The South Texas MAiZE, one of the region's most popular fall attractions, was supposed to open its gates in Hondo this weekend. Instead, Graff 7A Ranch announced it is pushing the debut back to Saturday, September 26, as brutal late-summer heat continues to bake South Central Texas well past its usual expiration date.
The ranch made the call for safety reasons, according to a statement posted to Instagram and reported by MySA, which first reported the schedule change. Organizers kept the maze's planned Hometown Heroes tribute honoring military members and first responders intact for the new opening weekend, per the same report.
The delay comes as the Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service office has forecast near-record heat for the area over the next several days, with temperatures reaching the 90s and triple digits and abnormally warm overnight lows offering little relief. Heat indexes have been approaching 110 degrees, conditions the weather service has tied to little chance of rain in the near term, the outlet's report notes.
A Family Tradition Born From Drought
Graff 7A Ranch operates the South Texas MAiZE in Hondo. The attraction has operated since 2001, according to KENS 5.
The maze has become a permanent autumn destination for the region, according to the Hondo Economic Development Corporation.
What Visitors Will Find This Season
The attraction includes an eight-acre corn maze, a pumpkin patch, hay rides and live entertainment, according to the seed reporting. The maze itself features a unique sorghum pattern and a new custom theme designed each year. Visitors navigate the maze while answering questions on a passport as they go.
Once it opens, the South Texas MAiZE will run every weekend from September until late November, closing for the season on November 21. General admission tickets are priced at $21. The ranch is located at 911 U.S. Highway 90 East in Hondo, near San Antonio.
Crowds and a Warming Pattern
The stakes of an opening-weekend decision are significant: the South Texas MAiZE draws families from across the San Antonio region, according to a longstanding MySA report on the venue. The ranch has operated continuously every autumn for 25 years, making its opening dates a fixture of the region's fall calendar.
This year's delay is unfolding against an unusually hot backdrop statewide and nationally. NOAA data reported by The Watchers News showed the contiguous United States logged its warmest meteorological summer on record in 2026, surpassing marks previously set in 1936 and 2021, with flash drought conditions persisting across the Southern Plains through mid-September. Average September highs for the San Antonio area typically sit in the lower 90s, according to the Express-News, which reported that September 12 temperatures would challenge but likely fall short of San Antonio's 103-degree record set in 1893.
The heat has stretched far beyond Medina County. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex set an all-time record for the most 100-degree days ever recorded in September, according to KERA News. In the regional listings, Owl Creek Farm in San Antonio has dates beginning September 25, while the available material does not establish a late-September opening for BellCreek Acres Farm in La Coste. Late-September openings are listed for at least one regional pumpkin patch.
