Bluffdale Vacation Farm - Carrollton, Illinois

Excursion549954

I visited Bluffdale Vacation Farm with my family for four years in a row every summer: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. Dirty, a bit run-down, but AMAZING! It’s a farm, not a fancy spa, so go knowing it is a FARM! Wonderfully welcoming, down-home people ran the farm at the time...the Hobson family...Lindy (the elderly mom who cooked), her husband, and their son whom we affectionately called “Farmer Ken.” When we first started going in 2008, they had “farm hands” (teenage neices, cousins, etc.) helping with the horseback rides and kitchen work. As the years went on, those helpers seemed to disappear, causing more of the work load to fall on Farmer Ken. We started to help clear our own dishes and such to help Lindy out, who seemed to struggle from painful arthritis. I know this doesn’t seem like a 5-star review, but it is!!! It was totally like going to visit grandma, or your long lost farm relatives. It was reminiscent of a simpler, more family oriented, time in history. My son was 5 yrs. old the first year we went to Bluffdale, and 8 the last year we went there. The following summer he went away to an overnight animal camp so we didn’t make it back to Bluffdale, and then....before we knew it...he had grown up. Yesterday, on Covid Christmas Eve 2020, we watched old family videos of our time spent at Bluffdale. Those videos are gold to me! My son is 17 now, and getting ready to go off to college next year. We all loved watching the videos, laughing and smiling, remembering our down-home fun we had at the farm. We picked the farm as our vacation back then because my son absolutely adored all animals. When we watched the videos last night, he mentioned how it would be fun to work there now, as an older teen, since he still loves animals. I don’t even know if the place is still around, which is what prompted me to look it up on Google and write this review. All I know is that we have such AMAZING, WONDERFUL family memories of our time spent at Bluffdale Vacation Farm with Lindy, her husband Bill, and their grown son, Farmer Ken. My husband has allergies, so he could not join us after the first year (too hot and miserable), but we managed to intice several other family friends and their young children to join us for the next several years. Some enjoyed it, some didn’t. It depended if they minded getting dirty, bug bites, and being hot. If you are “city folk” and love experiencing something different and authentic and down right homey, you’ll love it! If you are more of a spa, fancy hotel type of vacationer, this might not be the place for you. I am sort of both, but loved this farm experience for it’s warmth, friendly owners, and authenticity. What a gift it was to my son and myself! Farmer Ken, if you ever see this review, know that your family farm made a wonderful impact on my son Ethan and I (Sue). Thanks for the memories!

Sarah F.

