We really enjoyed our visit at this reindeer ranch! The gift shop was filled with lots of reindeer and Christmas products, an old-school furnace in the middle to keep it nice and toasty, an upstairs full of colorful Christmas decor and trinkets. The highlight was the running train in the middle on top floor as you sit and sip on the hot cider while waiting for our reindeer tour at around noon. Luckily at the time we went we were the only once so we basically got a private tour. Who knew reindeers love graham crackers? It had snowed a couple days before so it was so special to see all the reindeer in the snow. The lovely gal answered a lot of our questions about the farm and the reindeer and my 4 yo daughter really loved feeding and patting the friendly and soft reindeers. It looked like they had a fun playground and an onsite cafe (it was closed) and some other amenities around but they were all covered in snow when we went. The only thing is it would have been nice if they plowed their parking lot after the snow for safety. This was in the same town we were visiting family so it was very close. I thought it was worth the price ($12) and I would recommend this for other families to come check out with their little ones and have a unique experience! read more

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Such a cute little place. Did the corn maze with a bunch of friends, was so fun despite the heat. The little christmas shop was super cute. I wish they had some proper drinks like cider or something for the hot days but they just had this smashed pumpkin pie with icecream and a donut on top. It was delicious but a whole lot of sweet assortments I guess. Would love to return and do the maze in moonlight, if not for the horror movies I watched read more

This was possibly one of the cutest experiences yet. Between meeting the owner, and his very friendly dog, drinking hot cider by a real wood stove, and meeting the sweetest reindeer (and admittedly only reindeer) this place was the best. I felt like my husband and I really got one on one time petting the deer and the baby reindeer. It was a very fun experience, and we got to pick out old times ornaments. Very cute, we will be back. read more

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This was such a cute place! There's a gift shop, a play area for kids, corn maze, hay ride & feeding the reindeer. I would definitely plan on spending 2-3 hours here max, maybe more if you have kids. It was fun to shop & learn about the reindeer. read more

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I wanted to try this place out as I always saw signs for it in Champaign. I finally got a chance and was pretty impressed with the place. I kind of wished I had a little more time to spend as the corn maze sounded interesting. I did the Reindeer tour which was done by the owner! I was very interested in how and why the Reindeer ranch and was given the answer! It is currently $8 to do this tour and while thats a fine price, I was hoping that the tour was a little longer! It might be that we had a small group and the owner was trying to be helpful, but if my $8 goes to supporting small business, it is always money well spent! The entire staff, including the owner, were super nice as well! I can see this as being a great place closer to Christmas! I got to feed the reindeer and do the famous "kiss". In all, it was a perfect little hour to kill! read more

One of my favorite travel memories from years ago is the "Flying W Ranch" near Colorado Springs. It features a petting zoo, chuckwagon dinner, and Wild West-style entertainment. Golly, I didn't know there was a place sort of like it only a few hours from Chicago. Hardy's Reindeer Ranch is a one-of-a-kind homespun tourist attraction. It's reminiscent of the multitude of unique roadside curiosities that existed before the Interstate highway system and glitzy theme parks became ubiquitous. Personable hosts Julie and Mark Hardy rolled out the red carpet for our bus group. The reindeer were remarkably docile and friendly. We were permitted to hand-feed them (they didn't bite or stomp on anyone). The gift shop and chuckwagon lunch were excellent, and afterwards we were treated to an hour of enjoyable entertainment with plenty of belly laughs. We look forward to returning! read more

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If you come, eat somewhere else. The "cafe" is a table with 1 lady serving. Line is sometimes 20 deep and takes forever. 1:30 pm and they ran out of hot dogs- which is 1/3 of the menu. read more

Well, let me tell you... there's really nothing to do if you're in Rantoul, IL. EXCEPT visiting Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. We had the place to ourselves on a weekday afternoon. The owners gave us a tour and told us how they acquired the ranch and the reindeer. Very interesting and informative! We even got to give the reindeer crackers for "reindeer kisses!" It's worth the $8 .... the store is nice and has some cute things if you need a birthday or Christmas gift. Make the stop if you're in the area. read more

What a sweet place in what feels like the middle of nowhere! First of all, this place has friendly staff that makes the whole experience even better. I've never seen reindeer up close like I did here and they're very beautiful creatures. My friends and I took on the corn maze, and it was difficult! Felt like I was going around in circles. This place can get very popular on the weekends. They have hay rides and other fun activities in the fall. Check out their website for more info as well! I highly recommend Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for any age because there's something to do for all people! read more

My fiancee and I had yet another great time going through the corn maze this year! These guys are always doing something different. This year it's in the shape of a train! They have an awesome selection of things to do for kids as well like their go carts, pellet gun range, and playground. They also have a pumpkin cannon that they shoot off periodically. My fiance and I have been coming here annually for the last 3 years and plan to continue :) Their gift shop has all shorts of neat items as well. And they have pumpkins as well you can purchase. This was our first year buying pumpkins and they were in great condition. I even attended a wedding reception in their recreational building. These guys offer just about anything! read more

