Willoughby Heritage Farm and Conservation Reserve is a peaceful little escape right in…read moreCollinsville, IL that is perfect for slowing down your day and taking in some good nature vibes. They have a few miles of hiking trails, but beware they are kind of hard to follow and it's really easy to get lost, but also pretty easy to get back on track! They have farm animals you can feed, pet, and check out along with vintage farm equipment dotted all over the farm. It's free to visit and is definitely a local hidden gem in this town!

I stopped by this evening about 4:30 to take a look around. It is a gorgeous, small farm with lots…read moreto do! There is a gorgeous garden, which is a photographers playground -- bees, beautiful butterflies and hummingbirds pollinating all around and enjoying the sweet nectar. Flowers everywhere -- it is so beautiful! It was super quiet as I walked around, it was just me and two hikers that went down to the little trail and back. This is such a wonderful play for kids! There are turkeys walking around loose, that just pass by, so used to humans, obviously. There are two pigs in a pen, a few goats chilling on their tables and a horse, two donkeys in the barn. Friendly, and curious if I had treats to give. (Which you can feed some of the animals, others have signs not too.) Groundhogs running around too but they do hide! Not scary at all. Lots of space for a shaded picnic lunch and a good sized play area for kids. It's well worth checking out. It is gorgeously maintained and the animals are beautiful, so very well taken care of. Just go, already -- It's good for the soul! :) Will definitely be back.

Absolutely love this place! The prices are super reasonable and everyone who was working there,…read morevery friendly and helpful. I can tell the caregivers very much care for the animals from the domesticated goat to the exotic yak and camels. Lily the Camel is so sweet her handler was kind to her and I appreciate that the most. My toddler (2yo) loved the wagons they offer gratis and of course - the baby goats! Came for a visit from the mile high state - and south county has a gem in Critter Lane! Can't wait o come visit everyone again - thank you to the dedicated staff for making this a wonderful park.

My kids always enjoy it. The animals are fun and usually pretty interactive. The workers are nice…read more Some of the things inside the shopper overpriced, but that's anywhere. You just gotta drag your kids away from it lol all in all, we always enjoy coming here and it's a blast.

My two boys, 9 and 7 years old, had the best time feeding the animals and walking around.read more

This place was....interesting…read more I'll be honest, it popped up as a pumpkin patch. My sister just moved to the area and was looking for one close for her kiddos, and this was around the corner, so we decided to give it a try. To start, it was $10/person to get in, which wasn't really promoted. We've lived many different places and have never had to pay to get into a pumpkin patch, so that was a surprise. Kids were the same price, also a surprise. The property is pretty cool, they have some farm animals. They sold food to buy but half the animals you couldn't feed and the other half were already full from being fed so much. We assumed it was a regular petting zoo and bought some food before seeing it, so we ended up with leftover bags of food and no animals to feed. The hay ride only went once hourly so you basically had to wait around forever if you wanted to ride it. The maze was cool and the concept seemed really fun to find a message BUT the first word on the message was "God" and honestly, nowhere did they promote this farm as a religious-based experience. Lastly - the pumpkins. We came here for one reason. They don't even grow pumpkins on site, they ship them in, and they don't keep them stocked. I think we had like 20-30 pumpkins to choose from, if that, and they were picked over. We had a 4YO and a 6YO and they couldn't pick any of the pumpkins up, all the kid size ones were already sold. I feel like this could be a good spot for what it is, and if it was marketed as that - a Christian family fun farm experience. But, that's not what we had expected based on the marketing they had, so it was a bit of a disappointment for us.