I had the pleasure of returning to Hobsons Bluffdale about 30 years after my first visit (as a kid with my parents) now bringing my husband and kids (daughters aged 6&8 and son who is 9 months) to experience this wonderful place. WARNING: If dirt and bugs make you miserable, this is not the destination for you. You are in the great outdoors with farm animals, bugs, spiders, dogs, dirt, hay and mosquitos. You will be filthy, your kids will be filthy and the accommodations, although quaint, are a bit tired and yes an ant or spider (or many more) may be in your room. This is no where close to the Ritz. If you can see past these rather minor inconveniences, you will be whisked away to an era where families sit down around a farm table 3 times a day with an abundant and delicious, warm home cooked family style meal. If you have special dietary needs, such as myself (pescatarian) they did a great job modifying the menu as I was accommodated at every meal. Often seasonal vegetables or fruits you pick from the extensive garden are incorporated in the meals. In addition, fresh eggs (that you collected from the chickens the night before) are prepared in your preferred style to compete your breakfast in the morning. Following your hearty breakfast, you have the opportunity to ride horses led in the corral and if you are over the age of 8, several wonderful wooded trails await, with the horses transporting you to the top of the bluff with breathtaking views overlooking the farmland within the Illinois river valley. In the afternoon, our kids enjoyed fishing, paddle boating, playing with an adorable litter of yellow Labrador retrievers and several kittens that were present on the farm during our 3 day stay. We picked vegetables and strawberries from the garden, played games in the Rec room, went on hikes, climbed trees, enjoyed the hammock, swings, and pretend play in the playhouse. After dinner we would hop up on the wagon and shovel grain into buckets to feed the animals. We would ride on the wagon to feed the horses, chickens, geese and my kids would get to collect eggs from the chickens. After feeding the animals, each evening provided a new activity --one evening we had a bonfire with s'mores, another evening we had a hayride and the next each of the girls had a chance to "drive" the tractor! At night, we retired to our well-designed cabin. It had a bunk room for the kids and an attached master bedroom with vaulted ceilings, exposed wood beams and a cozy gas fireplace. It had a large porch with rocking chairs over looking the chickens and a hot tub that was unfortunately out of service during our stay. Although not super clean, it was impressively built and nice to retire to at the end of a long day. Our incredible host, Ken Hobson, is the consummate farmer--a jack of all trades and the ultimate do it yourselfer. He shared stories and knowledge of the history (the farm has been in his family for almost 200 years!). He made sure we were having a great time and was our activities director for the entire 3 days. His daughter, Lexi, prepared most of our meals and his 85 year old parents cleaned the dishes. The Hobsons are very hard-working kind-hearted people who have graciously opened their home to guests for over 50 years. My kids were in tears when we left and have not stopped talking about the animals they connected with since we have been home. They already are aIready asking for a return trip. If you want a relaxing escape from the day to day craziness of busy work/family life, an opportunity to give your family time to reconnect, to allow your kids to be "free range", get dirty, play in the hay, hike in a creek, climb trees, enjoy animals, learn a little about farm life and the great outdoors, all at a great value--book a stay at Bluffdale. Perhaps 30 years from now, your child will return with her family to recapture the magic of her childhood and relive the memories of a wonderful family vacation with the next generation.

Jennifer W.

Awful. Never again. We brought our five kds (ages 2-9) to the farm for spring break. Although the kids had a great time, it was because they don't care about the same things adults do -- like cleanliness and value. We were greeted by FILTHY, flea-ridden (although friendly) dogs. Lots of them. Our cabin looked nice, but didn't include things that were listed on the website. It was obvious by hairs on the sheets they hadn't been changed from the precious guests. The whole cabin had a mildew smell. The meals were delicious, however the cleanliness of the kitchen and house was awful...I can't imagine how these people even stay open. We were slated to stay for four nights, but left a night early. I have no problem camping and having the kids get dirty, but my biggest concern was the overall condition of the farm compared to what the website promised. There were no pontoon rides, no bonfires, no wildlife walks, and their idea of a game room for the kids was a pavilion with dirty pool tables covered in junk. This place has obviously seen its prime.

Shaun C.

We had been in search of a lab puppy and ran across Alexis selling puppies on puppyfinder.com. They had a beautiful litter of pups (black and chocolate) and we eventually made the 3 hour trip to go see them. The pups were all beautiful dogs and parents were on site. They have a lot of larger labs, and cats, at the farm so they were acclimated with other animals.

We purchased a black lab male puppy (Axel) and were very impressed with him! He has a wonderful personality, and is very intelligent! He took to retrieving, and Playful tracking, very quickly! He’s in great health and a wonderful addition to our family.

If you want a great quality dog, without the added expenses of “champion bloodlines” or “papers” you need to look her up and check out future litters! You won’t be disappointed!

