It is the best place to ride in the most scenic par of the state. Always safe and relaxing. I wish I could come every weekend. My kids still talk about coming here and they are now adults. Happy memories were made here.

We took our kids there for their very first horseback experience (8 & 6 yrs old). We chose the one-hour ride, and got there a little early. A couple of the guides were working in the corral area with the horses and allowed the us to come in and go around and meet and pet them all. They showed the kids how to give the horses treats, which turned out to be hilarious, as they all had quite a bit of personality. Then we were called in to fill out paperwork and the girls were fitted with helmets. We were given a very detailed orientation which covered the basics of start, stop, go, turning, etc. Then were updated with some of the information on what we would be seeing on the trails. If someone hadnt ridden before, this would derfinitely be enough to familiarize them with what they needed to know. When the guide was helping the girls up on their horses, she noticed our youngest was very tense and nervous. She took the time to talk calmly about how this was her 6 year old daughter's very favorite horse, and he was very careful and would walk very slowly so that my daughter wouldnt be afraid. She said that horse was her very favorite horse too and she even rode him without a saddle a lot. The guide told my daughter that she could even lead her horse with a rope for awhile until she was ready to do it by herself. Well, all of that was true and the guide talking to her during the ride really calmed her down and got her interested in asking questions about all of the horses we were riding. About 20 minutes into the ride my daughter was comfortable enough to have the guide take the rope off so she could steer all by herself. I could tell the kids really enjoyed hearing all the funny stories about their horses along the way. We could really tell the guides cared about all of their horses, were very careful with the kids, and wanted us to have a good time. The whole ride home, our kids were talking about how they wanted to move to a farm so they could have their own horses and ride them every day. We will definitely be back! Thank you Elk Mountain Trails!

I originally made a reservation for the evening 4 hour trail ride (the one with a meal included). Unfortunately, the day before my trip, I was called to cancel that because there were not enough people signed up to go. I was a bit disappointed, but nothing anyone could do about that. I opted instead for the 2 hour mountain top trail ride. I got to the place at 3:30 (a half hour before my ride as instructed) to ride and there was nobody around. I was a bit confused as to what to do, so I sat and waited. After a little while, a group showed up from the trail. My ride was supposed to leave at 4. I think we probably left somewhere around 4:45. So, I had already been there waiting over an hour which kind of irked me a bit. It is my only vacation, and I just like using my time wisely--especially when I show up on time like I am instructed to do Once we got on the trail and got going, it was a nice ride. I do have to agree with one of the other reviewers that the horses did nip at each other a bit at times (which may scare someone who is inexperienced with riding--I am an experienced rider, so no biggie for me). And, since the 4 other people on the ride were on the 1 1/2 hour ride, we split off from them towards the end of the ride. And, again to agree with another reviewer, there were times when we were riding in enclosed pastures etc., basically in circles. My only other real complaint was that the two riders in front of me during the large majority of the ride did not follow the instructions of the guides and at times, I had to stop on the trail to wait for them (as did everyone else--but I was directly behind them so was doing this frequently) to do what they were supposed to do to get their horse moving. It was very slow and frustrating. All in all, I enjoyed the ride but think next time I will try somewhere else OR go for the advanced rider trail ride at Elk Mountain Trails. I would have enjoyed a little bit of trotting and cantering to all the slow walking. Kinda glad in hindsight it was only a two hour ride. The guides were friendly and helpful for the most part and obviously cared a great deal about the horses.

CONS: Doesnt take credit cards. Staff is not very helpful and glosses over things. The 2 hours trail ride couldve been 30 minutes shorter. I wanted a 2hour ride but didnt ecpect that they would fill in time by having us ride around in cricles. At one point we went into an enclosed area went in a circle and went out. We walked around what looked like a private house. The "guides" talked to each other most of the time about their personal lives. By the end there were only 2 left and they talked to each other over the walkie-talkies. If there was a problem they would not have been able to help.
The instruction at the beginning was minimal, so if you havent ridden before be sure to ask questions or they wont tell you. You walk up to what looks like a shack to "check in" the girls there were not very receptive and kept chit-chatting as we stood there trying to figure out what to do. Then they took our check and handed us forms to fill out. Luckily I had my own helmet. the helmets there looked bad. I wouldnt wear it.
What was ok: The horses were mostly well behaved. The trail on most of the ride was nice and wooded (on the Mountain Trail 2hour package)