Things to Do in McHenry

Lake Geneva Cruise Line received the 2012 Service Excellence Award at the Conference on Tourism, recognized by Governor Scott Walker for its continued commitment to unique, memorable experiences afforded by their daily tours and private charters. Tourists can traverse the picturesque waters of Lake Geneva in their stylish ships equipped with bars, snack bars, and restrooms. During tours, knowledgeable guides dispense narration about local history and guests provide their own soundtrack during afternoon ice-cream socials and sundown cruises. Evening cocktail cruises keep libations flowing for two hours as musical notes played by local musicians float out across the dark, sparkling water before they're gobbled up by jumping fish.

As a member of the National Association of Consumer Shows, Showtime Productions, Inc. has hosted some of the largest and most well-attended trade shows in the Midwest. The Rockford Home Show, for example, has been going strong for more than 30 years, and Showtime partners with Landro Productions to organize boating and fishing and camping and travel shows that have attracted outdoor enthusiasts for more than four decades.

Many of their events are held at the Indoor Sports Center, a 60,000-square-foot complex where visitors have plenty of room to walk past rows and rows of exhibit booths. Convention guests refuel with burgers, tacos, and other casual bites while watching the action below from the second-floor Skybox Restaurant and sports bar.

Broadlands Golf Club's 18-hole course spans 6,884 yards of open terrain organized in a majestic, links-style layout. Glassy waters, mounded terrain, and tall native grasses flank fairways and greens throughout the course, letting golfers experience the charms of golf's old Scotch-Irish courses without having to swap their golf ball out for a potato. Throughout the course, dimpled orbs speed across bentgrass fairways and greens, which provide a smooth and fast surface for flush drives and testy breaking putts. The course punishes slow starters and jet-lagged drivers with the par 5 second hole, a relatively straight, 534-yard tract that demands precision to avoid a green heavily fortified by six sand traps. To prepare golfers for their rounds, Broadlands offers lessons, an onsite driving range, and a satellite tour of their course.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,884 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.1 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 125 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Download scorecard

A tractor rumbles along the rolling hills of Green Meadows Petting Farm's back 40 as it pulls hayride passengers toward the farm’s animals' barns and pens. There, hands of all ages can snuggle on the fuzzy fleece of a baby goat or sheep, brush against the bristly hide of the 700-pound Patty the Pig, or comb fingers into the soft mane of Lad the Pony. Farmers on the staff also share insights and anecdotes on the farm and its four-legged friends as guests roam the farm at their leisure. For Charlie and Mavis Keyes, of all the sights and sounds on a farm that's been in the family since 1964, the ones they enjoy most watching and hearing are from the children and parents who come to visit. It's a thrill, Charlie says, to hear the kids say that they had "the best day ever," providing a happy counterpoint to childhood days that include trips to the doctor's and punishments to file and catalogue a sister's dolls' dresses.

Wateriders' experienced and knowledgeable guides have been leading relaxed kayak tours down Chicago’s picturesque waterways since 1997. Day and night tours explore the city's most exciting attributes, focusing on history, architecture, and eerie mob chronicles as guides provide paddling instruction and share true tales of Al Capone's mythical collection of tracksuits. Wateriders also rents its kayaks to independent paddlers who prefer to discover Chicago's sights on their own.

Since the first fairway drive in 1923, players at Sycamore Golf Club have sent their golf balls cruising down tree-lined chutes blanketed in pristine bentgrass in effort to conquer the course par of 71. The 18-hole course straddles the Kishwaukee River and extends to a total length of 5,817 yards from the back tees and 5,302 yards from the front tees. A meticulous maintenance team keeps the course in excellent condition, meaning golfers will rarely have to hit out of fairway divots or find their golf ball running away with vagabond gangs of crabgrass tumbleweeds.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Total length of 5,817 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 68 from the back tees

• Course slope of 114 from the back tees

• Two sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard