Forest View Farms

This was my second experience with the haunted hayride at Forest View Farms and it was even better than the last one. They are organized from the start with parking ushers and planned my group’s event timing to cover all three attractions-​haunted mine, hayride, and zombie hunt. Clientele is a mixed crowd of families, teens, and adults. That said, the fear factor is just scary enough for adults to be startled, but not so scary that kids will be up all night. The haunted mine was new for me and I loved it! It’s brief, but there are plenty of live characters popping out. They only allow 4 people at a time so there’s no place to hide.
I’d address the two negative posts here, because I think they went the same night my big group was there and they’re actually referring to us. As I said, there are mixed age groups. You’re also allowed to bring alcohol if you’re of age as long as it’s not in a glass bottle. We brought beer and started drinking in the parking lot. Some of us were better behaved than others. Since we rented a private hayride, we also had a fire pit reserved. Yes, there are probably a half dozen fire pits and plenty of picnic benches. Bring snacks and s’mores fixings to turn the outing into a full event.
Freddy spent a lot of time interacting with all the parties and I thought did a really good job, too. He was posing for pictures, scaring people a bit and he definitely wasn’t drunk!
Zombie hunt was the first time for me this year, and it was fun. I really appreciated that they turned off the air until it was appropriate to shoot. I may have tried to use the gun a little early, but they keep you from being able to shoot cars on the road, homes, or other people. My gun jammed up once, but they give you instructions how to chamber (like any other handgun) to clear. Drill sergeant/​military theme was super cute! Yes, there could have been more live zombies, but there was a point where you just felt bad for the actors. They have no defense and they’re getting nailed all night. I imagine it’s not easy to find actors who can manage the beating.
After all the attractions, my group closed down the joint drinking by the fire pit. I feel bad for the Farm because it looks like Heather and Guillermo mistook us for being representative of the professionalism of this place. Regardless, we had a great time last night and I recommend!

WASTE OF MONEY! DO NOT take your family to the halloween attractions. We did the zombie paintball for $ 20 per person. BIG MISTAKE. Half of the guns didn’t work, the other half had a trigger release that the worker was unaware of until a rider figured it out. So the office lady said we could buy extra paint balls on the truck and that there were «tons» of zombies. The trail took all of 10 minutes to go through — having only THREE moving zombies to shoot at, the rest were halloween props. We were saving our ammo for live zombies that never came and ended up unloading half of our guns shooting at the air at the end. Horrible experience and a waste of $ 80 for my family.

First time there with my son’s daycare for a field trip. Since we were the only field trip group, the staff was really courteous. I will say that with the right investor, this farm could really be something. The hayride was kinda disappointing as I was expecting to see more animals or a field of animals. Overall, for the time we were there (3 hrs), it was an OK trip.

This was my first time going horseback riding and it was so much fun I’m ready to go again! We did the group trail ride and it was six of us and two guides. They brought out horses for beginners and gave one to us according to our size. We went up and down hills, trotted some and spent almost an hour on the trail. They tell you how to handle your horse in the beginning very briefly. Make sure to bring cash to tip the guides because that’s how they get paid. My horse was Lebby and was very well behaved. Both guides we had were very friendly and made sure the group stayed together. I fell in love with her… a real beauty!

Just came from riding horses with my family had a fun time the people was nice the horses was just beautiful the horse i had was sheba I recommend her for every one

We came for the Haunted Hayrides and had a great time! We had a very large group and Forest View Farms was very organized and attentive, keeping our event running smoothly. The hayrides were awesome and it was nice that they offered a less scary version for the younger kids in addition to the traditional scary ride. We also enjoyed our rented campfire space after our ride. All in all, we were very happy with our Haunted Hayride experience. We’ll be back next year for sure!

The hotdogs were nasty the apple cider was better and a pack of gum I brought was expired in June 2012!!!
The hot chocolate was good, the prices were great but bad product as for the haunted hayride it was pretty good not for anyone under 12
For the price I guess it was a good deal and only a 35 min weight $ 10.00

Called last minute to book a pony for my daughter’s birthday party and they were able to accommodate my needs! They fit me into the schedule and the pony was a total hit! I will definitely be using them in the future, whether it be for animal rental or just a visit to the farm to have a fun day out with the kids!

