Ruby’s Horseback Adventures

Please do not support Ruby’s Inn establishments for a couple of reasons. 1. The emaciated horses in their riding stable were saddled up and tethered in the sun without water. 2. They are the reason Bryce Canyon cannot be declared a ‘dark skies’ park. Do not support any of their establishments!

Ruby’s was the only establishment that allows up to 260lbs for two of their horse tours (the 1 ½ hr tour and Ruby’s favorite 3 hr tour). Although the 3-​hr sounded much cooler, I kind of wish I had opted for the 1 ½ hr because I believe I might have had the chance to see the hoodoos. We didn’t get to learn much on our 3-​hr tour. Instead of Bryce, we were in behind the Red Canyon. That was kind of neat. The cowboys seemed a little bashful, and did not talk much. We got a large picture of ourselves at the end, so that was a nice treat. I loved my horse (Target, look at his butt ;)), and my boyfriend’s horse (or donkey, or mule, I’m not sure) was a hoot! His horse would go off path to find food, and at one point walked in to a tall dry bush, and stopped there. Just imagine a big guy on a donkey-​looking horse in a tall dry bush. That made the trip memorable, despite the knocking knees and my sore inner butt bones. The horses poop and pee and a couple tooted incessantly, so that was funny xD.

What a lemon! we went on the 1.5 h ride with 2 men w/​3 children. It was SO DUSTY!!! Be prepared to swallow a lot of it. The ride was always slow & boring, just in the woods. Only ones we got a glimpse of a Canyon, but the lead guy didn’t even let us to stop to take photos!!! Although, the description of the ride the site shows different. All we saw just pine trees, cows, horse back & dust. Very disappointing! Waste of money

We booked the half day ride which turned out to be less than exciting. Even my nine year old was bored. The description on the website states: «Enjoy the shade of mountain trails, and see the same country as Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch experienced over 100 years ago and pass an old outlaw hideout. At the half-​way point is the rest area where you can stretch out and listen as wranglers tell tall stories. Rides leave daily at 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Children must be at least 7 years old.» We never stopped at the half way point to stretch and the wranglers barely said anything to us. There was no story telling and no information on the area we were riding through. Needless to say, we paid for one thing and received something completely different.

Whitney was a fabulous guide and we had a great rim ride. Very pleasant and learned lots about the the area. Beginners do fine.

We took a wagon ride as one of my kids was too young for a horseback ride. About 20 minutes to the rim and 20 minutes back. The guide and the shotgun rider were super friendly and had super interesting stories about the surrounding countryside. The view from the rim was gorgeous. Highly recommend for younger kids.

This was such a great idea for my Bryce Canyon visit!
My aunt and I opted for the Thunder Mountain ride which lasted about 4 hours. There are a couple easy, shorter hour, hour-​and-​a-​half rides as well as 6 and 8 hour rides.
We waited for our shuttle to the trailhead in the Ruby’s Inn lobby. The guy behind the desk escorted us out and we met our trail guide, Cameron, who drove us over. Cameron was a great guy!
Our entire caravan was only four people, so that was nice, but Cameron said he lead over 20 people on the trail earlier that day. I can’t imagine going with that many people. It was so peaceful and nice with just four of us.
The horse trailer met us at the trailhead and they brought out our horses. I don’t know if it’s just one or two trails or all of them, but there’s a 220 pound weight limit. These are good sized horses, but they’re not giant, stocky workhorses, so I definitely understand the weight limit.
They gave us minimal instruction for this intermediate trail. I don’t think I would recommend Thunder Mountain to people who are afraid of heights or get nervous easily. I’ve only been on a horse a few times and thought it was fun, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a first time. The trail goes up and down steep switchbacks that are close to cliff edges. While the horses followed the trail most of the time, they tried to do a little offroading now and again so we had to steer them back on the trail. I suppose confidence in yourself and in the horse is the key to a happy, successful ride.
No backpacks are allowed, but the saddle has pockets big enough for an average water bottle and point-​and-​shoot cameras. It’s hard to take photos on a horse and one guy dropped his iPhone. It was okay, but imagine if my horse stepped on it! Think about that before bringing expensive stuff.
It was a gorgeous ride and a heck of a lot of fun. Remember to tip your guide!