I've been to many different u-pick farms throughout the area and Heider's three times now, and this…read moreis by far my favorite farm for strawberry picking specifically. Their strawberries are truly the best I've ever tasted!! Check Facebook for the most recent updates if you plan on coming here! Do not rely on their Google page or their website for hours. Typically strawberry season starts early to mid June but it seemed to be delayed this year. I've been checking their Facebook everyday since early June and eagerly waiting for a day that finally worked out for me to come!! They advertised that strawberries were very limited the day I planned on going, but we filled an entire bucket in about an hour or less and we even got there 2.5 hours after they opened! I was so happy it all worked out. I just love the simpleness of this farm. There's no large attractions, big food court, or commercial feel to it. People pretty much just come here to pick berries then leave, which really keeps the crowds down too. Their farm allows for a peaceful activity to take your mind off of busy life for a bit and spend some quiet time in nature. They do have a small shop with a few souvenirs and other items, plus some small snacks such as chips, but they mostly encourage guests to bring their own food and enjoy a picnic on their picnic tables! I loved petting their little rabbits too. They were so friendly!!! I appreciate that they do not charge you until after you are finished berry picking. I've been wanting to go raspberry picking here as well, so I picked up three baskets. I was getting tired so I decided against it and was able to return the baskets easily. Overall amazing family-owned farm that I hope never changes and I can keep coming back to every year!

I think your experience here will depend largely on what time you visit and what they have to…read moreoffer. To me, it's more fun when there are significantly more people around, and during peak summertime when there are plenty of strawberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries, that is the most fun and, in my opinion, worth the higher price. Off season both strawberries and raspberries are not going to be very sweet. It's rare for me to find black raspberries just in general, so that is a major draw for me returning!! It is so much fun to pick your own berries and such a fun outing for families and kids! They run a tight ship about making sure people stay in certain areas before they open up more, so I can see how that can be an inconvenience for some. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience and I definitely recommend a visit!!!

My family and I go to Pumpkin Daze at Abbey Farms every year. It's the most analog of the pumpkin…read morepatch places in the area and it suits us very well. The kids love it and it's usually not very crowded which makes for a very pleasant way to spend a day. The tickets are a little pricey, but it includes plenty of activities including a petting zoo and corn maze. They have an indoor and an outdoor bar as well as a lunch restaurant and shop, so you really could spend the whole day!

Came here out of curiosity, I always past Abbey Farm when I'm driving about and decided to actually…read morecheck the place out. I mostly explored the store and the front portion of the farm. When you initially walk onto the property there's a sight that has an arrow pointing towards the direction of the store and another arrow pointing towards the direction of the ticket booth. I didn't go to the ticket booth so I'm not sure what that area entails. This review will be restricted to the store and their pumpkin patch selection that's located out front. I really enjoyed the store. They have a bunch of treats and knick knacks available for purchase. I ended up buying 1/2 dozen of donuts. 3 were apple cider and the other 3 were their pumpkin donuts. The pumpkin ones were pretty tasty, but their Apple Cider donuts take the cake by far. So delicious! As far as the pumpkin selection out front I thought it was a little sad. I found much healthier looking pumpkins at Walmart. Overall, it's a cute place to bring your family especially during the holidays. Will definitely be back for those donuts!!

I took the lazy route and bought apples already picked. The early honey crisp apples were…read moredelicious! The apples were sweet and so juicy. The grounds are very clean and inviting. There is a really cute gift shop. I highly recommend going here. Plus it is great to support local orchards and farms.

Best apple cider donuts and the apple cider is so good. We make the 1.5 hour drive from Chicago…read morejust for these.

