Discover Garden Prairie

Garden Prairie offers several specific themes to help you plan your trip: agriculture, water and local history. The Redhorse Bend Canoe Launch has a public canoe launch, a parking lot and a fishing area. Farming is represented by two different operations; historical connections range from the town’s former name, Amesville, to a planned interpretive hike.

Agriculture: two distinct farm profiles

Susie's Garden Patch is a second-generation, family-owned farm that has been in operation since 1985. At the 2024 Boone County Farm Stroll, its offerings included a farm tour, a market, fresh produce, pies and pumpkins. A 2024 farm profile lists 200 Holstein cows and another 200 young animals at Claretta Farm. Also as part of the 2024 Farm Stroll, the family farm invited visitors to tour the farm and see how the cows are kept. The two examples have different emphases: Susie's program at the time included a farm tour and market, while Claretta focused on introducing visitors to how the animals are cared for. The visitor offerings described here are specific to the 2024 Farm Stroll. If a farm visit is important to your plans, ask about current visitor arrangements in advance.

Canoe launch and fishing area at Redhorse Bend

The Redhorse Bend Canoe Launch is part of the Belvidere Park District and is located on Lawrenceville Road in Garden Prairie, two miles north of I-90. The facility includes a public canoe launch, a parking lot and a fishing area. This means that a specific connection to the water and an area for fishing are both featured at the same named location. The parking lot complements these facilities. Unlike the farming examples, Redhorse Bend is a starting point for a different kind of trip: canoe launching and fishing, rather than a Farm Stroll program. The reference to Lawrenceville Road and the distance from I-90 help pinpoint the location.

Nature south of Garden Prairie

Sewell Conservation Area is in southeastern Boone County, south of Garden Prairie and near the banks of Coon Creek. It covers 200.82 acres. This natural setting adds an area in the nearby surroundings to the points of interest located directly in Garden Prairie. The location details distinguish the two: Redhorse Bend Canoe Launch is in Garden Prairie, while Sewell Conservation Area is south of it. When planning your trip, you can distinguish between the specific facilities at Redhorse Bend and the scenic setting near Coon Creek.

Local history and a planned hike

Amesville, now Garden Prairie, became the second post office between Chicago and Galena on June 18, 1838. This exact date provides a clear historical reference point. Another connection to the landscape appears in a 2018 BCCD announcement: a fourth interpretive hike in Kishwaukee Valley Conservation Area in Garden Prairie was planned for March 10 at 10 a.m. It was to follow the edge of the Kishwaukee River and show how the river shapes the landscape. This was a plan at the time, not a current event date.

Choose hotels in Garden Prairie based on your travel interests

Redhorse Bend brings together a canoe launch, a parking lot and a fishing area at one named location. The examples of Susie's Garden Patch and Claretta Farm represent different agricultural emphases; the visitor offerings described for them were part of the 2024 Farm Stroll. Amesville and the planned hike provide historical and landscape-related points of interest.

Discover more destinations: Belvidere, Poplar Grove.

For the broader travel overview: Boone County.