They say when you become overstimulated or overwhelmed with things it's always important to slow…read moredown and touch grass. Rather than touching grass itself, we decided to spend time in nature and just enjoy all that the park had to offer. We visited the farm park and took in the various garden areas, and the butterfly house. Our little guy was just blown away with the butterflies flying everything and had such a blast watching them land on his head. It was free as was the parking and everything is close by. Such a fun place to pack a picnic and enjoy the park.

We came here for the Autumn Fair (September 20, 2025). It was a free event with a lot of fun…read moreactivities: hay rides, kids games, pumpkin painting, demonstrations. They also had other activities for a small cost: pony rides, petting zoo, bounce house. We also purchased food and participated in the gift basket raffle. We were there for at least 3 hours. The park is great for kids older than 4. There's also a water area that is fun for both older and younger kids. The butterfly house was also a hit. Many butterflies landed on us while we were in there. Overall a great place to visit, definitely stop by as well when an event is going on for extra activities.

Dick Young Forest Preserve is such a peaceful retreat…read more The only negative are the large amount of ticks.

A small Preserve with a crushed limestone trail that leads to a lake overlook platform. There is a…read moregrass trail that loops around the lake but it can be muddy and uncut.

We looved the plenty of parking, shaded walk to the cave, and playing near the lake…read more We didn't get to see the animals so will have to come back! There are a lot of bikers in the pathway to the cave so I highly recommend holding your kids hands and staying to one lane because we almost had an incident. The cave is small but definitely something unique. The lake is dirty but cool that you can be so close to both! Would definitely come back here and explore more.

Recently came here to enjoy a walk with my wife. We are happy to see that there is plenty of…read moreparking here. I enjoy that there is a main trail and there are Spurs that create their own small Trail as well. This place has plenty of Scenic views to observe. Please be cautious that there are many bikers along the main trail, I do feel like there are not enough public restrooms so you may have to walk all the way down to the south side of the trail to find a porta potty but thankfully they were brand new and squeaky clean. Plenty of people can be observed kayaking, and just having fun Outdoors. I personally enjoyed coming here and having fun on a fully paved path. Solid recommendation!

Great park for little or big kids. Lots of tall slides. Mounds for kids to run or climb. Picnic…read moretables. Space themed.

This is the best disc golf course in The Kane. Hands down…read more My 6yr old son and I head over here all year round to play this course. The Wheeler disc course sculpts a greater park that also claims several walking/bike paths, a baseball field, soccer/hockey fields, picnic areas, a playground, a mini golf course and tennis courts. Some of the holes are too hard for him to come close to par, but others are a great fit for his current ability. The course has a great range in difficulty which spans from easy par 3's to challenging par 4's. Legging out the entire course is about a 2 mile venture. The backwoods holes are a real hoot. Can't tell you the number of times I've headed into the tree's or the ravine to find a disc that's hooked too far right or left. Throwing from the top of the hill on hole #11 is a person fav. Just don't be surprised if you have to perform the aforementioned trip on a stray disc. Other holes feature baskets on the other side of a cluster of tree's, some border natural grass/reed areas, while others have very lengthy fairways weaving lines of tree's. Amenities-wise there's a drinking fountain near the parking lot and bathrooms near the playground. If you need anything else, bring it. Most golfers here like to bring their own beverage of choice. Cheers!

Aurora West F.P. is a great place to bring your four legged friend and go for a romp. This off…read moreleash dog park has several miles of well cared for trails that drift through prairies, wetlands and woodlands. Let your best bud explore in a safe setting while taking in some beautiful scenery not usually found at a 'dog park'. I took away one star because regulars are clearly not picking up after themselves. While I admit that there could be a few more trash cans that is no excuse to let your pet ruin a beautiful natural area.

This is a great area - especially if you are a dog owner. They have a nice set of winding trails…read morethrough some light woods and rolling tundra. I have never seen more than a few other people there and the trails are well maintained and not completely covered in poop like some other places i have been to locally. This place is a bit more "wild" with potential for encounters with coyotes etc. I have yet to encounter any but have seen some deer bounding around now and then. the scenery is great and it is a peaceful place for a stroll. Dogs are allowed offleash.

Dogs loved this place!! Plenty of open space...they can walk or run on the trail, they can swim in…read morethe lake or just play in the yard.

Nice wide open spaces, area for swimming and fenced in areas for letting your fur babies run…read morearound and socialize with others. There's a paved walk leading from the parking lot to the water and another side where you walk on grass to reach the fenced in area. It was a little confusing our first visit here as we didn't notice any clear signage directing us where to get to the water or other areas from the grassy path. Our pups enjoyed their visit very much and although the small body of water didn't look the cleanest, we still let them cool off and enjoy a swim. The picnic tables in a shaded area were appreciated on a hot day. Bring lot's of drinking water for you and your pet! Also, as with most dog parks, remember that any toys you bring for fetching are likely going to be "fair game" to the many other dogs you might see here.

It almost seemed like a dream. From the very start, cruising through a large patch of lotus plants,…read moreit felt otherworldly. Very peaceful, going at our own pace. Enjoyed the cliff walls of Buffalo Rock and the shallow waters of some side passages. We paddled for 5 hours, covering 8 miles total. After we were done we headed to charming, historic downtown Utica for drinks and dinner at Skoog's Pub & Grill in North Utica, IL. I was impressed with the logistics and operation of the kayaking experience, from the guide* to the equipment and online booking process. *Full disclosure, the guide was my twin sister, but I am being objective...seriously.

I have mixed feelings about this kayak tour company. I signed up because although I'm a very…read morecapable and seasoned kayaker, I didn't know this river and I like learning about the ecosystems and local wildlife. For this reason I like having tour guides. Going up the river was fine. Coming back went a bit sour. I went as slow as I was capable of paddling or not paddling, but apparently it was too fast for the preference of our tour guide. I was barely touching the water with my paddle. I have no idea how I could have gone any slower. It wasn't humanly possible. After shouting at me several times, he took to chasing me down and ramming my kayak so it'd spin in circles. Would I rent a kayak here and kayak the river alone? Yes. Would I personally use a tour guide here? No I wouldn't. Would I recommend? If you're a family with little kids or a drunk sorority house, absolutely. If you know what you're doing, just go it alone. You'll probably enjoy it more. Edit: If the tour guide had concerns for group safety, he could have said so. Although ramming my kayak with his seems to be a bit of a conflict as far as my safety goes. It was an unprofessional approach when he could have simply explained why he needed me to slow down

I loved the variety of this course! Throws aren't very long-distance, but there are trees and…read morebushes and stairs and curves - making sure you don't get an easy shot. You and your disc can both get lost very easily on this course, so hopefully they're all extremely neon discs! And some mis-throws can take your disc down some steep hills, never to be found again. Taking a picture of the map beforehand would have been super helpful since we couldn't find #8 for the longest time. They have garbage buckets at almost every stop, filled with lots and of empty beer. People - please bring cans and NOT bottles!! Trying to step over your broken glass while trying to have a good time don't go hand-in-hand.

We love the dog park here! Super spacious with 3 separate areas so that if you want your dog to be…read morealone you have that option. 90% of the owners and dogs are super friendly. There's the occasional tussle but most owners are responsible and know their dog's behavior. I also really love the idea of the agility course, but think it could really use some new additions. Overall a great time of meeting cute dogs while my Aussie gets to burn some energy!