change the paths allowing visitors to complete a maze multiple times.

MINOTAUR - A half bull / half human that in mythology was believed to live in the center of the labyrinth at Knossos.

MIRROR MAZE - A maze typically found in a carnival funhouse where the walls are made of mirrors to add complexity (and hopefully a bit of fun) for the solver.

ORIENTATION - Where you are in relation to your surroundings.

PATHWAY - The part of the maze or labyrinth that you travel on for physical paper and digital mazes.

PAVED STONE MAZE - A maze whose path is made of paved stone. borders may be made of earth/turf, ditches of water or stones of different colors than the path to differentiate them.

PUZZLE MAZE - Mazes that require some type of solving in order to determine proper movement in the maze. Examples are a Math maze, number maze, letter maze, and a block move maze.

SPIRAL - A common maze pathway design meant to confuse to solver as lines converge to a central point.

TREMAUX’S ALGORITHM - A maze solving algorithm by Charles Pierre Trémaux that is used by someone with no prior knowledge of a maze.

QUICK EXIT - In a real world maze, a quick exit takes you from the GOAL to the exit (often via a bridge or tunnel) so you don’t have to exit the maze by reversing your path.

REVERSE SOLVING - Solving a maze from goal to start, often to lower the difficulty level.

THESEUS - Greek hero who killed the Minotaur according to legend.

TROY TOWN (OR TROYTOWN) - A name commonly given to turf mazes, especially in England, because in popular legend the city of Troy was laid out in a confusing way to confuse attacking enemies.

UNICURSAL - A single-pathed way with no decision points or junctions. Commonly referred to as a Labyrinth in the US.

WEAVING MAZE - A type of maze where the pathways weave above and below each other and allow the solver to solve in another dimension.

For a more complete list of the different types of mazes and labyrinths with examples and videos I suggest this post:

44 Different Types of Mazes and Labyrinths

And also this page with some fun quotes:

Quotes about Mazes and Labyrinths

Sand Labyrinths return to the Oregon Coast in October !

If you are in Oregon, you are in luck to see some beautiful sand artwork because Circles in the Sand is returning to Florence, Oregon on October 18 and 19. The event will take place on Heceta Beach next to Driftwood Shores Resort and Conference Center (88416 1st Ave, Florence, OR 97439). Vendors will be set-up, and a kite flying team will be having an acrobatic kite flying exhibition. Sounds like a fun time ! The event is free.

The event details are:

Driftwood Shores Resort
October 18th and 19th

    Schedule for both days:
3pm Circles Team starts drawing
4pm Volunteers groom the DreamField
5pm Walk until sunset at 6:30

 

I have written about sand labyrinths before. They are created beach artist Denny Dyke along with the help of a group of volunteers. You may have seen his work before on the national news. Here is a short video showcasing his work:

You can find dozens of videos showcasing these unique labyrinths on YouTube with a quick search, going back for a decade ! So if you are interested in more of this, there is a lot more to explore.

The typical location for the works is in Bandon, Oregon and you can find details on the Circles in Sand website. I’m sure we will have a wonderful drone video to watch after ! The photo gallery is worth a look !

Additional related blog posts you may like:

8 Labyrinths to visit in Oregon

10 Labyrinths to visit in Washington

5 Books about the Spiritual Aspect of Labyrinths

Worldwide Labyrinth Finder - Find a labyrinth to walk near you, or while on vacation

The Largest Square Labyrinth in the World

The Largest Square Labyrinth in the World (Probably*). I wanted to test out my method of making square labyrinths and make sure I got the math right, etc, and decided to go for the world record. A record that does not exist and could easily be beaten. If you have seen my How to Make a Labyrinth section I feature over 20 different options for many different shapes. My previous largest labyrinth with directions was for the 27 circuit classical labyrinth.

I will not be doing directions for this one - but I will be showing you a few point in the process, and if you want you can adapt this blog post of an 11 circuit into directions for any size easily. Here is the starting seed pattern.

Seed pattern 99 circuit square labyrinth

The math of this is that each of the 4 sections have 25 pathways, so that is 50 across the whole pattern. To determine the circuit # the math is 2x pathways minus one, or 2 x 50 - 1 = 99 circuits. So to make a seed pattern for an X size labyrinth use that formula.

I wanted to show you how this looked after connecting only the top portion of pathways. As you can see things get large quickly !

And let’s just skip to the final 99 Square Circuit Labyrinth, The Largest Square Labyrinth in the World (probably*).

99 Square Circuit Labyrinth

For most of you (99.8%) that is going to look terrible because it is so large compared to your screen. Now take your finger and travel the pathways for the next few hours and….yeah no, do not do that.

I will mention a tip common in making labyrinths that you may have noticed. The center point changes from the starting seed to the final labyrinth drastically. So, if you are making this, or any other labyrinth start it lower on the paper to account for this. See the illustration below shown in red and blue:

So that is it. I would say it was fun to make but it really wasn’t. If you liked this post you may also like these:

The Largest Arrow Maze in the World (probably)

A Comparison of 5 different types of 11 Circuit Labyrinths