This winter maze set has twelve puzzles for preschoolers, and each one is a little harder than the one before. Every page has a friendly picture at the start and another at the finish, and a short line tells the story: help the hedgehog find the way to the leaf pile. The first maze is a 6 by 6 grid with wide paths. The last is 10 by 10, with more turns and a few dead ends. The levels run easy, medium, tricky, hard and hardest.
The pictures are snowy day favorites: a puppy in a knitted sweater heading for its doghouse, a tractor with a snow plow on its way to the barn, a little ship pushing through the ice to a lighthouse and a shaggy yak walking to a yurt. Every PDF is free, has the answer key on page two and prints on US Letter and A4. There is no sign-up.
The set suits ages 3 to 5. Younger preschoolers can start with the hedgehog and the puppy, while older preschoolers can try the goat and the yak. For other themes, visit the printable mazes page.
Download the winter pages
Easy Hedgehog to Leaf Pile Maze
The easiest page, a 6 by 6 maze with wide paths that takes a smiling hedgehog to a snowy leaf pile, a gentle start for new solvers.
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Easy Puppy to Doghouse Maze
A 6 by 6 maze where a happy puppy in a knitted sweater trots to a wooden doghouse with snow on its roof, still wide and simple.
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Easy Beaver to Lodge Maze
A 7 by 7 maze where a smiling beaver with big front teeth heads for its lodge of sticks, a small step up from the puppy.
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Medium Narwhal to Iceberg Maze
A 7 by 7 maze where a round narwhal with a spiral tusk swims to a tall iceberg, with a few more forks to choose between.
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Medium Tractor to Barn Maze
A 7 by 7 maze that takes a tractor with a big snow plow blade to a snowy barn, good for children who love farms.
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Medium Bear Cub to Cave Maze
An 8 by 8 maze where a sleepy bear cub with closed eyes walks to a rocky cave capped with snow, a good next step.
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Tricky Bunny to Carrots Maze
An 8 by 8 maze where a fluffy bunny leaps toward a bunch of carrots tied with a bow, with longer paths that bend back.
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Tricky Monkey to Hot Spring Maze
A 9 by 9 maze where a shaggy snow monkey walks to a steaming hot spring ringed with stones, for steady solvers.
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Tricky Ship to Lighthouse Maze
A 9 by 9 maze where a little ship pushes through waves and ice to a striped lighthouse on the rocks, with several dead ends.
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Hard Sheep to Hay Bale Maze
A 9 by 9 maze where a woolly sheep looks for a round hay bale under a blanket of snow, for confident preschoolers.
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Hard Goat to Mountain Top Maze
A 10 by 10 maze where a fluffy goat with curved horns leaps toward a snowy mountain top with a flag on its peak.
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Hardest Yak to Yurt Maze
The hardest page, a 10 by 10 maze with plenty of turns that takes a shaggy yak with long horns to a round yurt.
Download PDFHow to use these pages
Each PDF has two pages. Page one is the maze, and page two is the answer key, with the way through marked as a line of dots. Choose page 1 only in your print settings so the answer stays out of sight. Print at 100 percent or choose Fit to page. The PDF is US Letter size and the margins leave room for A4, so the maze and both pictures stay whole on either paper.
Plain copy paper is fine for crayons and pencils. If your child wants to color the pictures with markers, print on cardstock so the ink does not soak through. A chunky crayon is easiest for small hands to steer between the walls. For a maze that can be used again, slide the page into a clear plastic sleeve and trace with a dry-erase marker.
Easy Hedgehog to Leaf Pile Maze and Easy Puppy to Doghouse Maze are the easiest pages, with only 6 squares on a side, wide paths and very few turns. Medium Narwhal to Iceberg Maze and Medium Tractor to Barn Maze add a few forks. Tricky Monkey to Hot Spring Maze and Tricky Ship to Lighthouse Maze bend back on themselves, and Hard Goat to Mountain Top Maze and Hardest Yak to Yurt Maze have the biggest grids, with more turns and dead ends.
Show a new solver one trick first: run a finger along the path before drawing, and when it bumps into a wall, go back to the last fork and try the other way. Once the line reaches the finish, both pictures are ready to color.
Ideas for these pages
- Snowy morning work: Put Easy Hedgehog to Leaf Pile Maze on each table as children arrive on a cold morning. It settles a busy room, and early finishers can color the leaves.
- Pencil grip practice: Drawing a line between two walls builds the small hand muscles children need for writing later. Ask your child to keep the crayon in the middle of the path.
- Animal homes talk: Use the beaver lodge, the bear cave and the doghouse to talk about where animals stay warm in winter. Ask which home your child would pick and why.
- Story time: After the ship reaches the lighthouse, ask what the ship is carrying and who is waiting on the rocks. Write the answer under the maze and read it back together.
- Snow day folder: Keep all twelve winter mazes and a box of crayons in a folder by the door. When it is too cold to play outside, the folder is ready.
- Partner mazes: Pair an older child with a younger one on Medium Bear Cub to Cave Maze. One traces the way with a finger, the other watches for dead ends, then they swap.
- Counting walk: On the easy pages, count the turns out loud as the line moves along. Then count the carrots in the bunch, the windows on the ship and the stripes on the lighthouse.
- Farm week: The tractor, barn, sheep and hay bale mazes fit a farm in winter unit. Talk about how farmers keep animals fed and warm when the fields are under snow.
- Waiting room pack: Fold two or three pages into a bag with a crayon for car trips and waiting rooms. Pick a mix of levels so there is always one easy maze to start.
What age is this winter maze for?
The set is made for ages 3 to 5. Younger preschoolers usually start with the three easy mazes, the hedgehog, the puppy and the beaver, where the paths are wide and the turns are few. Children nearly ready for kindergarten tend to enjoy the goat and the yak, where the grid is bigger and the dead ends take more careful looking.
Is this winter maze printable on A4 paper?
Yes. The PDFs are set to US Letter, and the margins are wide enough that each page prints in full on A4 as well. Leave scaling at 100 percent or choose Fit to page, and check the preview before you print. The maze, both pictures and the answer key all stay on the sheet.
Where is the answer key?
Every PDF has two pages. Page one is the maze, and page two shows the same maze with the way through marked as a line of dots, so you can check a finished path at a glance. To keep it out of sight, print page one only and keep one copy of the key for yourself.
Can I use these mazes in my classroom?
Yes. Preschool teachers, homeschool parents and childminders can print as many copies as their own children need. The mazes are free for personal and classroom use. Please do not sell them, add them to a paid pack or post the PDF files on another website. Sharing a link to this page is always welcome.
What should my child use to draw the path?
A chunky crayon or a thick pencil is easiest for small hands. Some children like to trace the way with a finger first and then draw it in one go. Once the path is done, crayons are good for the pictures at each end. Markers need cardstock so they do not bleed through.
