Please read all of the FAQ’s listed below. We feel they will answer 99% of all questions you may have. However, we understand we may not have thought of everything or we may not have been clear with an explanation. After reading all of the FAQ’s and questions remain, please feel free to contact Marty at 608-630-2452 for further clarification.
How do we book a tour? You can go to our “book” section of this website and you will be directed to our TicketSpice page. Find a tour on the schedule that fits your travel dates, and complete the process. If you have any struggles with the TicketSpice page, you can reach out to Marty via text/voicemail and he will assist you. If you are needing a gift certificate, please contact us via the contact page and we can make that happen for you. If you don’t see any tours available on the TicketSpice page-contact us via email and we will design a custom tour for you!
Safety: Safety is our first priority when entertaining visitors on our tour experiences and while providing hospitality in our home or vehicles. We have a “hold-harmless” liability agreement/waiver that we require for all tour participants. We do have a reasonably expected level of liability insurance that covers all participants, and our partners have their own liability protection as well. We have a well-stocked first aid kit available. All interactions with animals must be supervised The guide will give you some basic education and instruction prior to entering the farm areas. We ask that you fully comply with those instructions for everyone’s safety. We have safe and reliable transportation. All of our drivers have exemplary driving records and are very attentive to safety. Our tour guides are vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. We have zero tolerance for open intoxicants and require seat belt usage. We will provide safe transportation options for any goods, beverages, or items purchased from partner businesses during the tour. We cannot allow any tour participant to drive our UTV, that particular vehicle is always driven by one of our staff.
During our Snowshoe tours, we have trekked the trail previously and we take along a small backpack of supplies and first aid kit. Your snowshoe guide, Teri, is a RN/Flight Attendant and can provide basic first aid. Your other guide, Marty, is a previous football coach and well versed in basic first aid as well. You are in good hands. All equipment is inspected prior to rental. A brief safety instruction comes with every set of snowshoes. We encourage all particpants to dress warmly as snowshoeing is completely outside in Wisconsin winters.
Children: We encourage all children to participate in our snowshoe tours. We have a variety of sizes of snowshoes for all ages and weights. Please dress your children for the weather.
Regarding UTV farm tours: Are children allowed on the tour? Short answer yes. Long answer, well-behaved children are definitely allowed on the tour. We will say this again, we are venturing on to operating farms with many dangers and potentially hazardous situations. Parents and children alike will need to obey all directions given by the tour guide. If anyone displays an inability to follow the tour guide’s directions they will be asked to remain on the UTV for the remainder of the tour. As an additional word of warning, Marty Richards will be your tour guide. Marty coached high school football for 20 years, high school girls varsity softball for 7 years, and raised 3 daughters in his household. He has a voice and can use it, let’s not go there.
Our 2020 Kawasaki Mule Pro-FXT™ ranch edition UTV/ATV with seating/seatbelts for 6 passengers (including the driver). All participants must be 10 years or older. We cannot provide seating for children smaller than 4’9″. UTV approved helmets must be worn by youth ages 10-18 by county ordinance. We have a small and medium helmut available for use. Our UTV has a first aid kit, weighted blankets, outer water-proof blankets, electronic hand warmers, and seatbelts for all occupants.
Identification Requirement: If you plan to partake in the samples at the wineries and breweries we visit, you must bring along a state-issued identification or passport. While this is Wisconsin and we have some of the most liberal alcohol laws in the nation, an individual must be age 21 or over to consume alcoholic beverages. We have found in some states children cannot even be present in wineries and/or breweries, not true in Wisconsin. Children are allowed at the businesses we will visit but anyone planning to consume alcohol will need to present a state-issued identification.
If you are renting snowshoes for the weekend, we require a photo copy of your driver’s license for all rentals.
What should I wear for the tour?
Of course, we ask you to plan accordingly for the weather. During snowshoe season, we ask that you realize you are in Wisconsin in the wintertime. We may be up on the ridge and so we ask that you plan for windy weather. Please wear a scarf or neck gaiter, ear muffs or hat, appropriate gloves, leggings/snow pants, and a jacket. If you wear a vest under your winter jacket, you can unzip the jacket as you get warm.
It is required you provide well-fitted hiking boots or snow boots. Snowmobile boots and snowboarding boots are not appropriate for this activity and may be too bulky, allowing your foot to slide around. Sometimes, snowmobile boots are too big to fasten the snowshoe bindings. You are almost better off wearing simple hiking boots than big snowmobile boots. Keep in mind the bindings on the snowshoes may cause rubbing/friction and cause scuffing to your footwear. We are not responsible for normal wear and tear on your footwear caused by the snowshoes. You will be exposed to the elements for at least an hour or two. Snowshoeing the rolling hills of the Driftless area requires moderate to strenuous physical exertion, please consult your physician for this sport activity as needed.
