Horseback riding in Anchorage or ports

[brucechase]

I am planning some last minute stuff to do for our cruise on June 10 2013. We will be arriving in Anchorage on the night of the 7th and I am trying to find some things to do for the 2 days.

 

My girls (14 and 16) want to do a horseback ride and I was thinking that would a good excursion in Skagway, but second thoughts now have me looking for that as an option on Sat or Sun. I noticed there are several places close by:

Bardy's

Alaska Horse Adventures (was this horse trekking Alaska?)

D&S Alaskan Trail Rides

Alaskan Horseman

Rolling West

 

My girls have been riding for years (although there are no mountains around Augusta GA) so they can handle a horse without much help. They are looking for a 2-3 hour trail ride that isn't as much "nose to tail" but a little more relaxed. Looking for some nice scenery rides though the woods (with or without the mosquitos) and maybe some views of the mountains or creeks.

 

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on any of the mentioned places? Is there any others that I should look at or consider? Is it better to wait until we get to Skagway to book an excursion or is there some better scenery from the Anchorage/Seward area?

 

I tried a search and there isn't much on horseback riding in Alaska on CC. Google and Bing have a lot, but I like to hear from any of the experts around here. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions given.

[snowmc]

We did the Skagway tour several years ago...it was nose-to-tail. Nice, but kind of boring. For an experienced rider, I would avoid it. (Kind of wish we had :()

Don't know about anything in Anchorage. Hope you find a good company.

[peachycruiser]

I am planning some last minute stuff to do for our cruise on June 10 2013. We will be arriving in Anchorage on the night of the 7th and I am trying to find some things to do for the 2 days.

 

My girls (14 and 16) want to do a horseback ride and I was thinking that would a good excursion in Skagway, but second thoughts now have me looking for that as an option on Sat or Sun. I noticed there are several places close by:

Bardy's

Alaska Horse Adventures (was this horse trekking Alaska?)

D&S Alaskan Trail Rides

Alaskan Horseman

Rolling West

 

My girls have been riding for years (although there are no mountains around Augusta GA) so they can handle a horse without much help. They are looking for a 2-3 hour trail ride that isn't as much "nose to tail" but a little more relaxed. Looking for some nice scenery rides though the woods (with or without the mosquitos) and maybe some views of the mountains or creeks.

 

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on any of the mentioned places? Is there any others that I should look at or consider? Is it better to wait until we get to Skagway to book an excursion or is there some better scenery from the Anchorage/Seward area?

 

I tried a search and there isn't much on horseback riding in Alaska on CC. Google and Bing have a lot, but I like to hear from any of the experts around here. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions given.

You did not mention which cruise line you are taking. However, I will give you our experience from last August. We are two seniors who took our three teenage grandsons with us. We let them select an excursion and they chose horseback riding which was an excursion choice at McKinley Princess Lodge. The cruise line had a video of this activity on their website and it looked very tame. We were not experienced but thought it looked tame enough. When we got to the stables we were given a brief lesson on the basics of riding. We started out down the same trail shown on the video, but then we were led down through a wooded area where the trail twisted and turned up and down hill. The horses were head to tail, but it was far from boring. The path was very rocky and muddy and my husband's horse slipped on a large rock and almost threw him off. While we were stopped in a clearing admiring our surroundings a bird flew from a nearby tree spooking my horse who lunged forward and took off with me holding on for dear life. I was able to pull the reins with all my might and stop the horse. The commotion spooked the other horses too, but finally we resumed our ride, with me white-knuckling it the whole way. I considered getting off and walking, but I would be in mud up to my knees. The ride was approx two hours and there were great views of Mt McKinley that day. Our grandsons did not have any trouble(maybe it was an age thing); however, the cruise lines misrepresented this activity. There should be a warning against inexperienced riders on this tour We did flightseeing and a glacier landing on Mt McKinley the next day with Talkeetna Air Taxi and this was wonderful. I was apprehensive about being on a small plane, but when we got up in the air and saw our surroundings was more relaxed, and the flight was much smoother than a commercial airline. Since your girls are experienced, you may be ok, but horses are very unpredictable. We chose the glacier landing because that cannot be done where we are from which is also Augusta, GA. It was expensive but glad we did it.

[laughing husky]

There are lots of horses in the Anchorage area, and several horse parks. I would call the companies in Anchorage....I have ridden at Horse trekking, AK...with a couple of my kids who were good riders when they were up here on vacation and they enjoyed it. Just remember there is a 4 hr time difference between the East Coast and AK....We have western, Eastern, Dressage and barrel racing here....just like everyplace else. Do call and tell them what you are looking for. Horse Treking used to be near the zoo....Not sure if it has moved.