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This place is sooo cool! I was visiting Illinois for family reasons and we came here for one of the events. I got to feed the reindeer (there is a fee), and there is a pumpkin canon, and hay to crawl around on, and lots of things to look at in the gift shop. There is a dining hall where we had a group dinner, that included all kinds of good wholesome food. If I ever go back to Illinois, this is a place I am going to visit again. read more

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Very exciting place. Reindeer were amazing - and $6 for the tour was well worth it. Gift shop with Christmas items was wonderful - as was the spiced cider. Cafe is decorated with very interesting themed items and the food looked and smelled fantastic; we ate somewhere else because my friend is a vegetarian and the menu didn't work for her. Lots of stuff to do on the grounds - pedal cars, paint ball, playground, etc. Great place to take your kids. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly - we talked to several people including the owner and they were all super nice. Absolutely worth the trip. read more

I'm sorry Hardy's. Don't be fooled by the Reindeer Tour. For $3 (or $12 if you're a family of four like us) you are entitled to the experience of standing in a crowded pen with several other families whie you feed graham crakers to the reindeer for about 10 minutes. But first you'll have fight your way through to the man with the crackers, as he gives them out 1/4 of a cracker at a time, and there will be at least a dozen other people in there with you. If you and your kids simply must see reindeer this holiday season, which is admittedly a cool sounding thing to do, please save your money and stand outside the pen and look at the reindeer. The reindeer are interesting to see - their antlers are pretty incredible. But uh, the experience as a whole left us rather underwhelmed. For another $3 a person, you and your kids can ride the pedal cars around the little track. Unless your kids are under the age of 5 or 6, because they only have 1 car small enough for littles, and it's broken. Most of the rest of the cars have flat tires, too, so . . . . Some hay bales to jump on. A sand box with some broken digging tools. And some tire swings. My kids enjoyed the tire swings the most. Next time I'll just take them to the park. read more

Went through the nearby parks department for the day. When the bus pulled up the ranch didn't look like much. We were greeted by the owner. Once everyone got off the bus and was able to see the Alaskan reindeer the fun began. The owner took us over to "kiss the reindeer". Place a graham cracker between your teeth and bingo a reindeer would come over, take the graham cracker out of one's mouth. The kiss! The owner told us all about how the ranch got started. How they retrieved the reindeer from Anchorage, Alaska and the care they receive. The reindeer were adorable. There is a cute gift shop, a maze, pumpkin cannon, and an adorable dog. Our group had so much fun. We were served a cowboy lunch of bbq brisket, coleslaw, potatoes, beans and cornbread. Apple pie was served for dessert. Entertainment consisted of 2 gentlemen, one played accordion, guitar, and keyboard. He took us down memory lane with his songs and stories. The other gentleman played the harmonica. The owner had audience participation. It was a hoot! When it was time to leave everyone commented about the fun they had. I certainly would go back. Goes to show you one can't judge a book by its cover. The ranch was a lot of fun!!! read more

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Every year this wonderful destination just gets better and better when you don't believe it's possible! I have not been here during the fall for for the corn maze but several friends highly recommended it. During the winter at Christmas, it is like a magical wonderland. I always go when there is snow on the ground because it just feels so festive to me and my granddaughter says its like going to the North Pole. Hardy's has tons of great places to get those special pictures. The reindeer are up close and easy to see. The tours are well worth the small fee. They have a restaurant with a fixed menu and the food is always good. You can buy your Christmas tree there as well. I can not really find the words to describe the gift shop but I will try. It is everything whimsical, traditional, and off the beaten path. You can get hot cider to drink while you browse and try to absorb every little thing. There are all different kinds of Santa's, strings of lighted miniature mason jars for your tree, angel wings to hang on your wall, hot sauces, snowmen, fireplaces, crowns, and theme decorated trees. Waiting for your tour to start but it's cold outside? Come into the center of the gift shop and have a seat around the potbelly stove. They make announcements when the tour is getting ready to start. If you are worried about your kids getting restless? There are swings, a slide, and large rolled hay bales for them to play on. Exploration is unlimited and the owners are always walking around and conversing with each and everyone of their visitors. Handicap parking is available as well as full toilet and facilities. Don't miss experiencing Hardy's Reindeer Ranch with your children or grandchildren! read more

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I just stumbled across this place while doing a google search for a kid or family attractions in central IL. I was looking for place to stop with my 2 & 4 year old to break up our 5 hour road trip. This place was perfect. They played in the sand, climbed the straw bales and could have cared less about the reindeer. We did not take the tour and from what I saw, the reviews are pretty accurate. Still we loved the hay ride. But again my kids are young and the resident dog, huckleberry, came along for the ride and that helped. Afterward we got to witness the pumpkin launcher in action. Only one pumpkin though : / we are spoiled and used to at least 3 when one of those launchers are fired up. Overall we had a nice time, it was better than a park. read more

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Super fun family attraction. Kids had fun in the corn maze, the Reindeer are super sweet and they have hay rides!

