Road Trip: Fort Hill Farms in Thompson
A farm in Connecticut's Quiet Corner is marking America's 250th anniversary with a red, white, and blue adventure through the cornfields. Fort Hill Farms in Thompson is opening its new Star-Spangled Maze on Aug. 28
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A farm in Connecticut’s Quiet Corner is marking America’s 250th anniversary with a red, white and blue adventure through the cornfields. Fort Hill Farms in Thompson is opening its new Star-Spangled Maze on Aug. 28, giving visitors a chance to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial while enjoying the farm’s wide-open spaces and rural charm.
A unique feature on the family farm is its self-service farm stand, called The Farmer’s Porch, where customers can purchase local products on the honor system using cash or Venmo.
“We’re so busy, we don’t have time to man the store,” said farm owner Kristin Orr. “So we put in a store on the honor system.”
Inside, visitors can find fresh milk, eggs, chocolate milk, coffee milk, Cabot cheeses and yogurt, homemade soaps and other local favorites.
But the farm’s biggest attraction each fall is its corn maze, and this year’s design is especially patriotic. The maze features a Betsy Ross flag and an “amber waves of grain” theme inspired by America’s heritage. Visitors receive what owner Kristin Orr calls “farmer’s GPS” as they make their way through color-coded sections marked in red, white and blue.
“When you go in, you’re in red for a half an hour, you’re in white for half an hour, and you’re in blue for half an hour,” Orr explained.
Beyond the maze, guests can explore the farm’s scenic grounds, enjoy a picnic, stroll along a landscaped pond and admire a variety of trees and gardens, including weeping beeches, Norway spruces and Japanese red maples.
One of the farm’s more whimsical features is the Pumpkin Library, a small pumpkin house filled with pumpkins displayed on shelves.
“I thought books on shelves is a library, so pumpkins on shelves is a pumpkin library,” Orr said.
She says visitors travel from across the country to experience the peaceful setting and natural beauty that can’t be found just anywhere.
“You can’t buy this. The blue sky, the green trees, the green corn,” she said. “The wide-open experiences are found inland.”
The Star-Spangled Maze runs from Aug. 28 through Nov. 1, 2026.
