The Ogle County Farm Stroll on Sunday, Oct. 11, was the most open the farms on North Blind Road will be all year. Between now and Dec. 20, nearly everything left on the local farm and garden calendar happens at a set hour, and most of it needs a sign-up. Hidden Timber Gardens on South Chana Road has under three weeks of regular hours left before its posted schedule goes quiet. It comes back for a holiday stretch with workshops that begin before the doors reopen.
If you live along Chana Road, Blind Road or Illinois 64, a few dates will tell you more about the next two months than any drive past the farms.
Sunday on Blind Road
The Farm Stroll was a free, self-guided tour of 10 Ogle County farms. It ran 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 11, according to the University of Illinois Extension release dated Oct. 6. Chana had two stops on the list, Ponto Ranch and Triple Creek Bison, and both share one address at 1188 N. Blind Road.
The two farms teamed up for the day. The stroll brochure listed goat-milking demonstrations at noon and 2 p.m. at Ponto Ranch, which raises Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. According to the ranch's own history, the goats began as a way to support a choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm and a petting zoo the family had in mind. They picked Nigerian Dwarfs partly because the goats are small and good for milk, and they bought their first two doelings in 2019.
Sunday's tour gave both farms a posted time when the public could just show up. We found no other published visiting hours for either one. The stroll is the scheduled open day. After it, the season moves to events with their own dates.
Where Chana's Bison Ends Up
Triple Creek Bison is a working herd more than a destination. Heartland Superior Meats lists Triple Creek as its bison supplier and describes the Chana animals as pasture-raised on open ground, with "no crowding, no shortcuts." The Heartland co-op runs farmers market booths in the Chicago area.
So bison raised in Chana is sold under a co-op that sets up its booths in the Chicago area. Heartland's pages don't say whether Triple Creek sells directly from the farm, and they don't name the markets where its bison appears. For a Chana neighbor, the Farm Stroll was the easy way to see the herd. Any other visit takes a direct conversation with the farm.
Hidden Timber's Hours Get Narrower Before They Come Back
Hidden Timber Gardens, at 462 S. Chana Road, describes itself as a garden center and plant nursery that also hosts classes and hands-on workshops. It stocks trees, shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, natives, annuals, herbs and vegetables. It opened for the 2026 season on Tuesday, April 14.
The posted schedule shrinks as the year goes on:
| Period | Posted days and hours |
|---|---|
| April to June | Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. |
| July to Oct. 31 | Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday |
| Nov. 27 to Dec. 20 | Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
As of Oct. 12, the current schedule has 15 open days left, Tuesday through Saturday, until Oct. 31. The posted hours list nothing for Nov. 1 through Nov. 26. The holiday schedule then begins the day after Thanksgiving and moves the open days to Wednesday through Sunday. For four weeks in December, Sunday afternoons work at Hidden Timber again. They haven't since June.
The page doesn't say whether the business is closed in that November stretch or simply hasn't posted hours for it. It also gives no date for winter closing or spring reopening after Dec. 20.
The Workshops Begin Before the Holiday Hours Do
The workshop calendar fills that November stretch. Hidden Timber's first winter workshops fall on Nov. 21 and 22, nearly a week before the holiday hours begin. From then until early December, these dated sessions are the main way to get onto the property.
The calendar lists:
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Winter Porch Pot Workshop, 10 a.m. to noon
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Winter Wreath Workshop, 2 to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: Winter Porch Pot Workshop, 2 to 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 2: Winter Porch Pot Workshop, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Winter Wreath Workshop, 10 a.m. to noon
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Winter Porch Pot Workshop, 1 to 3 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 7: Winter Porch Pot Workshop, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8: Christmas Evergreen Gnome Workshop, 6 to 8 p.m.
The porch pot workshop costs $45. That covers a 12-inch pot, potting mix, fresh mixed evergreens and instruction. If you bring your own container, you get a $5 credit. The calendar doesn't list a separate price for the wreath sessions.
Three sessions run on weekday evenings. The Dec. 2 and Dec. 7 porch pot workshops both start at 6 p.m., on a Wednesday and a Monday. The Dec. 8 gnome workshop, also at 6 p.m., has participants build a 36-inch evergreen gnome, with fresh greens, a hat, nose and mittens included. The Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 sessions land on Monday and Tuesday, days the posted holiday hours have the shop closed.
Only two wreath sessions are listed against five porch pot sessions. The wreath dates are Nov. 21 and Dec. 5. The calendar we reviewed may not be the complete holiday lineup, so more dates could still be added.
Ponto's Trees Haven't Announced a Season Yet
The Farm Stroll brochure called Ponto Ranch's choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm a growing operation. Rockford News First also mentioned the goats and the tree operation in its Oct. 5 preview of the stroll. Neither source gives 2026 cutting dates, prices or tree varieties.
Since the herd was started partly to support the tree farm, the trees are the long-term plan at 1188 N. Blind Road. Whether that plan includes a public cutting weekend this December is still unannounced. As of mid-October, the farm itself is the only reliable source on its tree season.
Around the Edges of Chana
Within easy driving distance, BerryView Orchard at 7504 W. Midtown Road near Mount Morris opened for 2026 on Aug. 29 and 30. It lists weekend hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and says it makes cider donuts daily during orchard season.
Two of the bigger fall events near Chana have already happened. Oregon's Autumn on Parade ran Oct. 3 and 4 with the Courthouse Square market, a food court, Stronghold's Olde English Faire and the Sunday Harvest Time Parade. The 11th annual TOSOC bike ride left Village of Progress in Oregon on Sept. 26, with routes from 10 to 62 miles. With the Farm Stroll a week later, the area's big public weekends are finished for 2026, which leaves the small, dated events above.
One more item is on a longer clock. The Illinois Department of Transportation's Ogle County program for fiscal years 2025 to 2030 includes culvert replacement and ditch cleaning on Illinois 64. The project runs from 0.6 mile west of Chana Road to 0.4 mile west of Chamberlain Road, with an estimated cost of $3.6 million and a 2026 to 2030 program window. The entry is a multi-year plan and lists no construction date, so it won't affect a December drive to a wreath workshop. It is still worth knowing about if you use that stretch of 64 every day.
The Short List, in Order
- Through Oct. 31: Hidden Timber Gardens, Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Nov. 21 and 22: Hidden Timber's first porch pot and wreath workshops
- Nov. 27 to Dec. 20: Hidden Timber's holiday hours, Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Dec. 2, 5, 7 and 8: Remaining listed workshops, including three weekday evenings
- Ponto Ranch trees: No 2026 dates published as of Oct. 12
Carla Benesh has spent more than 32 years working with acreage and farm property across Ogle County. If you'd like to know how your place on Blind Road or Chana Road fits into today's market, request a free market valuation.
