Huntley: Local History, Sports and Events

Huntley offers several very different ways to explore the area: local history at the historic Town Square, field sports and golf, as well as an annual fall festival and activities at Stingray Bay Family Aquatic Center. If you’re looking for hotels in Huntley, you can start by organizing your stay around its purpose. Would you like to focus on a self-guided historic tour, sports, a specific event date or a visit that includes swimming lessons? The local offerings provide several distinct points of reference to help you decide.

Sports and Recreation

Tomaso Sports Park has seven soccer/football fields and six baseball/softball fields of varying sizes. There is also a recreational trail, offering another way to get active. Pinecrest Golf Club offers something different: 18 holes of championship golf across 130 acres, with the course open to the public. Comparing the two can help you choose based on your interests: Tomaso Sports Park focuses on field sports and the recreational trail, while Pinecrest is all about golf.

History at Huntley Town Square

If you want to focus on history, take a self-guided tour of historic Huntley Town Square. First Congregational Church was built in 1863 by a congregation that had already been established for ten years; it is the oldest continuously used church in McHenry County. Old Village Fire Bell also recalls how fire protection was once organized: it was mounted on a metal tower in the square and summoned volunteers to fight fires until it was replaced by a siren in 1968. The present-day gazebo was built in 1994, with local businesses donating labor and materials. The dates place these stories in chronological order: the church was built first, followed by the bell’s replacement and, later, construction of the gazebo.

Festival, Swimming Lessons and Food

Huntley Fall Fest is an annual three-day community celebration in Huntley and has been held for more than 21 years. The 2026 edition was scheduled for September 25–27 and was also set to include a family carnival with rides for all ages. If you’d like to plan a future stay around the festival, check the dates for the edition you want to attend.

Stingray Bay Family Aquatic Center offers Starfish swimming lessons. The center also has Ray’s Cafe, a snack stand open daily from 12:15 to 18:00, weather permitting. If you’d like to combine your visit with a snack, factor in this weather dependency when planning your day. The day of the week can also influence your choice of activities: The Grille at Pinecrest offers “Fish Fry Fridays” on Fridays. The planning considerations for these offerings therefore vary: an event date, the weather or a particular day of the week.

Discover more destinations: Mchenry, Johnsburg, Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Fox River Grove, Spring Grove

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