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The 4 Best Places in America to Go Horseback Riding
03/23/2009
If you’re planning a well-needed break, consider this list of the top 4 horseback riding treks in the United States.
Horseback riding is an amazing experience. It’s a good source of exercise, a stress reliever, and a wonderful way to experience nature. That’s why many of us seek out horseback riding opportunities in our area. But horseback riding on vacation is an entirely different experience, and can be an unforgettable memory. If you’re planning a well-needed break, consider this list of the top 4 horseback riding treks in the United States:
1.Hidden Trails
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Everyone knows some of the best horses—and the best trails—can be found in Colorado. So it comes as little surprise that one of the best horseback riding treks can be found here as well. If you’re into the old-fashion cowboy horseback riding you saw in City Slickers, consider the Colorado Cowboy Weekend. Part of Hidden Trails’ Wilderness Riding Tours, the Colorado Cowboy Weekend is a chance to go horseback riding through some of Colorado’s most beautiful backcountry. But Hidden Trails is more than just horseback riding—it’s a learning experience. Participants will learn how to herd and corral cattle, sheparding cows from one location to another. After a long day of horseback riding, participants set up their own tents and camp under the stars. The only thing that isn’t rustic about this horseback riding adventure is the food, which Hidden Trails provides and leans towards the gourmet side. And at $375 for 3 days and 2 nights, it’s a horseback riding vacation that won’t send your wallet riding off into the sunset.
2. Ironwood Ranch
Napili, Maui
Hawaii is renowned for their beauty, so it stands to reason that Hawaii’s horseback riding vacations would be similarly breathtaking. Voted the “Best Place to Find Yourself on Horseback” by Hawaii Magazine, Ironwood Ranch is the perfect tropical horseback riding vacation. While Ironwood Ranch offers trails for all levels of sizes and experience, two stand out as particularly fine horseback riding trails. For families interested in horseback riding, we recommend the “Sunset Ride” ($120 per person). All riders 7 years of age and up can ride through the lush Maui landscape, then witness the sun setting into the ocean (and, if you’re lucky, witness Hawaii’s infamous “Green Flash” as the sun disappears completely). For those with more experience horseback riding, try the “Advanced Ironwood Odyssey” ($300 per person). Compared to the Sunset Ride, the Advanced Trail lasts longer, has a wider range of horseback riding gaits (canter, trot, walking) and a more diverse landscape. Where else can you experience what it’s like to go horseback riding through pineapple fields, rainforests, and unspoiled mountain pasts—all in one day?
3. Los Angeles Horseback Riding
Malibu, California
Los Angeles is known for many things, but horseback riding? That’s usually Carmel’s job. But if you wind your way to the top of the Old Topanga Canyon Road, right at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, you’ll discover a horseback riding experience that will rival the best in Napa or Carmel. Instructors allow riders to canter and trot, while beginners can lazily wind their way down the Valley basin. The best trail LA Horseback Riding has to offer is the “Full Moon Horseback Rides.” Leaving from the ranch at dusk, the Full Moon Horseback riding is a magical experience, as riders can watch the sunset, then follow trails by the light of the full moon.
4. Paradise Guest Ranch
Buffalo, Wyoming
Wyoming is one of the most unspoiled stretches of the United States, prized for its fishing, hunting, and horseback riding alike. Located in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains, Paradise Guest Ranch offers horseback riding, riding and fishing pack trips for riders eager to experience everything Wyoming has to offer. Surrounded by Big Horn National Park, the horseback riding at the Paradise Guest Ranch takes you through an unspoiled wilderness of wildflowers, firs, and granite. Unlike other Wyoming horseback riding companies, Paradise Guest Ranch isn’t selling a simple trot through the mountains as much as it is selling the horseback riding lifestyle. Guests can go on half- or full-day horseback riding journeys where a lunch is packed and food is cooked on the trail. Western-style horseback riding activities are available such as wrangling and penning, and horseback riding expeditions set off to lakes and rivers so the riders can enjoy some of Wyoming’s best fishing. Of particular interest is the horseback riding up to South Piney Lake, which sees upwards of 20 or so fisherman a year, and is home to the massive Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, which can grow upwards of 25 pounds. Stays at the Paradise Guest Ranch average $1600 for 4 days and 3 nights.
