A Thornton farm family is celebrating 25 years of turning cornfields into a fall destination, even after watching the canal that feeds their crops run critically low for most of the growing season. Maize in the City, which has operated on the same patch of land in the Denver area since the 1980s, welcomed the community this year for its 25th season of agri-tourism, powering through what its owner calls one of the driest years the property has ever seen.
Mark Villano, the farmer and owner of Maize in the City, grew 50 acres of corn this year despite conditions that left little room for error. According to Denver7, Villano said the canal supplying his corn had been quite dry since June, and the crop received very little irrigation throughout the growing season. The corn ultimately got by on just four full waterings, with a rainstorm providing a boost once the stalks had grown tall enough to benefit from it, per the same report.
Villano did not mince words about how this year compared to seasons past. He said the canal conditions were the worst year going back to the 1800s, the station's report notes, a striking benchmark for a farm that has operated on this land since the 1980s. Cristina Palombo, who helps run Maize in the City alongside Villano, said the family has farmed the land since that same era, and the operation is owned by three siblings who have kept the tradition going through it all.
A Quarter-Century Since a Dozen-Car Parking Lot
Maize in the City opened to the public 25 years ago, but it started far smaller than the sprawling attraction it is today. The farm began its agri-tourism operation in 2001 with just about four acres and room for a dozen cars, Denver7 reports, a modest footprint compared with what visitors find now. Villano said his farm was one of the few Colorado corn maze operations to outlast others in the business, and he said he simply enjoys opening the farm for the community each fall.
Today the attraction features two corn mazes, according to Maize in the City's own site, including the main maze and a smaller mini maze built each year for younger visitors. The farm is described there as family and farmer owned, one of Colorado's longest-running fall festivals. Beyond the mazes, the property features a market, a pumpkin master building store, and a pumpkin patch where visitors can pick their own, alongside pumpkin picking, a petting zoo, and family attractions for all ages. Admission to the festival is free, with optional paid activities ranging from $5 to $20 per person.
Season Dates Vary by Year
The farm's own website says the 2026 season opened on September 19 for weekends only before moving to Thursday through Sunday on October 15. CBS Colorado reported that Maize in the City was open on select days from September 25 through October 30 in 2021. Anyone planning a trip may want to confirm hours directly with the farm before heading out.
A Statewide Squeeze on Water
Maize in the City's dry canal is not an isolated problem. Colorado recorded its lowest statewide average snowpack in recorded history this year, and nearly 91% of the state was in drought as of July 21, with 37.2% in extreme drought and 31.8% in severe drought, according to The Denver Gazette. Many areas saw roughly four inches less precipitation than average this year, forcing farmers and ranchers statewide to haul water for animals, downsize herds and change crops, the Gazette reported. One fourth-generation Eaton farmer said he could not recall ever planting only 75% of his acreage, while a Brighton farm family chose not to plant about 40% of its farmable acreage because of the extremely low snowpack.
The strain has already claimed at least one Colorado fall tradition. Jack Lantern's Corn Maze in Fort Collins, which has operated for more than 20 years and normally features a 40-acre maze that turns haunted at night along with pumpkins, farm animals and a pedal-car track, announced it would not run its usual October season this year, citing drought and a lack of water shares, according to Retro 102.5.
Why Farms Lean on Fall Festivals
The stakes of keeping an attraction like Maize in the City running go beyond nostalgia. Agritourism has long served as a viable, modern economic option for farmers in Colorado, and Gina Palombo told The Denver Post in 2016 that just those few weeks of fall operation could draw in more revenue than an entire year of produce sales.
For Villano and his family, this season has been less about numbers and more about persistence. He said the farm and family will push through the season regardless of the canal's condition, and that he still enjoys opening Maize in the City for the community every year. With the state's drought emergency still shaping conditions across Colorado, that determination has kept a 25-year tradition standing in Thornton for one more fall.