Hardy's Reindeer Ranch wasn't super exciting, but could be fun if you have kids. I was mainly curious to see a reindeer in person. They are just kinda lounging around in a few fenced in areas. There is a corn maze, which was around $6 person. You could also pay for a reindeer tour, which meant that you get to feed crackers to a reindeer. It didn't really seem worth the extra money, since you can just look at the reindeer for free without feeding them. They also have cut your own Christmas trees and Christmas-y gift shop. read more

This place is SO cool. The reindeer are gorgeous and extremely well-natured. The tour was a mere $4 and worth a lot more than that. I really don't understand how anyone could rate this less than 5 stars. Reindeer! The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, as is (the dog) Huckleberry. read more

I have never written a Yelp review but after my experience today I felt I needed to not only to explain my situation to the staff who was unwilling to listen to my side (let alone let me finish a sentence) but also for those of you who may be thinking about making a trek, as we did. I apologize for the length but this is for management to read as well. ------------------------------- THE QUICK STORY ------------------------------- Hardy's has a place where you can grab a wagon and saw, and then two different entry ways into their tree farm. All of their signs near the wagon and saw said nothing about cutting down anything under 4 feet tall. There was a small sign on the left entryway that said you can't cut anything underneath 4 feet tall. There was no sign anywhere near the right entryway. After reading all the signs near the wagons and saws, and proceeding to enter the tree farm on the right entryway (with no signs) we were scolded pretty harshly for cutting down a tree less than 4 feet. After apologizing and agreeing to pay, I was rudely interrupted numerous times while trying to explain that the markings may not be very clear if you are entering the park from the right side. I was also scolded for not talking with someone before taking a wagon. How was I supposed to know I needed to check in with someone?? The employees were VERY difficult to talk to and although the manager lady wasn't too bad to talk to, she definitely didn't allow me time to suggest to her that maybe her signage wasn't very effective. When we pulled our car up to pick up our trees, there was another gentlemen who was having the exact same issue we were, so it was a recurring problem. They ended up pulling the sign out of the ground and moving it to where the other signs and wagons were...probably where it should have been in the first place. I don't even care that I had to pay $40 for a tree that was 2 feet tall. I am disappointed that I was treated so poorly as a customer and listened to so little. _________________ THE LONG STORY __________________ My girlfriend and I went to Hardy's two years ago and it was a pleasant experience. We dealt with the owner (a male) and he was very kind and helpful. This year was a different story. We arrived and walked up to where they keep the wagons and saws. Our favorite part is cutting down our Christmas tree and we drove 2 hours to do it (we live in Chicago). Yes, there are closer farms but I had liked this place the previous couple years. I would say my girlfriend and I are a bit nerdy, in that we are pretty careful to do things correct in really everything we do. This involved reading all the available signs around the wagons about the size of trees, cost, etc. We did this, didn't see anything funny, took a wagon and saw, and went on our way. There are two walkways to enter the tree farm. One to the left, and one to the right. We took the walkway to the right so we could see the Reindeer. We cut down one big tree and one small tree. After arriving at the tree shaker we were met by two very rude employees who intended to scold us for cutting down the small tree. "There are signs everywhere telling you not to do this! You will have to pay full price ($60) for this 2 foot tree!) they said. I apologized and told them I was sorry and I hadn't seen any signs. I was reminded they are all over. While my tree was being shaken, we walked around and again read all the signs to see what we missed. We still couldn't find anything that said we couldn't cut a tree down that was smaller than 4 feet. I went back and asked the lady nicely "do you mind showing me where the sign is? We cant find it" She says rudely "there are signs all over" "I understand" I say. "But since we can't find them, we'd like you to show us where they might be". She answers with, "well did you talk with one of us before you grabbed a wagon and axe!?" "No", I say. "Was I supposed to? I didn't know there was a requirement to talk with anyone. I figured it was like a pumpkin farm and we could take a wagon and go, since I've been here before a couple years ago" "If you've been here before, then you know you can't cut down a spruce shorter than 4 feet". "Ma'am" I say..."I live in Chicago. I dont even know what a spruce is amongst the others, let alone that I'm not suppose to cut anything down under 4 feet. The only sign you have posted about this is on the left entryway to the tree farm. You have no sign anywhere near the right entryway to the farm" "Well I'll give it to you for $40 instead of $60 like I should. Merry Christmas" she says sarcastically. I was really looking forward to this but these employees really ruined our experience. We won't be returning and we won't be recommending this place to our friends anytime soon. Shame on you Hardy's. You shouldn't make your customers feel bad when it's your fault for not labeling your directions and rules properly. read more