I don’t normally Unilocal,but I was so appalled by this place that I felt the need to. 1 star is too many.
1. Office stinks, the smell wafted through the open window that was used for exchanging paperwork for the trail rides.
2. Women’s bathroom was disgusting. There were cleaning products in there but I don’t think it has ever been cleaned. There were spider webs behind the toilets which included spider eggs and live spiders. It smelled in there and was just gross.
3. What is with the clientele? People were driving through the parking lot revving their engines while we were standing there on our horses. Idiots! Then it was like a concert for who had the best bass on their souped ride. Gross –and weird to see on a farm.
Those are general comments from my first impressions. For these next few comments let me preface them by saying that I grew up with horses and have worked with them my whole life, so yea I am a bit opinionated about their well being.
3. Upon entering the barn, I was greeted with a bunch of skinny, bony horses standing listlessly around.
4. Barn was filthy, yes I know it is a barn… But c’mon people, have a little pride in your facilities!
5. My horse, Wally aka Mountain, was old with bones sticking out everywhere. Didn’t listen at all, I know he is a trail horse but he loved to have his face stuck in the horses butt that was ahead of us, and anytime I tried to pull up or turn him it was as if I wasn’t there.
6. All of our horses were FILTHY.
7. Tack was filthy and cheap. My horse had on a plastic bridle, which I had to get down and fix because our trail guide didn’t notice the noseband and curb chain was just hanging there undone. A few of the other bridles that were on my friends horses were also twisted inside out and needed to be adjusted.
8. Went around to the back after the trail ride was over, and noticed that there were more skinny horses hanging around. They did have hay around them but what was left looked like straw. This is what killed me… The horses and mini ponies hooves. They were so overgrown that they came out and started turning up on the ends. This is uncomfortable for the horse and not healthy. I get that In the summer it can be hard to keep weight on horses, but there is no excuse for their feet being that neglected.
This is a working farm with a lot of traffic and there is no reason that it should have been such a mess. Having a farm takes work and one needs to have pride in what they own esp if it is geared towards the public eye.

This review is strictly for the «pumpkin» farm advertised. This is clearly a horse stable and perhaps there are fields in the rear somewhere but we got no help or acknowledgement upon entering the dirty, cat urine smelly office and couldn’t stand the smell long enough to wait more than 5 minutes for someone to greet us. There were at least 5 employees standing around eating pizza and not a single one made eye contact. Weird!

The experience was an enjoyable one because it was a relaxing ride on a nice day. However, I’ve attempted to take my daughter after school on a few nice sunny days during the winter. I assumed that on sunny nice days they would want to take advantage of it. The girl on the phone told me the last ride goes out at 3:30. I told her it was 3:15. She said that we still couldn’t go and didn’t really give a good reason why. She said it gets dark around 4:30. With that being said, I still don’t understand why we couldn’t go.
The place is a major eyesore and should be subject to property upkeep like every other resident. I’ve been to other stables that are much cleaner and nicer to look at. What a shame, I think nearby residents would love to take walks over there to see the horses grazing but the place is such a dump I prefer to drive elsewhere. This shows that these owners clearly take no pride in their business.
Quick tips to the owners: clean the horse manure up. Here’s another tip, put some effort into making your business appealing from the street. From 167^th street it looks like some hillbilly ranch that went to hell.

I wouldn’t give your money to this establishment. The livery horses are kept ankle deep in their own manure and urine. They dump the manure and dirty shavings they clean from the borders stalls into the massive pen where the livery horses are kept. There are too many horses kept in that area for it’s size. They sprinkle a literal dusting of shavings on the ground after the one time a week they actually clean the thing out. It’s kind of a joke really, I don’t know why they even bother. At the end of last winter, I saw many horses there with large thick patches of caked manure embedded in their coats. It’s nothing that would kill a horse, but it is a bit cruel and careless in you ask me. The vet rarely visits the animals, and animals that should be euthanized are kept alive to save on the cost.
Besides the horses are the animals in the petting zoo. They are kept in pens where there isn’t even enough room for them to walk, they just hop over one another. They breed in these pens and the newborn animals get trampled to death because there simply isn’t any room. The ponies and draft horses are kept in similar make shift pens, and the hooves of these animals are allowed to grow until they curl out. Very poor horsemanship.
There are other places in the area that give lessons or lessons on trail. It may cost a little more, but you’ll probably have a better time if it’s cleaner and the animals are healthier. Yeah, maybe at Forest View they let you trot and canter on trail, but it’s because the trail guide wants you to give them a big tip. The safety of the horses and the riders should be better considered.
I hate to say this kind of stuff about a place I used to love to spend time, but a word of it couldn’t be denied. If you think of animals as objects or possessions, then maybe this kind of treatment is okay with you. I just think our pets and service animals deserve a little better, at least some bedding and enough space to lie down while they rest.

