The Des Plaines River Trail is awesome! If you like more of a natural trail. This is the one you…read morehave to check out in the Chicago land area. It goes from North Avenue all the way up to Wisconsin. Anyone who is a big biker and wants to do long distance should check out this trail. Highly recommend for biking enthusiasts! Just a heads up, there are no water fountains along the path. Some of the spots can be tricky to figure out when crossings busy intersections and trying to figure out where the trail meets again at certain sections. The all trails map can be very helpful when riding the Des Plaines River Trail.

This is a crushed limestone trail with alternating open trails and wooded trails. After some rain…read morethe wooded areas are thick with mosquitoes and you really cannot even stop there for a moment as they will descend on you immediately and bite you ferociously. There are relatively long stretches 4 to 6 miles between road crossings and farther south the trail follows the river more closely and there are underpasses under the roads so you don't have to worry about crossing traffic or even getting off of your bike. There are plenty of access points to the trail along all of the major roads going east west near interstate 94 north of Lake Cook Road. There are a few out houses and in some rest areas there is running water and flush toilets. There are quite a few benches along the trail, many in those wooded areas but they're also quite a few out in the open sun as well so you can avoid the mosquitoes. After two or three days of strong rains however the trail can get a little bit of a washboard affect in the low-lying areas and a lot of the gravel moves into pockets and can make it hard to get through if you don't have wide tires.

I wanted to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) for about forever…read more The concierge at the Abbey gave me a coupon for a discount rental at nearby Fontana Paddle so I decided to finally give it a go. It was an excellent decision. Rates are reasonable. They fit you with a flotation vest, changing rooms are available and they have small lockers. You do not want to have your smartphone on you in the event you fall in the water on the lake. It is better to lock it up, IMO. The training overview was pretty detailed and there is a lot to remember and coordinate all at once. I liken it to riding a bike or driving a car. Once you learn it, you'll always have it and it becomes normal/natural, until then, you have to remember to switch hands, stay balanced, etc. I did go out too far from where they told me to stay, but that was unplanned. A little wind and then a boat sent me even further out which resulted in my instructor dude coming out on board to see if I was okay and if I could get back in on my own. Embarrassing, but also super cool because he gave me some on water tips that I somehow already had forgotten. Also, the further out you go, the more the wind affects you and there are more boats, so you can expend more energy on balancing rather than paddling enjoyably along. Once my guy knew I was okay and headed more in the right direction he went back and I went on to a very enjoyable experience. Prices are good. Staff is helpful. Get out early on summer weekends, too many boats on the lake will not make for a good SUP experience.

Perfectly located on the shore of Geneva Lake in Fontana. You can walk 20 feet to the lake to…read morelaunch. I have been in the store/shop countless times over the years. They have a huge selection of standup paddle boards, kayaks and accessories. I am actually wearing one of their shirts right now. Cool thing is, I just found out they sell ans rent snow shoes also. Being right on the lake, a hike on the lake path is something to behold anytime of year. A lot of my Rockford, IL friends kayak and have either friended them on facebook, visited the website or store itself. If you have any questions while you are there, which I always have plenty which I think some are kind of dumb, they are right there to answer them. I plan to take my family for lessons this Spring.

Brittany is fantastic! You can tell her passion for students and more importantly the horses…read more Beautiful facility and a great experience all around. Highly recommended for beginners and novice!

Had a blast at the Gurnee location! Everyone was so professional and friendly... I cannot wait to…read morecome back!

Customer service is on point at this business! I'd never been on an e-bike before. When I called…read moreahead, they were friendly and answered my many (annoying) questions. Upon arrival, check-in was smooth and great recommendations on which route to take were given. My Mom and I had a wonderful afternoon.

Brian met us at the trail with bikes ready to go. The White River trail is easy and we rode to…read moreBurlington. However, thunderstorms drenched us and we called him to pick us up. He made it easy to recover our day.

I planned a fall camping trip to enjoy cool, crisp weather over the first weekend in October and it…read moreended up being almost 90 degrees instead. Thankfully, I came across Beulah Bait & Boat online. John was super responsive and made booking very easy. The prices were very fair and the process was simple. When we arrived, John reviewed all safety info with our group, made sure we had enough life jackets for the kiddos, and showed us the best swimming areas on the map, etc. The boat itself was in great shape and very clean. The lake itself was perfect and we had an amazing day despite the heat. Just great from start to finish!

literally had such an amazing time at sky Midwest, Travis and Steve were amazing, Travis was my…read moretandem partner, made me feel comfortable, made me laugh, he was cool, didn't scare me, it just overall it was a great experience seriously the process was seamless. Steve was taking video/filming and he was super funny awesome and cool.The staff was friendly. My dad brother and I got to play pool while we waited super simple class, and then they got us right up right away, and we had a great time. We were in and out in two hours. There were no problems no issues they got amazing photo and video seriously awesome atmosphere great staff cool place.

What an experience! My friend and I had a fantastic experience and had a great day jumping out of a…read moreplane! We had a beautiful day to go, mid-august. The staff was all super friendly and made sure we understood everything that was going on and kept us feeling safe. Great location, on a clear day you can see milwaukee and Chicago from the air! We did the photo and video package, we'll worth it to have pictures of these amazing memories. There is plenty of time to do a variety of poses and faces in the air, even with the wind against you. Even you're even thinking about going, do it!!

