Absolutely delightful! It is rare to find a truly unique experience in these Midwestern getaway…read moretowns (charming as they are), but Hoof It certainly qualifies. "We took a hike with goats!" has become the leading highlight of all of our vacation stories. The hike itself is quite mild, relatively flat and mostly shaded. The guide will stop and talk for a minute or two, three or four times. It's very casual. The goats will walk among, around, and occasionally under you (if you're tall enough). They will nudge, brush, budge, and nuzzle you...and perhaps nibble, if the hem of your shirt or shorts is interesting enough. It's all totally harmless; they range between friendly and indifferent, a couple dozen of them in all sizes and colors. It was amazing to watch the larger ones "climb" a tree with their front legs to reach higher branches: stretched out like that, they seem enormous. They also do their business anywhere and everywhere, which our son dubbed "the poop and walk" and "the pee and walk". At the halfway point, there is a longer stop for photo opportunities, and everyone who wants to can hand-feed carrots to the goats. Primo experience and lifetime memories achieved. All thumbs up.

What could be better than walking in a beautiful wooded area with a herd of goats? The only thing…read morebetter is doing it with friends! Was that too (goat) cheesy?! Seriously, though, my friends and I were looking for fun things to do in Galena for our weekend trip and this experience came up! Only about 15 to 20 minutes away from the main street, the business is up a rocky road, so take your time and drive slow. You reserve and pay in advance, so once we showed up and checked in, it was basically time to start our one hour walk with the goats! I loved hearing stories of how the business got started, all of the goat names, seeing their personalities, and feeding them some carrot bits and taking a picture with them at the end! My group had a wonderful time, and I was even excited to see that it was wheelchair accessible because another party had someone in a motorized wheelchair. The pace was very calm and the trees and fall atmosphere was so beautiful! We didn't add on the dinner or other extras after the walk, but those were options. I recommend everyone check out Hoof It and walk with goats; it was even more fun than I thought it would be!

My husband and I decided to try out the farm tour at Berning Acres while we were visiting Galena,…read moreIL this summer. We had visited another dairy farm in the past and though it was interesting, it didn't hold a candle to Berning Acres. Farmer Natalie reached out in advance and let us know the "ground rules" for everyone's safety. We arrived a little before our tour and waited until it was time to go inside. We were joined by a multi-generational family group, including grandparents in their sixties, their adult children, and grandchildren aged about 2 to 10. There truly was something for everyone. Natalie was very engaging with each age group and made sure we learned all the cool things about their "girls." From the time the tour begins, you are immersed in all aspects of the farm, the cows, the fermenting hay, the workers doing their jobs and the delightful Berning family (we only met her sons but I'm confident that her daughters are just as wonderful) and their other farm animals! We were able to get up close and personal with new born cows, feed three-week-old calves and learn about all of the spoiling that goes into those mama cows as they prepare to birth their calves. We even had the chance, if we wanted to try our hand at milking. Natalie was very candid about the effort and investment involved in family farming, highlighting how advancements in technology help ensure the health and proper nutrition of cows at all ages. Aside from the farm tour, they also offer a farm camp and some really cool adult adventures with craft beers and wines (great ideas for a girls' weekend!), they have amazing Berning Acres cheeses as well. #galenaadventures #familyfarms

From the owner: We are a family-owned dairy farm located in Menominee, IL (halfway between East Dubuque & Galena)…read more We milk 400 cows, mostly Holsteins (the black and white ones.), and run about 850 acres. We're passionate about what we do, and we love educating others about what farming looks like today. We've always loved inviting people to come check out the farm and experience what farming is like in the 21st century. Our hope is that you'll visit our farm and leave with some great knowledge about agriculture, farm animals and farm life.

Amazing apples, house dipped caramel apples, perfect cider donuts, home made caramel, farm raised…read morebeef... lots to see. Some unique nicknacks too. Super friendly, welcoming family running the show. We might have discovered a new favorite apple called "Zestar". It's not a petting zoo but they have horse(s) and such and it's nice to wander or stretch your legs. Double check their website for hours. https://munchkeyapples.com. The drive is really quiet, relaxing rural Wisconsin (100% paved). Take your time. Strongly recommended. Nice weekend activity. Check out neighbors' pumpkins and such.

Great apple cidar donuts, great selection of apples. Well organized, fun event attendread more

We loved our time at the GalPaca Farm and seeing these mystical creatures. Pronounced Gal-Paca, not…read moreG-alpaca! The owners (2 Gals) were super friendly and interactive with us on any questions we asked. We loved hearing their story and how close the community around them is. On this street alone, you can hit a pumpkin patch and an apple picking farm all 5 minute drive from one another. They currently had a 'Yarn Hop' going on which we thought was so fun. With that, they really put standards in place for COVID safety precautions. At the front entrance, there was someone waiting to understand how many people were in your car (and if there were any children) so that they could contain crowds. Masks were worn and there is specific areas for parking marked. When we arrived, we were given a couple of carrot bags to feed the alpacas. They were all roaming, minding their own business eating the grass, but once you shake your plastic baggy of carrot goodness, they'll start walking to you instantly. They eat with their bottom teeth and are just the cutest things. I'm also extremely jealous of their eyelashes, extensions can't get you that amount of volume! Right next door, they have a another barn with their shop of goods, including honey/bee products. My friend got the alpaca gloves, another got the body butter, and I snagged a GalPaca shirt. There's lot to choose from and they're all labeled nicely. The cutest thing is, if you purchase yarn, there are the names of the specific alpaca it came from. So cute! Even though it's getting a little chillier, I would make my way out here to explore! A short 30-40 minutes from Madison and lots of other farms to see. You can also then go to more of the city area of Mt. Horeb afterwards.

