Midwest Reindeer | Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch
Is there anything you cannot see or do in the heart of the Midwest? One thing I have learned in the past few years while traveling is that the Midwest truly offers some amazing gems and experiences. This includes reindeer! If you are looking to make friends and kiss a reindeer add Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch to your travel bucket list.
Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch is located in a very small town Rantoul, Illinois just outside of Champaign, Illinois. There is not much else in the town of Rantoul, but we made this our final popup camping stop on our way from our Smoky Mountain adventure.
This small ranch reminds me a lot of some of our favorite pumpkin patches here in the Des Moines area. While the Alaskan Reindeer is the highlight they offer tons of other fun activities for the entire family.
The kids loved the fun play area full of swings, digging, climbing, two very sweet rabbits, and more. We were even there when they shot off a pumpkin in the pumpkin cannon! We loved counting down and watching the pumpkin fly at lightning speed.
If you are looking for unique and festive gifts, their small shop is a must! It was so fun to walk through and look at all the fun ornaments and other gifts.
Their corn maze is one of the best I have ever done before. Each year they do a theme and you are given a card with 5 to 6 signs you need to find to put a punch in your card. This year’s theme was “Under the Sea”. We spent an hour or so looking for all the signs and did not find them all. It definitely is a fun challenge!
You have to take the ‘Reindeer Experience Tour’ when you visit the Reindeer Farm! The tour is only $5 and you get to spend a ton of hands-on time with these sweet creatures. The staff is also very knowledgeable and we learned a ton about them.
Our favorite part was the reindeer kisses. I do not know how you cannot smile after receiving a furry kiss from a reindeer. It is fun to see how they all interact with each other and how each one has their own personality.
In addition to the reindeer tour and farm play, they also offer pedal cars and a restaurant that is open various hours during the season. It was not open when we visited, but looked like a fun place to grab lunch or a tasty snack.
We’ve seen reindeer in the wild in Alaska, Iceland and Norway but never up close like this. What a treat!