Durango offers plenty of horseback riding options from one hour rides to entire day trips. You will find a number of great places that offer guided horseback rides for beginning riders, children and experienced riders. You will also find horse rentals in Durango that will rent only to the experienced riders where you will choose from variety of trail rides to take the horse for the day on an unguided tour. Durango area Dude and Guest Ranches feature many horseback riding options.

We asked our facebook fans some of their favorite places for horsebackriding, and here are a few of their top suggestions. Great places in Durango for horseback riding are Vallecito Lake, Hermosa Canyon, Pine River Valley and the Pine River Trailhead, up the Piedra River and First Fork. If you’relooking for local suggestions, here they are! You’re sure to be happy with your ride if you choose from someof these favorites.

Unlike most Durango outdoor activities, horseback riding is not only limited to the summer months. Some winter horseback riding adventures are offered in town especially during the holiday season. You will even find holiday horse drawn sleigh rides that are beautiful during the snowy season.

Vacation Package Idea: Investigate the ancestral Puebloan people (formerly known as the Anasazi) with a visit to Mesa Verde National Park and then Chaco Canyon, both major centers of Puebloan culture and and development over 700 years ago. Then, optionally, experience an archaeological investigation at Crow Canyon (seasonal - Summer on Wed. and Thurs. only) OR a horseback ride into the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, one of the most unknown and unexplored Puebloan ruin systems in the world. [ Cultural Heritage Tour >>]