For our UTV tours, we do ask all participants to wear appropriate shoes, covering your feet entirely, suitable for short walks on uneven surfaces. Please, no flip-flops. Your clothing may have lingering odors of farm life but those odors should dissipate (or if you really enjoy, feel free to refrain from ever washing them again!). You won’t be asked to clean any calf pens or slop any hogs, but you will be on active farms so don’t wear your best evening attire. Also, some of the tour may be in the elements of outdoor weather, so please plan accordingly. The wind blows around the UTV, if you have longer hair, you may want to consider pulling it back into a pony tail or secure it with a well-fitting hat. The tours take place rain or shine–no refunds based on weather. Snowshoe tours will be suspended if the weather is blizzard-like and the wind chill is in the negative numbers.
If it’s raining, snowing, blowing, and miserable, will the tour still go on? Wisconsin weather is unpredictable but we will go rain or shine. We will try toprotect you from the elements and we will try to make every effort to get close to entrances of partner sites. Most sites are covered in some way. We will provide umbrellas and rain ponchos as needed. (If the conditions deteriorate to the point rivers are running with blood and it rains locusts, it is an “everyone for themselves” operating procedure.)
Cancellation and refund policy. We understand that sometimes things can go sideways and plans are forced to change. We have a strict 7-day cancellation notice with a full refund policy. If for any reason you need to cancel, notify us prior to 7 days of the tour and a full refund will be provided. If cancellation is made with less than a 7-day notice a 50% refund charge will be applied with that cancellation. Transfering your TicketSpice ticket to another event can occur within 1 year but there is a $5 processing fee for transfers and you will pay the difference if there is a higher cost at another event.
Does my name have to match the names on the tickets/are tickets transferable? Tickets are transferable between individuals for the same tour date and time. We ask that the names on the tickets at the time of purchase match the individual present to take the tour. If something changes between the date of purchase and the day of the tour (i.e. someone in your group can not make it but another individual will take their place, due to illness, etc) please contact us ahead of time to notify us of the change. All waivers for snowshoeing are to be signed online with our TicketSpice portal.
I have a physical limitation or disability, can you accommodate my needs? Yes! we will try to make every effort to meet your needs. We do not have wheelchair accessibility on our UTV but with some prior planning, we will try our best to accommodate you. The UTV is actually vey close to the ground and an ederly person should be able to get into the UTV easily. We both have extensively worked with disabled people and Marty’s sister Joy (no longer with us, unfortunately) had Down’s Syndrome. We would love to make this truly an experience for everyone. There will be uneven surfaces at times, other hazards, and light walking at the partner sites. If you are mobility limited to a wheelchair, contact us and ask about a “Step-on Tour”. We will join you in your vehicle for a custom tour at the same price.
How much food will I get on a (farm) tour? No one will go away hungry. During the producer tour stops there will be several opportunities to sample their products. Think tapas-small plates and tastings. Also, review the trip itinerary you are purchasing, most all trips do include something to taste. The wine and beer tastings are small pours and included in the price of the tour, but you are always welcome to purchase more. That’s the beauty of having an UTV to cart you around! The UTV does have a cargo space to safely transport your purchases back to the starting point.
All snowshoe tours will list if there are any beverage/food options in the ticket description.
Are there any hidden costs? In each tour, it is specified what you will receive from each partner site. Many of our partners have retail operations or gift shops as well. We encourage you to consider making a few small purchases along the way to support their business and make this tour offering worth their time. Tips are never expected but always appreciated by the tour guide (no, they are absolutely expected, you should see what I have to do at our home just to get enough change for one barley pop)and UTV driver as well.
If all of your tours are booked up, can you offer suggestions to help us find something to do in the Richland Area? Why yes, of course! We are very connected to many great things to do. First step, if you find the tour that you have an interest in joining is fully booked, email Marty at ridgeandvalleytours@gmail.com. There may be additional accommodation or waitlist that we can utilize to still get you on that tour. We will have some audio tours you can download in the very near future. If you would like a “deeper dive” into a subject that really appeals to you, we can make the connections to the right people. Living in a small community all of our lives, we know just about everyone! If you would like recommendations for businesses, we can do that as well, from real estate to a local doctor.
Customer Guarantee: We guarantee you a hospitable experience. If you are not satisfied with our tours, lodging, merchandising or products, we will seek every opportunity to make it right. Each customer will be provided with a post-experience survey mechanism to provide feedback.
Beneficial guarantee: We guarantee we are conducting our business in a responsible way to people, place, and planet. We seek transparency in our operating procedures and seek to conduct our business as if people and place matter. We will treat our employees and vendors with the utmost respect, offering regular opportunities to respond via a survey mechanism.
-on a journey to tell our local story- 