Nice area for walking. Trail was marked decently. It was very muddy as we went after rain. I…read morerecommend bringing a change of shoes for your walk. Decent amount of parking. Porta potties.

This beautiful Preserve has gorgeous walking trails around three lakes. You can join the preserve…read moreand purchase a fishing permit. It is beautiful when the leaves turn during the fall but open year round. A peaceful place in the middle of suburbia. A large picnic shelter with picnic tables throughout area. The Boy Scouts utilize Black Bear Lodge for their meetings and often do projects to maintain and improve the walking paths. A lovely place to visit.

I use to enjoy going to the aqua center as a child and a teen. Now that I have kids of my own they…read moreenjoy spending the summer at the aqua center. My son learned how to swim by taking swim lessons at the PFAC. My son has also taken the junior life guard class two years in a row and has enjoyed it. My now 5 year old daughter has taken two years of swim lessons here and has learned alot. The adult pool is nice, quiet and relaxing, eventhough I don't use it as much as I use too. My two younger kids enjoy the zero depth pool (beach pool) and sand box. My son enjoys the water slide, drop slides and the wall climb. There really is something for all ages at the PFAC.

I wish I could live in a pool, but since I haven't figured out how to turn into a mermaid, I will…read morejust have to settle for spending copious amounts of time at the Aqua Center. I spent my entire childhood at the PFAC hanging out in the puddles, the zero-depth pool and the badge pool. Now that I am decidedly over 18, I have graduated to the adult deck and it is fabulous! It is a completely calm, child-free zone complete with designated lap lanes and available lounge chairs. I can spend hours here swimming, sun bathing and reading. Beyond just splashing around in the pools, the Aqua Center always tries to provide other services. They have swim lessons, private party rentals and this year Aqua Zumba classes are offered on Saturdays for $5. I wouldn't last 5 minutes at a zumba class on land, but in the water I am a contender. The facilities are also very clean and the lifeguards are very professional. We might not be going on vacation this year, but we are going to the PFAC and it feels just as good.

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

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.

This is a great place to go when you have a little bit of time and don't want to make it to the…read morepool. There's not just the spray pad, but a playground, swings and covered picnic area with tables and benches. There are lacrosse fields right next to it so more open space for the kids to run around. It's run by the Geneva Park District and the stay pad is open from June to September, typically. All of our kids love to be there. From infants up through elementary ages for sure will enjoy it. There's also a lot of shade here!

These are becoming really popular but I count myself lucky this one is so close by. This is top…read morenotch water play area for young children (2+). There's plenty of grassy space with trees for shade, so bring a blanket and snacks. It's a public park, so it should not be a surprise that the public port-a-john is kind of gross. Bear in mind, this place gets super busy when it's warm/hot out and a lot of kids from the neighborhood seem to be there unsupervised. Nevertheless, this place is great.