Colorado - horseback riding
 

Can anyone suggest stables that provide trail rides (2-4 hours)in RMNP,Estes Park, or close to the area. I will be staying in Longmont and would prefer something within an hour or two drive. Thanks.

There's a list of stables that operate in RMNP at the bottom of this page: http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi...ndservices.htm

I've only ridden once (with YMCA of the Rockies) and it was fine, although I would've preferred a shorter ride. 4 hours was way too much. I would've also preferred a stable that was located right in the park to minimize the riding time needed just to get to the park boundary. Estes Park is less than an hour from Longmont, so pretty much all the stables on the list are within an hour with the exception of the Grand Lake locations.

The scenery is certainly beautiful for horseback riding but the kids (and me!) were disappointed that you cannot run the horses in Colorado. It is too rocky (hmmm, could that be why the mountains are called the "Rockies"?) We don't have rocks in Nebraska (seriously) so we did not even consider this. It may not be an issue for you but I just wanted to let you know in case you have teens with you. Our kids are thrill seekers and lost interest quickly.

I too have riden at the YMCA of the Rockies. If you haven't riden for a while, I wouldn't go over a 2 hour ride. The scenery is beautiful. The trail horses are dependable - and VERY used to their routine :-)

Too used to it! It is a real "snout to butt" ride. Go with an independent company if you can. We had a group of about 30 all lined up, it was no fun. Independents will take you along beautiful countryside and you won't be forced to stay in line.

Hmmm....well our ride with the YMCA stable only had 6 people, including the guide, and we got to pick up the pace a number of times to cover more ground. That was a bit unpleasant towards the end as I was more than ready to get out of the saddle. It may depend on which trail you take and how long the ride is - I saw many more people lined up for the shorter rides.

Boy, BellaD, I think it's pretty hard to find a day-ride outfitter anywhere in the US that will let you "run" the horses. Too many liability issues (as well as possiblity of injury to the horses). Maybe at a guest ranch where you stay long enough they get to know you, but to put a teenager who shows up for an hour or 2-hour ride on a horse and tell them it's OK to gallop. . . I don't think so.

Also, many stable horses will get agressive, lay back ears and threaten to kick if ridden alongside another horse---they have their dominance issues. Many beginner riders can't handle this situation. So there's a reason for staying in line.

The only places I have ridden where they allowed you to leave the line and ride through a meadow, etc. side-by-side, and trot or canter, were in Canada (where the liability laws are different) and on Molokai---where the paniolo saw we were experienced riders and let us just ride together as we wished.

Well then, Nora, perhaps we are luckier than most.

The horseback riding place in South Dakota that we went riding with allowed just that. In fact, the horses ran themselves when it came to certain straight aways. When they saw my kids could handle horses, and enjoyed them, they took them on a midnight run in the dark. No lights! That sounded a little scary to me, but the kids thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen. The name of the place is Andy's Trail Rides in Lead, SD.

Two other companies in Colorado let us roam the countryside, we had a guide but we chose where to go. We also had free reign to drive ATVs all over the mountains around Leadville too without a guide. I understand the liability issues but that does not mean I want such a boring ride. If one horse got a step out of line, they guides got all hyper. Awful!

You might look for a stables in Boulder.
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