‘Another SA icon gone’: Popular Mintaro Hedge Maze announces closure after 25 years

Fans of an iconic SA hedge maze will have only two weeks to get themselves lost before the venue hits its final dead end.

Mintaro Maze is set to close. Picture: Brenton Edwards

A beloved tourist attraction north of Adelaide is closing down after 25 years.

The Mintaro Maze, located about two hours north of Adelaide in the Clare Valley wine region, will officially close its doors on April 27 after being open since 2000.

It all started on a cold and rainy day 30 years ago when a family of four decided to buy up the land at Mintaro with a plan to transform it into something that would be remembered by generations.

The Mintaro Maze will be closing after 30 years. Picture: Bo Le

Sharon Morris with her 2yo grand daughter Amelie has announced she and her husband will retire and in turn the Mintaro Maze will close. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Michael, Sharon, Jacinta and Tyson Morris, along with a group of friends, started to hand plant more than 800 Castlewellan gold conifers in 1995 and started working on turning the block into a hedge maze.

The maze officially opened on October 28, 2000 and since its opening has been fully watered by only rainfall, standing strong despite drought and vandalism in its 25 year run.

In 2018, the maze – which has attracted thousands of tourists to the area each year – was sprayed with poisonous chemicals, forcing the Morris family to replace some of their beloved conifers with metal partitions.

Three years later, the maze was poisoned again, causing a total of $120k over the two incidents.

But the Morris family stayed strong through the difficult time, receiving unwavering support from fans of the maze.

Punters were disappointed to hear the sad news of the maze’s closure after it was broken on social media.

“Another SA icon gone!” one disappointed commenter said.

“No way, we have to go before it closes,” was a common thought shared in social media comments.

Mrs Morris told The Advertiser the reason the maze was closing was because she and her husband had made the decision to retire.

She said she’s not sure what direction it would go in but was hoping the maze, along with the adjoined property and cafe could be sold and repurposed.

The Morris family initially listed the Mintaro Maze up for sale in 2024.

The Mintaro Maze is currently closed for maintenance but will reopen on April 12 for its final fortnight, closing to the general public on April 27.

Originally published as ‘Another SA icon gone’: Popular Mintaro Hedge Maze announces closure after 25 years