I don’t know much about horseback riding, but I do know plenty about haunted houses and hayrides, and this review is only for the Fall Festival that Forest View does in October.
I was looking for a haunted hayride that wasn’t far from the city, and Forest View appeared to be the closest. It was an easy drive (quick on a Saturday evening, and not at all difficult to find) and our group of four got in quickly — maybe 5 – 10 minutes in line, followed by 10 minutes of waiting to get on a wagon — at about 8:00 on Halloween weekend without making reservations ahead of time.
You can make reservations with a credit card over the phone, pay in line with cash once you get there, or pay with a card in their nearby office, which I did. It’s very reasonably priced ($ 10 each) and a longer ride than other places I’ve been. The ride itself has a fun atmosphere and is scary without being too much for those who scare easily. (Our wagon had adults, teenagers, and a few younger kids with parents, and everyone seemed to have fun.)
There’s also an additional haunted house, «The Beast,» ($ 8 each, or $ 16 each for it and the hayride) which is more intense. We waited 5 – 10 minutes in line, and the walk-​through, while shorter than the hayride, was a good amount of time. Two of us did The Beast, while the other less-​enthused-​about-​being-​scared two waited nearby at the campfires. I’d definitely recommend doing both.
Hope to be back!

Forest View Farms was wonderful for horseback riding. It is first-​come, first-​serve; we got lucky only having to wait for them to prep the horses on a gorgeous 74 degree fall Saturday. We fortunately only went with our group of four and the trail guide through the forest preserve trails, who let us trot and canter on our horses.
Some of the horses were more motivated than others, but they made sure to keep the slower, stubborn horse between others who walked a normal pace. Remington was great and such a beautiful horse.
The grounds were typical stables, a bit dilapidated, but the staff were nice and humble. The price is right being only $ 22 cash and $ 24 credit/​debit. We’ll definitely be back for relaxing and enjoyable rides.

Went horseback riding last week at this place. The woman at the window was very friendly and nice has she handed us all this paperwork basically stating that if we die they aren’t responsible. lol Anyway, my horse was sweetheart. She was a beautiful horse. Unfortunately she was really slow and pokey and no amount of kicking helped. Our guide finally had to instruct me to try to swipe at her neck with the reins. It was a mess. I was basically lagging behind the whole time. Then to make matter worse, I’m pretty sure something was wrong with Sweetheart’s leg and/​or hoof causing her to walk and trot funny. This mixed with the extra hard saddles they use made for a truly uncomfortable experience. Let’s just say I was sore for days after.
Also, while on the trail my stirrup slipped off TWICE. Speaking of the trail it is covered in horse crap. Seriously? Why is no one picking this mess up? Who wants to take a nice horseback ride on a trail covered in shit? Finally, our guide was nice but she made it clear that she worked on tips. It was a bit intimidating and when we got back from the ride she just got off her horse and left. She didn’t even stick around to see if we needed help getting off the horse.
Overall, this was not a good experience and I’ve been horseback riding several times the most recent time being in August. This place really needs to step it up.
P. S. The parking lot is also covered in manure. We were swiping flies out of our car for at least an hour after we left.

Great place to go if you want to go horseback riding. Nice 25 – 30 min ride.
Oscar was a good horse. He did everything I ask. Keep that in mind.
The rates not bad at all. If you have nephew/​niece or your own children they also have pony rides at this location. Private rides are the best because you can go fast if you want.