Has anyone taken a child about 8 on the mule rides at GC North Rim or Bryce? Could an active 8 year old do it comfortably? How strict are the carriers about age? Thanks so much!

I did the ride at Bryce. Actually most of the steeds are horses. While my kids are older teens, there were some 8 year old or so types on my trip. They did great! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for a child of that age, in fact I would encourage it.

Make reservations in advance!

I took my 8 year old daughter on the Bryce ride last year (the 3 hour one). She enjoyed it & did fine on the length but she has ridden before (although not for 3 hours). I believe 7 or 8 is the minimum age. It is a great activity --do not miss it!

Has your 8 year old ridden horses or mules much before? When I was 10-11ish, my parents took us to the Grand Canyon, and we rode horses in the hills at the North Rim. Although I had ridden horses a few times before, I was somewhat scared at the beginning of the horseback ride. The same place rented mules to go down the Canyon, and I thought to myself that there would be no way I'd balance on a little mule down such a steep hill.

Long story short, make sure your child is truly comfortable with the horse/mule ride, because I was certainly active and adventurous (skiing, roller coasters), but the thought of riding that mule was terrifying.

When I was young I was terrified with the thought of going to the Grand Canyon because I thought you HAD to ride on a mule!

I was glad to see that it was cost-prohibitive when we went two years ago, because even as an adult, that would be right above bungee jumping on my list of things to do!

There is a height requirement at GC. It is 4'7" They are strict about both height and weight (200 lbs. - but that is probably not an issue).

That should read 4'7"

Here is some info about the North rim options:

The following rides are for the North Rim ONLY
Season: May 15 thru October 15

ONE HOUR RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON
7 year age limit - 220 lb. weight limit
8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
$30.00 per person 1/2 DAY TRIP- TO UNCLE JIM'S POINT
8 year age limit
- 200 lb. limit
7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.
$55.00 per person
CANYON MULE TRIP - 1/2 DAY
TO THE SUPAI TUNNEL
8 year age limit - 200 lb. weight limit
7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.
$55.00 per person CANYON MULE TRIP - ONE DAY
TO ROARING SPRINGS
12 year age limit - 200 lb. weight limit
7:30 a.m.
$105.00 per person

And here is the Bryce info ( I did the 2 hour model) I am 6'2 and I exceed the max weight by 15 pounds but nobody looked at me twice. There were other people there that made me look very slim:

2 HOUR RIDE TO THE FLOOR OF THE CANYON
7 year age limit - 220 lb. weight limit
9:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.
$40.00 per person
1/2 DAY TRIP - COMPLETE TOUR OF THE CANYON

PEEK-A-BOO LOOP TRAIL
8 year age limit - 220 lb. weight limit
8:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m.
$55.00 per person

We lucked out with our children and got in a mule ride due to a last-minute cancellation. It was the absolute highlight of their trip. Now that I've said that, I'll repeat what kgh and reneeinva said: be sure your child really wants to go - there was a youngster on our ride who was miserable - she cried the whole time - ended up riding with the leader. She should not have been made to go!

I'm starting to forget how old my daughter was on each of our vacations LOL. However, I "do" believe she and a friend were around 8 or so when we went to the GC-North Rim a few years back. We did the one hour mule ride and had no problems. ITA that you want to make sure your child really wants to go, though.

Thanks so much for all you helpful comments!

We did the 2 hour trip in Bryce with our 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son this past August. Part of a fabulous tour of the Southwest and both kids still say the horseback ride at Bryce was THE highlight of the trip for the. They loved it so much we went riding again in Zion (kids had never ridden before) but that ride wasn't that interesting. Perhaps one way to help the kids acclimate to the idea (my son has height issues and was totally fine) is to do a hike into the canyon before you do the ride. It is so awesome there that the kids will be happy to do it. And the first part of the trip, the descending part, is the only scary part.

I envy you!