outdoors

This summer features the Cary Farmers Market in their new summer home in downtown Cary. While it's within walking distance from where it has been held, it's a great improvement.

Round up the family, grab chairs and blankets, and head to the movie in the park! Enjoy watching the stars on the screen under the stars in the sky with your favorite movies.

Take some time this Memorial Day to remember and honor those who gave their life serving in our Armed Forces. Check our guide for special Memorial Day ceremonies and parades around McHenry County.

It was a Windy City BMW kind of day at Crystal Lake BMW when they teamed up to for a Cars & Coffee car show. While they clouds were foreboding, the only rumbling was the engines.

If your favorite question is "how are they biting today," then we think you'll enjoy our new McHenry County Fishing Guide. Whether you prefer to keep your feet on solid ground or sitting in a boat, our guide has a fishing spot for you to try.

Hey disc golfers, check the weather, grab your discs, and before heading out, check our guide and consider trying a course your haven't been to yet. Our guide covers all of the disc golf courses across McHenry County!

Ready to get pickled?! Calling all picklers and pickleball curious. Looking for a pickleball court near you? We've got you covered in our newest guide.

Turn off the TV and game system, put away the phone! Summer is for fun and adventure, and our Summer Camps Guide for McHenry County is your map for summer memories.

If you are itching to get out and enjoy nature and to experience McHenry County in the winter, then our Cross Country Ski Trails Guide will give you lots of opportunities to explore.

If you've been itching to lace up those skates and get out on the ice, then you're in luck. Before you head out, be sure to check our guide for local McHenry County ice skating rinks.

Whether you've ever had a real Christmas tree or not, our guide is here to help you navigate the challenges of having real trees. Be sure to check out our list of local Christmas tree farms.

Wonder Lake's Fall Fest was the place to be for all kinds of fun, from a trunk or treat to a huge bonfire! Take a peek!

Great day for a Halloween Walk in Fox River Grove with the Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce. Check out the smiles and the great costumes.

Amazing weather this year made for a great day out in the country, taking in the fall colors on the Autumn Drive and Witches & Wizards of Woodstock.

It's our favorite time of year and there are so many things to do in McHenry County during fall! In fact, with so many options, it's hard to keep track, so we decided we should create a guide!

Downtown Crystal Lake Farmers Market wrapped up the 2023 season with amazing weather and lots of people enjoying the day. Can't ask for much more than that.

Looking for Trunk-or-Treat fun in McHenry County? Look no further as our guide details trunk or treat, as well as other treating fun events all across the county.

There are car shows and then there are concours d'elegance. And we're fortunate enough to have an amazing concours just a short drive south. Come along and take a peek.

Did you make out to play on the big hill at the Nunda Township Road District's annual Touch-A-Truck? Hope so, but if not, we've captured some of the fun.

Hop on board as we head up to the Village of Hebron for their annual Independence Day Parade.

What better way to enjoy a middle of the week evening than heading to Cary for Cary Cruise Nights! Take a peak at opening night, but don't worry if you didn't make it, there's plenty more to come.

What's that up in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, it might just be a ski jumper with the ski jump tower in the background...and yes, that actually is a plane in the background! Join us on this exciting adventure of ski jumping at the

While the new year is upon us and the holiday decorations have started to come down, enjoy this look at the Huntley Christmas lights in the Town Square.

Get your dose of Christmas spirit with these photos from downtown Crystal Lake for the Festival of Lights Parade, tree lighting, arrival of Santa, and a stroll down Christmas Tree Lane.

Crystal Lake Plaza was once again home to a party of zombies, princesses, fighter pilots, an array of video game characters, and much more on Saturday as their annual trick-or-treating event returned.

Crystal Lake Park District brought the Northwoods of Wisconsin to Main Beach for a day with lumberjacks, family fun, food trucks and a beer garden. Thanks to the unseasonably warm, weather, flannel shorts may have been preferred over flannel shirts. Needless to say, from the countless photos taken, no one

Hop on and enjoy the view! Another Autumn Drive has come and gone and winter is already beating on the door. If you didn't make it out, you'll have to wait till next year, but here are some photos to tide you over until then.

