Spotlight: Anthony Acres Resort

My husband and I visited Anthony Acres Resort this week with our boys. We had just ended our school year on June 13th (yes, we are both teachers!) and wanted a fun trip for the boys that would also be relaxing for mom and dad. Anthony Acres couldn't have been more perfect for that.

Anthony Acres Resort is a Lake Sara resort located in Effingham, Illinois. For us, it was about a 4 hour drive- the perfect amount of time to spend in the car with our toddlers! Anthony Acres is located on Lake Sara and provides direct access to the lake. The amenities at Anthony Acres are incredible and we found ourselves wishing we didn't have to head home at the end of our stay!

The Accommodations- Anthony Acres Resort

Our family stayed in a 2 bedroom unit (#8) located on the point. Our unit had a kitchen with a full sized refrigerator, oven and stovetop, microwave, and sink complete with drying rack for dishes. We had a futon/couch and a table with 4 chairs in the living and dining area. The windows at the back of the property looked directly out onto Lake Sara. Our unit had two bedrooms, each complete with a queen sized bed and space to hang clothing. We had a full bathroom with a shower and a sink with vanity. As you can see in the photos below, everything was SPOTLESS when we arrived. The unit smelled clean, there wasn't a speck of dust present, and there was a place for everything. In addition to being incredibly clean, the unit is air conditioned and was a cool 68 degrees (what we set the thermostat to) for the entirety of our stay even with the temperatures outside well above 90! We also had access to cable TV, which as a parent of toddlers is HUGE. It is apparent

that the owners of Anthony Acres use great care when preparing for their guests. It definitely made us feel welcome to arrive to such a comfortable space!

We stayed in a 2 bedroom unit because it was the best fit for our family, but if your family is bigger or smaller than ours, they offer 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units to ensure that there is space for everyone. Every unit has access to a picnic table, a deck space, and a grill. Each unit has a space for parking in front of it, and all of the kitchen utensils needed for a comfortable stay.

Outside of the beautiful living space while we visited, we were able to explore the many amenities that Anthony Acres offers its guests. The resort provides both grills and fire pits for guests to use. While we didn't use a fire pit during our visit, we did use the grill. The grill was clean and ready to use when it was time for us to start dinner. Anthony Acres also has a basketball court, shuffleboard court, and tetherball. However, our personal favorites were the private beach (YES! You heard that right!) and the new playground. We could have spent the whole day at the beach! The space is just big enough for the resort, the sand is clean, and there are buoys marking off a safe space for the littles to swim. Our boys LOVED jumping off the dock and making big splashes. We also spent a lot of time building sandcastles and splashing one another! A helpful hint: bring a chair and a cooler for the beach so that you can relax while the kiddos enjoy the space! I asked the boys what their favorite part of our trip was on our drive home and both of them responded with a loud "BEACH!!!". While our boys loved the beach, the new playground was a close second favorite for them. It is located in the middle of the resort, a great place for mom and dad to be able to see them from the back of the cabin or catch a sunset/sunrise while they play. It scored a 10/10 from our boys!

Anthony Acres is a fishing resort, so there are a lot of really awesome amenities if you fish. They sell bait in the convenience store located on property. There are both pontoon and fishing boat rentals. There is a private boat dock. There is an enclosed fish cleaning room right in the center of the resort for guests to use. While we didn't do any fishing or boating during our visit, there were plenty of others taking advantage of these amenities and everyone that we spoke to seemed very pleased.

Other Things to Do Around Town

If you are a golfer (we are not), there are two golf courses that we noted within about a mile of Anthony Acres with one being right next door! There is a pour your own beer place right down the road, mini golf just a few miles away, and lots of shopping. We explored a lot during our visit and came up with a short list of must sees:

Lake Sara Beach

The Lake Sara Beach is located just around the lake from Anthony Acres. There is a gigantic playground there for the kids as well as access to another beach. We found the beach at Anthony Acres to be comfortable for our family so we did not use this beach. We did spend time at the playground which has something for every member of the family. There is a playground for toddlers-age 5, a playground for 5+, a "ninja" course for older kiddos, and a space to workout for mom and dad. We could spend a lot of time here and our kids never got bored.

Pinky's

Pinky's was located just across the lake from Anthony Acres. Our kiddos saw the blue umbrellas each day and always asked to go- even before they knew there was a giant sandbox waiting for them to play in there! Pinky's is a waterfront restaurant on Lake Sara. They have a nice menu with a lot of different options and delicious drinks. They have a GIANT sandbox with sand toys for the kids to play in with a ledge that overlooks it for mom and dad's drinks. When we visited, we had the nachos and mozzarella sticks- both chosen by our boys. The nachos had pulled pork and BBQ sauce on them which was a fun, different spin on traditional nachos. Mozzarella sticks were nice and crispy and they were eaten up very quickly by our little guys. Mom and dad both opted for the Adult Capri Sun drink (highly recommend this!) and the boys had non-alcoholic strawberry daquiris. Everyone left with a full belly and full of sand!

Casey, IL Small Town with Big Things

Casey, IL was about 40 minutes from Anthony Acres. We visited early on our second morning at the resort. The town doesn't really "open" until 10am, so keep that in mind if you plan to visit. There are coffee shops open before then though! We went to The Traveling Mug when we got into town. My husband had a peanut butter chocolate latte and I had the brulee latte. Both were excellent!

Casey has a lot of "World's Biggest" items or "really big" items throughout the little downtown area. You can walk around exploring these things or make it a fun game like we did with our kiddos. They have a big: rocking chair, pencil, mailbox, minion, teeter totter, wind chime, barbershop pole, mouse trap, and a few others. Our boys loved trying to find each of these things as we walked through the city and enjoyed a stop at the candy store on the way out of town!

Final Notes

Effingham and the surrounding small towns were so fun to visit and explore with our boys. Anthony Acres truly makes you feel like you are at home and a part of the family. They go out of their way to ensure that you have everything that you need for a comfortable and relaxing stay. There is something for every member of the family and a place for all to gather if visiting with a big group. We highly recommend a stay here and plan to return ourselves (hopefully before the end of the summer!).

If you'd like to book a stay, please visit their website and give Sandy a call! I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did and enjoy the special time with your littles in the little slice of heaven that Anthony Acres has created!