Loved my time at GalPaca alpacas! We went during the local Yarn Hop even though my friends and I…read morearen't avid knitters. It was well worth it to spend some time there and watch the alpacas! Right away as we pulled in, we were given a baggie of carrots and the alpacas perked right up and came straight to us at the gate. Seeing and feeding the alpacas was so much fun! GalPaca Farm Alpacas was very conscious of the pandemic and made sure to ask about the number of people we had in the car and to limit the amount of visitors to make the experience fun and safe for all. Definitely check out the store inside, they have a full variety of items like alpaca wool gloves, socks, and dryer balls. I picked up some wood cutting board balm and some solid lotion bars made in-home and I love using both on a daily basis. Hope to get back out there when the weather is warm again!

Educational and enjoyable hour spent at Gretta's Goat farm. My group learned about the goats, held…read morebaby goats, were shown the goat soap making process and taught about cheese producing! We also learned about bee keeping and the integral dog and donkey protection of the goats. We tasted and bought yummy caramels and other products. Definitely a worth while stop!

My husband and I went to Gretta's Goat Farm for our second visit. Our stay was amazing. We were…read moreable to experience the quiet stay on the farm, the cozy guest house and THE GOATS! The goats are amazing. We were able to pet them freely as the hosts allow you to interact with them. Especially on the goat hike. I was fortunate enough to do this on back-to-back days. It was so fun to play with the goats as they ran around. The hosts are extremely friendly and so nice. They were happy to chat about the farm and provided a chance to purchase things at their store. We took home everything from T-shirts, to goat soap, to honey. All of which were great. The experience on the farm was calm, quiet and therapeutic. We can't wait to go back:)

I had SO much fun at Schuster's!! We came for Blooms on the Farm but really were surprised with all…read morethe fun little activities throughout the rest of the farm. You can wander around and find fun games, photo ops, and great food. The farm animals of course were adorable. I thought the entry ticket and flower ticket were very affordable for the abundance of beautiful zinneas we picked, access to fun yard games, and super kind staff. Highly recommend holding a baby goat if you can!! We also enjoyed corn hole, the "corn pit", kids playsets, and the jump pads. This is a great place to be summer or fall and there is something fun for everyone!! Worth the short drive from Madison for sure

I was there on a Saturday on October. The place was lively. There were a ton of activities,…read moreespecially for kids. Entree fee includes 2 apple cannon shots. There was hay ride, a kids train ride, corn pit etc. Couple of times a day there was candy canon, where they shoot candies to the people. Apple caramal apple slushie was my favorite food here. It comes with a caramal apple and a cider donut on top of slushie. Hot cider and pumpkin cake were good. There was pumpkin picking in the middle of hay ride. I picked a small pumpkin. Price was reasonable. People were picking huge pumpkins and in larger numbers.

Eugster's is one of those pumpkin-picking-apple-orchard-petting-zoo family farms, this one in…read moreStoughton Wisconsin. Coming for "Lavender Days there was plenty of lavender around for sure. Plus goats, cats, kittens, pigs, ponies, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, sheep, etc... Wife seemed pretty happy walking a goat through the lavender field.

We spent a fun morning here this past Monday. They have so many baby goats and for $2 you get a…read morebottle of milk to feed them. These baby goats do not kid around when it comes to drinking their milk and the bottle will be gobbled up in a flash. You can also feed chickens and they have a model cow you can pretend practice milking. Plan to spend at least two hours here. Right now they have a gorgeous lavender field filled with bees. Very picturesque and looks great in photos.

Made a visit for lunch with the family after Christmas and the food and service were excellent! It…read morewasn't busy so we had no problem finding parking and tables. Food came quickly and I loved the chicken bacon ranch sandwich and tomato soup. Sandwiches come with unlimited milk and they have lots of good flavors. They also have a bunch of great local products like meats, cheeses, butter, and all of the Sassy Cow items too. I got a big bottle of maple syrup and some salami.

We went on a Thursday in November at 11 am…read more Food 3/5: if you like grilled cheese and nothing else, this will be your favorite stop. Overall not many options besides grilled cheese. We all got grilled cheese variations with apples, salad and soup as sides. The chicken bacon ranch grilled cheese was overall the best. Both of the salads had rotten leaves, so best to avoid that unless you're ok picking through for good leaves. Service 5/5: the food came quickly and the staff was very friendly. Ambiance 1/5: we were very disappointed overall since they hype themselves up as an experience that includes cows. There were no cows in sight. I know during the summertime they will have baby cows, but overall to me there should be more transparency around not actually seeing cows when you visit the creamery. Other than that there is a small parking lot that can get very busy at times, but plenty of places to sit. We did love the kids playground outside but all of the bikes were broken/didn't work and the bags put away for corn hole. Overall we were really disappointed at this trip. No cows and lunch was just ok. If you are looking for a spot just for ice cream, they have amazing options and plenty of room for the kids to play, just don't tell your kids there are cows because you likely won't see any.

I went to the vineyard with a group of my girlfriends and we had the best time! We did a wine…read moretasting at the counter and then each ordered a glass and went to sit outside by the vineyard. I'm not personally into wine, but this was a fun experience. My favorite wine was the wedding cake! Our bartender carefully planned the order of our tasting so it would flow nicely.

We spent a lovely afternoon at Galena, Cellars Vineyard in Galena, Illinois…read more Large variety of wine to choose from. A good selection of both dry whites, roses and reds. We ordered our wines and wanted a charcuterie plate. Unfortunately, they do not offer that. There is a cooler with some cheese and spread offerings. It would've been lovely to have a charcuterie board premade. The view is beautiful as is the vineyard. We chose to sit at a table facing the vineyard and just admire the view. We also walked around the vines and the old barn. Lovely place. Highly suggest if you're in the area. They also have a brick and mortar store on Main Street in the town of Galena as well .