The 5th Annual Algonquin Harvest Market was as much an extension of summer as it was a transition into fall. Either way, it was a glorious day to walk Main Street in Algonquin, perusing the various vendors, enjoying a beverage or two, some great food, all while enjoying some wonderful

Art on the Fox brought in artists and artisans from within McHenry County and beyond the state line. If you didn't make it, take a look at what you missed and you might even want to trakc down a few artists or artisans who catch your eye!

An amazing and immersive nature experience awaits you, and it may be closer than you think. Crystal Lake has a wonderful array of parks for recreation, but it's also home to Sterne's Woods & Fen, which is wonderful preservation area as well.

It takes more than a little rain to keep us away. But you can enjoy these photos from the Open Air Farmers Market+ At The Dole from the comfort of your own home, regardless of the weather.

Join us on our excursion to the Barrington Art Fair, where we took in a wide array of artistic talents, and captured some of the local flavor and natural art as well.

It was a near-perfect day for a parade. If you missed this year's Crystal Lake Independence Day Parade, then we've got over 100 photos that will show you some of what you missed, or relive what you experienced if you were there.

In need of a quick escape? Need to getaway from the stress, turmoil, and general chaos of everyday life? Come along as we jump the border and experience the Anderson Japanese Gardens.

Sit back and stay awhile as you flip through over 100 photos from Huntley's Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony.

Wonderful weather prevailed for the Fox River Grove Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony, and we've got the photos to prove it. So if you didn't make it out, sit back and enjoy our little recap.

Riverfront Park in Algonquin provides great views of the Fox River, as well as a well-landscaped green space for relaxing. While the trees were still a little bare in early spring, the flowers were happy to show their colors to make up for it.

What better way to spend a sunny, though windy and chilly, pre-Easter Saturday than with the hardest working bunny around! Enjoy some photos from the Village of Prairie Grove's annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Okay, campers, if you didn't make it out this morning to get first...paw prognostications from the great Woodstock Willie, then you're in luck, and a lot warmer! Sit back and enjoy...

Are you looking for holiday and Christmas light displays? We've pulled together a list spanning McHenry County to help you get started on your journey! And we welcome any that you think should be on our list too!

The Crystal Lake Park District's Luminaria Walk is truly a wonderful way to experience Veteran Acres Park. It's also a great way to transition into the holiday season.

Be sure to save a little time in your hectic schedule for a stroll around the Woodstock Historic Square this holiday season to take in the festive light display.

Whatever you think you know about the Crystal Lake Park District, there is most likely so much more that you are missing. Come along and let's see if we can uncover a few new things.

Come along as we walk around a parking lot. While it was an ordinary parking lot, it was not an everyday experience. Take a peek at some cool and classic cars that recently met up in Crystal Lake.

If you missed this year's Annual Autumn Drive, come along and enjoy a photo tour of just a little bit of what you missed.

From a dairy farm to a gravel pit, The Hollows now lives on as a conservation area and recreation site. This amazing little gem may just be the quick getaway that you've been looking for.

Pleasant Valley Conservation Area is a truly amazing environmental experience. Over 2,000 acres of natural habitat, including rare plant and endangered animal species. Enjoy a true hidden getaway with hiking trails, various landscapes, cross country skiing, and more.

Wonder down a little alleyway and you'll get a surprise. The Woodstock Mural and Sculpture Garden, featuring the Woodstock on Film and on the Stage Mural is a true work of art that highlights Woodstock's role in film and stage.

If you are going to spend a Sunday strolling through a parking lot, Motor Werks' Cars & Coffee is a great way to do it. Care to take a stroll?

Steve Gavers is a cancer warrior. What follows is not only his Spotlight Story, but the story of his survivorship which lead to the Gavers Barndance and the Gavers Community Cancer Foundation...which has profoundly impacted the community.

Nothing could have prepared me for this trip to Veteran Acres Park and my journey around the pond. What was meant to be our first photolog ended up with about an equal amount of text as I share information on the tree removal around the pond at Veteran Acres Park.

McHenry Dam, nestled in the southwest corner of Moraine Hills State Park, is a large and peaceful destination in itself. With the quiet roar of the dam in the background and stand of large, dense trees, the dam offers a lovely place to relax for fishermen and picnickers alike. Moraine

Thanks to local farmers markets, a trip to the farm for fresh produce, meets, cheeses, and other goodies is often just a short drive away.