Lone Pine Farms, a popular rural market and family attraction for three decades, has closed for good.

Owners Michael and Stephanie Jensen had put the property located on River Road about two miles north of Eugene up for sale three years ago, but it hasn't sold yet. Seeking to retire, the couple decided not to reopen for another season later this month, said Brent Cole, their commercial broker.

Cole said the couple wasn't giving media interviews about their decision.

About a dozen potential buyers have expressed interest in the property. The farm was briefly under contract in 2016 before the potential sale fizzled, Cole said. The asking price for the 30 acres along River Road, which includes the buildings, is $775,000.

The buyers who have stepped forward have expressed interest in operating a winery, distribution site, wedding venue and hemp farm on the property, Cole said. The property is zoned for exclusive farm use.

A major challenge has been that interested buyers haven't been able to cobble together the cash and financing needed to complete a sale, Cole said.

"You can't really leverage (borrow money for) a business like that at 90 percent," he said. "It doesn't exist."

The farm included a large store and playground that has long attracted families. Children and their parents fed the goats and chickens in the petting zoo. The farm was a popular destination during the fall for its corn maze and pumpkin patch.

Andy Ewoniuk, a lifelong Eugene resident and father of two, said he was saddened by news of the farm's closure. He recalled going on field trips to the farm when he attended O'Hara Catholic School and navigating its scary corn maze before Halloween as a teenager.

Decades later, his younger son had his birthday party at the farm and Ewoniuk accompanied his teenage son in navigating the corn maze a few years ago.

"I can go get a pumpkin somewhere else, but it's not going to be the same," Ewoniuk said. "That's the bottom line."

Some local farms that offer seasonal family activities including Thistledown Farms, just down River Road from Lone Pine; Johnson Vegetable Farms on Armitage Road; and Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm near Pleasant Hill.

Andy Vobora, an executive with Travel Lane County, the county's tourism bureau, said while not huge attractions, these farms do draw visitors from outside the area. The event list for Lone Pine's corn maze on the Travel Lane County website received 1,700 visitors in 2017, he said.

"Once people are in market, and especially families, they are looking for things to do," said Vobora, who lives in the Santa Clara area and had often visited Lone Pine.

The Jensens initially listed their entire 60-acre property, but then halved the offer to help land a sale. The listing for the entire 60-acre property is $1.5 million.

As they look for a buyer, the owners have liquidated much of the equipment on the property since the farm closed last fall for the final time, Cole said.

"Now it's an empty shell," he said.

Follow Christian Hill on Twitter @RGchill. Email christian.hill@registerguard.com