Family fun: ‘We’d rather confuse people than wear them out.’
By Casey Gillis on Sep. 24, 2008
(434) 385-5525
During the past few months, all Monnie Steele wanted was rain.
“I have prayed for rain more in the past two months than I have in my entire life,” says the Rustburg resident, who has spent the summer preparing to open a corn maze in Campbell County.
But she and her family, who helped in the endeavor, were often felled by a lack of rain.
“This was not the year to do it,” she says. “The weather has not cooperated.”
Because of the dry weather, the corn didn’t grow as much as they would have liked. The maze starts off about knee-high and, a third of the way through, stalks are eight or nine feet tall.
“It’s good-looking corn,” she says. “It starts off small and gets bigger.”
Some rain did come eventually, the week before opening day on Sept. 6. And it didn’t stop.
“It was a little late in coming, but that was OK,” says Steele, who had to postpone the opening. “It gave us another week to fine-tune things.”
When the Corn Maze at Trestle Park did finally open Sept. 13, “it was sweaty fun,” Steele says with a laugh, referring to the 90-degree temperatures that day.
“The heat was terrible. It was a slow start, but it’ll get better. (It was good to) just to get the first day under your belt … (and) work out the bugs.”
The 4-acre maze, which features a mile and a half of trails, is located at Trestle Park Road, off U.S. 501 just north of Rustburg. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 25.
Trestle Park is more than just a corn maze. Steele and her family have put in other activities - a giant slingshot, horseshoes, ladder golf, a picnic area and a concession stand, which will sell things like pretzels, popcorn and hot dogs - to keep families entertained.
Steele and her husband, Gene, bought the property with the idea of a maze already in mind. They want it to be a community-building activity, a place where families can get outside and enjoy time together.
“We found this, and it looked like it was perfect,” Steele says. “I thought that was the hardest part: finding the land. But the work had just begun.”
With the help of Gene and their son, Lee, Steele got to work, preparing the land for the corn, which a local farmer planted the first week of June.
Steele then hired a Missouri company, Precision Mazes, to design and cut the corn into a maze. Owner Rob Stouffer cut the maze in July, when the corn was about three feet high, Steele says.
Stouffer says the popularity of corn mazes can be attributed, in part, to providing a farm experience for those who might not get it elsewhere.
“The reality is very few people have a tie back to a farm (now),” he says. “Several generations ago, everyone did. (Your) grandfather or uncle grew up on one. It’s not like that anymore.”
He says the growth of mazes has continued since he began cutting them in 2001.
“People are recognizing the business opportunity of the mazes. And at the heart of it, it’s good, clean family fun.”
Steele also will open Trestle Park to schools and youth groups during the week by special appointment. She says there are a lot of spiritual lessons to be learned from a corn maze, like “making choices (and) where the paths will lead you.”
Stouffer says most maze owners contact him in the winter months, when he and his team come up with custom designs based on the size and shape of the cornfield.
Trestle Park has what Stouffer would call a classic or geometric maze. Since he’s been in business, he’s done mazes that sit on up to 25 acres, some with sports themes - like a replica of NASCAR racer Michael Waltrip’s car - and others with corporate logos.
But a big maze doesn’t necessarily mean a better maze, Stouffer says.
“In a 25-acre maze, we can have over 10 miles worth of paths,” he says. “(That) does become just a daunting physical challenge. We’d rather our mazes be an intellectual challenge. We’d rather confuse people than wear them out.”
IF YOU’RE GOING
WHAT: The Corn Maze at Trestle Park
WHERE: 264 Trestle Park Road, off U.S. 501 just north of Rustburg
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays until Oct. 25
ADMISSION: $5 for adults, $3 for kids ages 5 to 11 and free for kids 4 and younger. A portion of the cost will go to the Rustburg Rescue Squad.
INFO: http://www.trestlepark.com or
Trestle Park isn’t the only game in town. Layman Family Farms’ 10-acre maze, located at 1815 Mountain View Church Road in Montvale, has been up and running since 2004. This year, they teamed up with BeamerBall.com for their maze design: a likeness of Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer’s face, with the words “Frank for President 2008.”
The maze is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 9. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for ages 11 to 17, $8 for ages 3 to 10 and free for children 2 and younger.
For more information, visit http://www.laymanfamilyfarms.com.
COMMENTS