So, uh, I went to a reindeer ranch in central Illinois....and enjoyed myself. First off, the idea that there are a bunch of reindeer just chillin' on a random farm that also grows Christmas trees is so surreal it has to be believed. Then there are kitschy Christmas items in the gift store, pedal powered racing carts, and a gigantic corn maze. You can spend your money as well on snacks or paintball shooting. It's literally a nonstop kitsch fiesta, but as a one time lark, it's worth it. They also change that damned corn maze every year, but it freaked me out that I think it was a one time only thing for me. read more

This is a wonderful place. Unlike some other fall/winter holiday local farms, Hardy's doesn't nickel and dime you. Kids can play and explore freely without having to purchase tokens. The reindeer tour is $5 and it's really special to feed these majestic animals. Food is delicious, simple, and inexpensive. We will be back. read more

Hardy's Reindeer Ranch - Ranches Near Me - Rantoul, Illinois

Looked forward to taking my three year old grandkids to Hardy's. We took the "Reindeer Tour" which consisted of standing in a small corral to "feed" the reindeer while the owner doled out a cracker at a time to people. We paid three bucks a head (including the children) for this experience. The cafe was not open, though it is part of their ads, and no one there seemed apologetic about that fact. It was a cold day but there was no fire in the potbelly. My son-in-law treated us to a "hay ride" which consisted of driving around harvested fields for about five minutes. Items in their gift shop were all overpriced, too. Not a very pleasant experience. It was interesting to be up close and personal with reindeer, who seem to be nice critters, and my grandkids seemed to enjoy them, but the reality of Hardy's Ranch did not live up to the ads. Be forewarned. read more

Great fun! Kids and adults will love it Nice gift shop too..

Our family has made a Christmas tradition of visiting Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. The $3 tour not only allows you to get up close and personal with the reindeer (you feed them graham crackers and pet their noses), but it supports a portion of their care throughout the year. The gift shop is cozy -- a good place to stop in from the cold. You can sit around a potbelly stove sipping cider that's for sale, browse through the lodge and country decorative items, and then finish up by buying a Christmas tree. The pre-cut tree selection has been a good one in year's past. The guys will trim it, wrap it, and get you on your way. Or, you can cut your own if you prefer. There's a little cafe on site that has very limited hours; my husband likes their chili. Plus, it's a pretty ride out into the country. read more

Smooth visit, a mere 4$ to take the reindeer tour. They have several things out for photo ops including the reindeer. Came with the wife, sister and parents. Easy way to kill a couple hours and do something you don't get to do all year round. Would gladly return as the staff was friendly and attentive. read more

I had a much more detailed review but yelp shut down and didn't save it so I lost it. Guess I need to look into reviewing them. Anyway the reindeer ranch was a lot of fun. Family owned and oriented. Our kids, 8-13, really liked it. The reindeer tour really isn't a "tour". Just a feeding and petting area. The corn maze is a treasure hunt type event which is really entertaining compared to most. Allow at least 2-3 hours with kids. No complaints on our part. Great way to spend the day and totally worth the two hours we drove to get there. read more

Such an enjoyable visit! Feeding the reindeer makes for a great time, the children loved it! The gift shop is full of little Christmas decor. read more

After reading these reviews I cannot understand what these people expect when coming to Hardy's Rain deer Ranch. The $3 admission to the tour per person was acceptable. My daughter and I went into the tour and enjoyed the Rain deer as they all gathered at the fence and allowed you to pet them and feed them graham crackers. The "tour guide" gave the kids oats and many pieces of graham crackers to allow the children to all have multiple opportunities to feed the animals. He then gave us some history on the rain deer and answered questions. The shop inside had a nice fireplace that had chairs around it to sit and warm up after the tour. My kids loved it and we will be back next year. read more

One of the worst places around. They made my 5 year old daughter cry. After booking a trip to the farm, which we are about 1 1/2 away we made it to the farm. After checking the website to find out what time they closed and making a phone call to see what time they closed. Which turned out to be 7pm. We got to the farm at right at 5:00pm, we went into the main store to look around and then buy the tickets for the tour. Well we ask the woman at the table if we can buy tickets here, she tells us "NO" there are no more tours, it's to dark and the Reindeers are cold. They stop the tours at 4:00pm, but wait when we pulled up at 5:00, a man yelled out saying the "next reindeer tour starts in 2min. We did want to rush, so that's why we said we will just wait. The tours go in 30min anyways. Well the woman tells us no we can't do it and the look on my daughters face when I had to tell her she can't see them. REALLY!! Oh by the way the woman at the table that said no to my daughter.... WAS THE OWNER! IT SUCKS, DON"T TAKE YOUR KIDS.. read more