eniemczyk

Let me start off with some positive comments: the family who runs this farmstay is lovely and hospitable. The food is plentiful and meals are truly family-style. My daughter had a lot of fun with the cats and dogs, and the horseback riding was instructive and entertaining for her. There was a wide array of things to do and Ken worked hard to entertain us, including trips to a wonderful orchard, local archaeological museum, exotic animal farm, and more.||||Now for a few less-than-stellar comments: We had reserved a room in the guest house, but as we were the only guests staying at the farm, we were "upgraded" to the large cabin. I always check the bed in a hotel (following a truly miserable few months in which our apartment was being treated for bedbugs--and I will do everything in my power to NEVER go through that again); when I pulled up the mattress cover I found two dead adult bedbugs, and one very alive cockroach. Also the mattress was flecked with bedbug feces. This was an "oh hell no" moment. I shuffled my daughter out and encased our pillows in a plastic garbage bag, removed our belongings and went to find the manager (Ken). He seemed surprised and told me that he had recently bug-bombed the place (which, by the way, is ineffective against bedbugs); he said that he would make up the beds in another cabin. In retrospect I should have left then and there, but my daughter would have been so disappointed. The new room wasn't made available to us until 10pm. The new cabin reeked of mildew (as did the first one), had a non-working shower (the one in the second bathroom was operational, though severely encrusted with deposits), towels were old and dingy, comforter and pillows were stained and torn, old wine in the fridge, gross toilets, parts coming off of faucets. My daughter and I slept on top of the comforter, in the same bed, for two nights. I slept with my shirt pulled up over my nose and mouth, because I am allergic to mildew. It was miserable.||||Other fun things: Although the dogs were very friendly, one persistently followed my little girl and jumped on her back, and tried to grab her hair, clothes, arms and hands in its teeth. My daughter has never been afraid of dogs, but she hated this. One of the dogs stole one of her favorite rubber boots from our cabin porch and tore the top to pieces. Told Ken and he only said "they did that to my boots, too." No apology whatsoever.||||End of day chores done in the pitch dark.||||Pool green and bubbling inexplicably in manner of witch's cauldron.||||Ken was sometimes rude, and insensitive to the needs of small children. When my 8 year-old daughter had trouble following some direction for getting in a canoe, Ken implied that she didn't understand English. He was dismissive of my need to put my daughter in a car seat with a functional seat belt (his van had a lot of safety issues), he suggested that she ride in the front seat of his truck, and when I said "no," he scoffed at my decision. He kept us out very late at night (9:30, 10pm); he scolded me for not listening to him when we were lining up the horses for the trail ride, when in reality I had no idea he was even addressing me. He continually complained about his brother (who I actually found quite likable and socially adept). Ken has some social quirks, which sometimes were interesting but at other times seemed really insensitive to the needs of others.||||Main house was amazing for its historic features, but I am doubtful that it would be up to code for a bed and breakfast. It was a hoarded space.||||Anyway, in conclusion, let me reiterate that the family is amazing. However, you would have to pay me an incredible sum of money to ever stay here again. And now, back to my tick removal(s).....

ToriTichy

My daughter and I went for a week and had an amazing time! The hospitality was out of this world, the food delicious! Much better then we anticipated! We can't wait to return!!!!!! Lots of animals! We swam, we hiked, road horses every day after breakfast,collected eggs, feed the animals, visited an exotic animal farm, visited a cave, went boating, went to a water park. These folks met our every need and then some! We will be back!!! Tori and Carli

Terra B.

Everything people are saying below is true. Still the kids truly had the time of their *lives*. ||||The had kittens, puppies, dogs, horses (and a new foal), chickens, and geese. The kids got to play with the kittens and puppies as much as they wanted. The hike and land was beautiful. The took care of the animals.||||For the adults, set your expectations accordingly, and you will enjoy seeing your kids enjoy the animal life. Thee kids had such a good time it was worth it (ages 7,5,and 2).

GrandpaMilt

Our granddaughter loves animals and we reserved a spot for three nights at Bluffdale. We put down half of the cost up front and the balance about 6 weeks before arrival. Upon arrival, the only people there were Ken's parents, both 88. They had no idea where Ken was but figured he'd be along. No one else there. The site was an absolute mess. Uncut grass (assume there were ticks everywhere), filthy pool and hot tub, filthy game room with dust and dirt everywhere, blown over tree in the horse corral and crushing part of the fence. We went to one of the cabins. It was dirty and dingy, some kind of sawdust or ? had fallen from the ceiling to the floor and bed, bedspreads were old and worn, bathtub crusty, toilet dirty. Gross! Gross! We turned around and left. This place is run down and not being taken care of in the least. We re-looked at the pictures on the website and concluded they are from a time at least 20 years ago when this might have been a place that was OK. No longer, DO NOT GO!