I came to Skydive Milwaukee to take Accelerated Freefall (AFF) courses…read more AFF begins with The First Jump Course (FJC). After that course, the student puts on her own parachute and then, accompanied by two instructors, she jumps out of a plane (AFF Level 1) and begins the progression toward complete solo flight. My FJC course lasted 4-5 hours and my instructor was very thorough. She taught me everything I'd need to know for a successful skydive. I didn't just jump into this (no pun intended). My first and only tandem was in 2001, and then I spent 2 years watching my he-pal do this. Once I decided to begin AFF, I spent 3 months sitting at SDMKE's picnic tables, observing instructors and learning "the rules" of this dropzone. I also did my research. This sport, when done mindfully and properly, was one of the safest of "extreme" sports. Maybe you're reading this because you're about to jump tandem, or maybe you're looking for a place to start AFF. Maybe you're in "the zone" and uber confident. I can tell you about my own experience: I was terrified. Regardless of the research I did, or how much I wanted to experience motor-less, human flight, none of that really registered when I was about to throw myself from an airplane. I read a female-skydiver's blog about her journey through AFF. She sounded so confident about each jump--even the ones she had to redo, she was just like, "Yay!" and "Woo hoo!" and "This Rocks!" I felt nothing but terror. Though I was 100% sure this was something I would enjoy (because I enjoyed tandem so much), every single cell in my body screamed, "NOOOOOOO!!!!! Don't do this!!!!" The weather was beautiful that day I finished FJC. The afternoon wind was nice. A good, steady wind is perfect for landing a canopy because you don't come ripping in, you just kind of softly float down, down, down. I wanted the weather to suddenly go bad, for the wind to just get wicked strong... I wished for an upset tummy, but when none of those happened I reluctantly manifested for a flight. RELUCTANTLY. Another AFF student was studying his workbook nearby and so I chatted him up to distract myself from my unrelenting anxiety. His name was Diego, he was a college student at UWM, younger than me by 20 years or so. I told him it was my first AFF jump. My voice was very obviously shaking. And I asked: "Did you feel scared on your first jump?" "Of course!" He said. And I felt so human when he added, "You're jumping out of a plane. It's scary stuff." Within 30 minutes I was ascending to altitude. My two AFF instructors for Level one, Josh and Hooch, coached me through the jump. Several times, Hooch asked how I felt. "Nervous," I replied each time. He gave me the hand signal for 'relax' and said, "Try to have fun." Easier said, you know what I mean? At 13.5K feet, I could feel my blood pumping in my ears. I took deep breaths and visualized a successful jump. At 13.5K feet, the lights to the right of the cabin door changed from red to yellow to green. I watched other skydivers leave. That was the scariest part of the entire jump... watching others seemingly vanish and feeling the airplane lurch from the loss of their weight. When the rest of the skydivers were gone, Hooch took position outside the plane, I crouched in the doorway and Josh was on my right. I looked into their eyes and I saw intense focus. I imagine they've seen everything from naturals to soup sandwiches. It was that moment I realized there was no turning back. Both of these men were gripping the fabric wrapped around my arms, and one of them was hanging outside of the plane. I didn't want to be a soup sandwich. All of my "why's" vanished, and the only WHY that remained was: Why the EFF am I doing this? But I jumped. I think I blacked out for a few seconds from the shock, but once I was focused, I completed the tasks assigned and deployed my pilot chute as directed. The parachute opened happily, I landed, and my instructors said it was a successful skydive. I'm now licensed with close to 200 jumps under my belt. I don't have the terror, but there's still fear and the fear helps me focus. It keeps me alive. And if anyone tells you to relax, cool. If they tell you to smile, give them the finger. We all handle situations differently, and if you skydive with a mean mug, then get "mean mug" stickered to your helmet and OWN IT. Anyway, it's one of the greatest things I've done in my life. It's pushed me physically and mentally, and I'm in love with the personalities I encounter in skydiving, and especially at Skydive Milwaukee. You can ride with the window down and stick your face into the wind or float in one of those fancy iFly tunnels, but there's nothing like this experience. And you can't ask for a better place than Skydive Milwaukee. Good luck! See you out there!

I was a temporary "transplant" from another state when I started looking into skydiving and found…read moreSkydive Milwaukee last year. I wanted to do something bigger than myself, to challenge myself, and to finally cross off an item from my bucket list. What I expected: To get an adrenaline rush, a bunch of sweet pictures, and a great story to tell. What I got: A family of people who pushed me to better myself, looked out for me, laughed with me, and supported me when life was hard. Skydive Milwaukee is more than just a business, it's a community of passionate professional individuals who are genuinely excited to share their love of skydiving with you and will go to every effort to help you make your goals happen. From the moment you walk in the door and get a friendly "hello" from the office staff till the final heart-pounding seconds when you slap a final high-five with the other jumpers and exit the plane, Skydive Milwaukee will make you feel like you're a part of the club. Their friendliness and care will make you feel strangely at ease about jumping out of a "perfectly good airplane." And it's not just a feeling. The staff at Skydive Milwaukee is comprised of tens-of-thousands of jumps worth of experience and knowledge, and has the means to professionally guide you through the experience safely and soundly. I had plenty of doubts and concerns about skydiving, but interacting with the staff of Skydive Milwaukee quelled them as I experienced their professionalism, skill, and care. If you are even remotely interested in skydiving, spend a day at the Skydive Milwaukee dropzone and I guarantee that it will convince you. I went from being afraid of heights to completing a total of 27 jumps receiving my A-level License. I will never forget my summer with the Sky Knights, and Skydive Milwaukee will always be my "Home Dropzone," no matter where I go.

Extremely responsive. Very personalized. Matt & Brook went above and beyond and curating a…read morememorable experience. Highly recommend!

So grateful to have taken two mountain bike clinics with Angela, Matt, and team. These folks will…read morehelp you grow and hone in your skills! I can't recommend them enough.