What a fun afternoon!…read more To my surprise, Grant's Farm does not charge admission. What they do charge for is parking. $27. Yikes. If possible, prepay online for $18. And, don't worry, there are plenty of things to spend money on: personal tours, food and drink, feed for the animals (not the horses), trinkets, camel rides...you know the routine. Once parked, you need to decide on where to visit first. There are the stables on one side of the parking lot and the deer park tram on the opposite end. We started with the stables. The stable itself is beautiful - pristine. Peaceful even. There were 4 of the gorgeous Clydesdale "big boys" there when we visited. All but one were 3 years old - huge, and not yet full grown. You may pet them though signs warn of the possibility of biting (the horses biting you, not you biting the horses!) I saw a caretaker scratching a horse behind his ears. I tried it and that big guy about melted right there. I wouldn't call it magical but it was pretty darn neat. We then walked across the parking to catch the tram ride through the deer park (many more animals besides just deer) , we arrived at the Tier Garden. Here, you will find animal/bird shows (just go in without expectation), animals to pet and feed, camel rides and free beer. WHAT?? Yes, 2 free Budweiser products for those over 21. There is plenty of food for purchase too. (Skip the soft pretzel. Calling it "soft" was false advertising.) We spent about 2 hours here but you can spend as much or as little time as you want. Grant's Farm is a must see when visiting STL. Good luck finding a better deal - $27 for a fun afternoon for 4 adults - heck, just the free beer was worth it. And having a Clydesdale melt in my hands was absolutely priceless..

Wonderful experience. The little tram ride takes you through the property where you see lots of…read morefree roaming animals. You learn about the property and the history of it. Once the tram stops, there is lots to see. The goat pen was full of goats which you can feed. Then there are chickens, rabbits, alpacas, camels, cows, and a lot of other animals you can visit. Of course, there are the Clydesdale horses that you can get up close to. They are huge!! Great experience for any age.

Best place, best value! Family owned and run! I loved everything about it! You could make a day…read moreof it and not break the piggy bank!

Had a very nice time at Bandy's! Got a pumpkin, had fun in the corn maze. Not that many things for…read moreadults to do but it was still very nice, and they have a lot of activities for childern.

We booked Cowboy Critters for my daughter's 2nd birthday party and they were amazing! It was very…read moreeasy to book online, they were easy to get a hold of for anything we needed and the event went very smoothly. We will definitely recommend them to anyone looking for an event or fun party idea! My only recommendation would be if you add the food for the animals to bring a lot of quarters. I bought a roll of $10 thinking it would last most of the party and it was gone in 10 minutes. Also big shout out to Melody! She was very patient with the kids :)

Cowboy Critters did an amazing job with our petting zoo. The animals were beautiful and clean…read more Melody was awesome!

I have been purchasing eggs, chicken, beef, pork and turkey from FPF for years. All their animals…read moreare humanely pasture raised by the family and I know that I am getting high quality animal products and the freshest eggs. Highly recommend stopping by their farm store on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays to stock up!!

Love this place! I've been a customer for years and knowing that I'm buying meat from a farm that…read morecares for the animals make all the difference. There is NOTHING like buying from a local farm.

Eckerts store is huge. From foods, to wines, to souvenirs, to nursery, to hayrides they cover…read moreeverything. Fruits, veggies, deli, plants and bakery. Household items as well. Staff were friendly. Store is pricey. Plentiful parking and plenty of picturesque areas. Store is well lit, and spacious.

The food offerings have really gone downhill. I ordered the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green…read morebeans & corn. The fried chicken was barely warm and the appearance reflected the oil had not been changed in a while. The green beans were bland, the potatoes and corn were good. The brown gravy was also barely warm. The second helping of chicken was hot but again the taste was marginal. Took in the tulip trail. One would think they would have reduced the admission the later it got in the event. $38 for 2 and clearly a fourth of the tulips were dead already. Lesson learned next year come the first week to see all the tulips in bloom. Skip the restaurant and dine in Belleville.

Came here to the my oldest step daughter. Our first time here and came across their page from a…read morelocal city Facebook group. They are located off caryle Ave. Not far from Scott Air Force Base. Support local! We got there around 10:30 or so and hardly anyone there yet. It was so nice this family opened up their property to let the public pick pumpkins and provide some fun fall activities. They even allowed us to meet their miniature cows and baby sheep. All around happy we got to come here. We purchased at least over 4+ pumpkins of all sizes, shapes, and colors. The smaller ones are $1 and the rest are by the lb. They have many wagons set a side to use to load up your picks. They did tell us the ones on the vine may not be ready yet, but if you did they can come out to help cut them. They have a little corn maze to get through to the patch. They have ample grassy area parking. With signs and portable bathrooms if needed. They accept cash or card. Also time wise we only knew of the weekend times. 10-3 that we are aware of currently. They have their own facebook page and website so you can see times etc

This family had a dream. You pick or select from pumpkins around the farm. Price is by the pound…read more She has merch, pumpkins and fun. Check them out.