We visited in October 2020 during the pandemic. I did a lot of research to find the farms that are…read moretaking proper safety precautions with a setup that allows for social distancing. Dollinger Family Farm checked all the boxes, so we gave it a shot. I'm so glad I did because we had a very positive experience. We arrived on a Saturday right when it opened to avoid crowds. There were others there, but distancing was so easy. There were signs everywhere about wearing a mask and there was also a hand-washing station. We noticed a lot of other farms that are an easy drive from like Chicago did not take this pandemic seriously at all, so we loved supporting a farm that did take it seriously. We looked a bit at the animals--so cute!--before heading over to look at the pumpkins (AKA the main event). They had a tractor set up with a bunch of assorted squash for the perfect photo op. Then, pumpkins were sorted into piles based on size with a sign with the price. For example, a pile with $8 pumpkins. I believe the most expensive were $12. We selected two $8 pumpkins that were huge! My only suggestion would be to actually label the pumpkins with prices. The people in front of us in line picked a pumpkin from the $9 pile, but the employee insisted that this was too big of a pumpkin to have come from that pile. She said sometimes customers move the pumpkins around. I don't blame the customers for being a little frustrated because they obviously picked their pumpkin with the price in mind. We were worried this might happen to us, but they did not question when we told them we picked $8 pumpkins. The service was excellent. An employee actually took our pumpkins and we could drive up to pick them up before leaving. It was so helpful not to have to carry these huge pumpkins over to the car ourselves. We will definitely be back next year!

It was closed I think!! They should of put that on their post. It took time to find then when we…read moregot there no one was anywhere around! Very disappointed!

I love this place so much. It's a 1890s living history museum, and there's so many interesting…read morethings to learn about here. In the winter, they do ice carving demonstrations that you can participate in. In the summer, they make hand-churned ice cream with the harvested ice from the winter and host an "ice cream social" for everyone to participate in. They also do maple sugaring demonstrations in the spring. Every hour, there are house tours where you can learn some history about life in the 1890s. The farm animals are adorable too. It's also free to get in. Perfect for adults and kids!

The website promotes the idea of having several things to do, which we didn't find to be the case…read more We arrived at 10am which is supposed to be tours of the farmhouse, didn't happen. One lady did say that, "someone probably looked outside and didn't immediately see anyone so they skipped it." We did walk around and see pigs, pet the sheep, saw cows. The horses were off under the sheds. A 30 min walk. Tha

We came from Rosemont, IL, so it was pretty long drive to get there. Employee's are very nice. Very…read morenice produce!! We had a tomato and a couple ears of corn for dinner! It was delicious !! We got a lot of produce for $38!! The Farm Stand is clean and organized.

I'm editing my original review based on Mr. Kellers response to my concerns about the quality and…read morepricing of the bagged honey crisp apples. I'm not on Facebook or Instagram so I was not aware of their explanation and nothing per se was posted in the store. I sampled the produce in question and adjusted my review.

My family really loves their homemade salad dressings, kettle corn and donuts. The orchard is well…read moretaken care of and the workers are friendly.

They have excellent vegetables. Great corn on the cob, Cinnamon donuts, pumpkins and more.read more

I really enjoyed my visit to rancho el Silencio! Great farm. Owners are great! Highly recommend it!…read moreOwners are wonderful!

Edwards. Fall. They are synonymous to stateliners…read more Edwards has been here since before I was born. I think I visited every year until I moved away. But, if I'm here when Edwards is open, I have to come back and have cider donuts. And today, I was lucky enough to eat one. You should definitely visit if you find yourself in Northern Illinois in the fall. There's no other place like it.

Rain or shine Edwards has some loyal patrons here! I was here with a large group on a very gloomy…read moreand rainy Sunday and the place was PACKED. I thought coming here first thing in the morning we would avoid a crowd and goodness I was wrong and loved to see it. My group and I walked through their market first where they have numerous samples to try. There are plenty of options to choose from and it was hard to keep our tab at a reasonable price, haha. My husband and I purchased the fiesta dip, cheese curds, apple cider donuts and the cheese and caramel popcorn. Next our group went apple picking. Prices are pretty standard compared to other spots, they do have a $5 deposit if you are borrowing a basket. If you are able to bring a basket of your own, I highly recommend that. To get to the apple orchard you take a short 'hay ride' which I really enjoyed. It was nice to see different areas of the farm. Staff here is extremely friendly and helpful. I'm officially a fan girl of Edwards and am looking forward to many more apple picking adventures here in the future!