I have been doing the Horse Help Challenge from Horse Haven Ranch. The Gascon's are very…read moreknowledgeable in regard to horse training and care. I highly recommend anyone who is looking for professional horse training the Gascon's and Horse Haven is the place to be!!!!

What an amazing family, they gladly share all of their tips and knowledge. They truly want every…read morehorse to be happy in every owner to be happy. There's no Horse that Michael cannot help you make into a wonderful lifetime friend.

Went on a two hour long horseback ride and it was AMAZING! Everyone who works here was soo kind and…read morereally made the experience worth your while. Definitely looking in to making this a monthly experience! They love their horses and you can most definitely tell.

At first I was skeptical because I got the ad for this place on Facebook, and haven't seen anything…read moreelse besides their website. And the fact that when you search the location on Apple Maps and there's no location, it kept me skeptical. But this place is a hidden gem! Came here for the 1 o clock tour on a Friday. The check in process was quick, and we already had animals coming up to us before the tour started. Our tour guide was awesome! Trysta was very knowledgeable, helpful, and aware to the entire group and each person's experience! All the animals are very interactive with the visitors, my favorite was the black leopard! The capybaras and the porcupine were some of the animals that we got to feed directly, but be warned about he capybaras drool and they eat their own . Awesome experience, if you're looking for something to do and are in the McHenry area, give them a visit!

Young lady was very knowledgeable on the animals. Most of the animals were rescues. It is a small…read morezoo and you get a great tour. Get your moneys worth for the price. The tour is approximately an hour and a half. If you have any questions she answers them for you. I wish we could've seen the otters, but it was their mating season so we were not able to go over and see them.

A play set for little ones & play set for the bigger kids. An interactive music area, a splash pad,…read moreseveral Pavilions for Events. Even a workout area & walking trail. The only reason I'm giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because we passed one early evening & it was a hangout for teenagers & litter was everywhere. (Granted, there's never any litter when the teens aren't around. It's always been clean when we visit.)

Very nice field for the players and such... very well taken care of. The stands aren't much, with a…read morepretty low seating capacity, but decent. In the afternoons, the sun goes down in right center field, which is pretty harsh on the fans, and probably the players as well. Very easy to get to, as it's just a mile of so off the main highway (Hwy 49). Right next to the softball field, and the campus football field.

Went on a trip this past weekend and had a blast. Brandon and his team crushed it. Super friendly…read moreand helpful.

Had a great overnight trip with this family-owned and run business in mid-February. It was the…read moreperfect time to go, with warm days, cool nights, and no other boats in sight. We did the trip from Brooklyn to Cypress Landing in about 9 hours of travel with moderate paddling. Pay attention to your safety brief because they give a good description of your halfway point. We stopped on the first night before reaching it and had some extra paddling to do the next day. They warned us of one newly-downed tree that spanned the river, but said they would be out to work on it before the season picked up. We hit Cypress Creek right at our pickup time and our ride was there waiting for us. They do all of the heavy lifting during put-in and take-out. All you have to do is load up and shove off. The river itself had many bends, and was about 2/3 shallow with a fast current and the rest deep with little to no current. There were many stumps and downed branches to maneuver around, but no part of the river was impassable. It's impossible to get lost; simply stay in the widest part of the river and follow the current. There were numerous sand and gravel beaches that would make for a good picnic or campsite. The Black Creek Hiking Trail runs along the right side of the river--at times you can clearly see it--and provides a ready source of firewood.

This place is perfect for a group visit, small groups, birthday parties, etc. My sisters and I…read morewent to the sloth encounter today and were so pleased. Ariana and her family made us feel so comfortable and welcome. We met other beautiful animals besides the sloth. They were all sweet, amazing creatures. The best tour we have enjoyed in a long time!

Aiery Lake is a great place to fish, a great place to camp and a great place to take photos. It is…read morealso a great place for an embarrassing story from yours truly. This area of The Desoto National Forest is a good stopping point while hiking the Tuxachanie Trail. Depending where you begin your hike, this area is either 13 miles or 8 miles from the beginning of the trail. Personally I would rather do my long hike on the first day and the short hike the next day, but either way, Aiery Lake is a good stopping point. There are several areas to camp at Aiery Lake including some closer to the parking area. I think if you get away from the parking area you will have a more enjoyable experience, but if you want to be close to your vehicle, you can be. There aren't many facilities here, but there are actual bathrooms which is much nicer than digging a latrine in the middle of the woods (I know from firsthand experience). The Lake itself is beautiful. On a calm day the surface of the lake looks like glass and gives the perfect reflection of the sky and surrounding wilderness. If you're like me and love the view of objects reflected in the water, this is a must see. My kid thinks it would be pretty neat if I could somehow catch the mirror image of my Jeep reflected on a lake, but I have yet to find a suitable location. The lake here doesn't have vehicle access to the opposite side so I will have to keep searching. I am not much of a fisherman, but based on the number of people fishing, I suspect fishing is pretty good in the lake. If I would have had a pole I would have gladly sat around all day taking in that view, drinking beer and pretending to fish. Since I didn't have any of those items, I just watched others fish. So there are all of the reasons to go to Aiery Lake. Even if you are just passing through, it is a beautiful area and I encourage you to stop. As for this area being the location of an embarrassing story, I am somewhat reluctant to tell it, so please don't ridicule me too badly. Many years ago when I was a 13 or 14 year old Boy Scout, my troop hiked the Tuxachanie Trail. When we were almost to Aiery Lake we noticed two or three similarly aged girls and decided to try and impress them. In my underdeveloped juvenile brain I decided that the way to impress the girls was to use my "talent" of singing. I chose what was quite the popular song at the time and as we approached them I started singing. I must have underestimated the distance between us and them because by the time we passed I had come to part of the song which went a little something like this: "I did it like this, I did it like that, I did it with a wiffle ball bat sooooo I'm on the run, the cops got my gun........". As you can probably guess my lyrics were overwhelmingly unsuccessful in impressing anyone, much less the girls. I don't know if it was my singing, or if they saw some sort of poisonous reptile, but they ran as fast as their legs would carry them in the opposite direction. Later that evening in the camp site we decided a reconnaissance mission was in order. My friends and I walked over to their area and stood in the darkness trying to work up the courage to talk to them. I guess lurking behind a tree wasn't very impressive either as we got the cold shoulder once again. Looking back all I can do is laugh at how awkward and embarrassing the entire experience was. So there you have it. Aiery Lake is a great place unless you're a goofy awkward teenager.

Loved this place for a day hike! The trails are well maintained and there is plenty of parking…read more There are also trash cans and a public restroom at the parking location. They have several large campsites as well right by the lake.