Trail Riding in Great Smoky Mountains

[polkadotedpony]

Hi all,
My husband and I are going to be spending a few days in Great Smoky Mountain National Park in late April as part of a road trip (Smokies, Nashville, Kentucky 3 day). We wanted to do a trail ride while visiting and I noticed there are multiple companies in the area. Does anyone have any advice on who we should go with?

For background, I’m a dressage rider who does some jumping on the side and grew up trail riding quite a bit. My husband has taken some lessons and is a competent walk-trot rider who has been on a handful of trails. We’d like to avoid something that will be a huge group of beginners plodding along and obviously want to support a business that takes great care of their horses.

I also crossposted to the Endurance and Trail section, but I thought this would hit a wider audience

Thanks in advance!

[blumchen]

I visit Gatlinburg about 5-6 times per year and probably go trail riding maybe once a year down there. I always do a little research before selecting a place but I have yet to find an establishment that isn’t going to throw you in a group with a bunch of beginners and only allow you to walk.

I can tell you a bit about the places I’ve visited even though I’m not sure any would exactly suit what you’re looking for… I would probably recommend either Sugarland Stables or Cades Cove Riding Stables simply for the professionalism of the staff and care of the horses. It’s been a while since I’ve been to either but both seemed to be quality.

If you aren’t going during a super high volume time, your odds of being in a smaller group would increase… If most of the school spring breaks are over by the time you go, you may be in luck!

Sugarland Stables - I’ve been here the most times although it’s been five years since I’ve visited. I think the trails are good and the stable itself is very accessible and close to town. You get to walk through some water on the trails, if I recall you can see some good views depending on the length of the trail you select. The horses always seemed to be well cared for and the staff was friendly.

Smoky Mountain Riding Stables - Would not recommend, went once and never went again. The staff were terrible and rude.

Cades Cove Riding Stables - Overall a good place, mostly flat trails in wooded areas, horses seemed well cared for. I’d love to ride in the fields at Cades Cove but this wasn’t that, sadly.

Jayell Ranch - I went here recently because it had good reviews and it was nearby–we were spending the day in Pigeon Forge. The trails were really nothing to write home about but I did think the horses seemed happy and the people working with the horses seemed to know what they were doing. I did like that you ride in sort of an open field at one point. They offer ATV rides at this place so there was some noise from those. The horses did not mind but if you want to only listen to the peaceful sounds of nature, this may not be for you.

This post may be entirely unhelpful since none of these places really fit your criteria. I’ll be interested to read if you get other responses–I’m always up for trying a new trail riding place, but there are SO many options, it’s hard to know which ones to try out!

[NC001]

We went to Sugarland a few years ago (my daughter rides but wasnt a rider back then yet I dont think). They offered an hour trail or a 90 minute trail. The 90 minute trail tends to attract less beginners but you still needed at least 3 riders to go out so you will get stuck with another group.

The trail was nice and we went through a little water but nothing spectacular or anything. Staff was nice and they said they rotate the horses out to a pasture location to give them breaks.

They work on tips so you may be able to use that to your advantage for getting to do more than walk. Or you may want to ask if you can pay extra to go out with out others.

[polkadotedpony]

Thanks! I was leaning towards Sugarland after reading TripAdvisor reviews and sounds like you’ve had similar decent experiences. We are there the last week in April and could do a ride Sunday or Monday. I’m leaning towards Monday since that seems like it will
be less busy, and doing a longer ride to lessen the odds or being with first time riders. Do you know if there’s a huge difference in traffic on the Loop Road Sunday vs Monday? That was the other thing factoring into our scheduling.

I keep hoping to discover some cool small outfitter but it seems like those types of businesses just aren’t as common these days with all the insurance and liability issues. I’ll let you know if I end up discovering anything.

[over60]

MANY years ago I did a group stay/camping ride with http://www.cataloocheeranch.com/ that was excellent. The wranglers were knowledgeable and the horses very well cared for and suitable for the job- the Ranch is still with the same family so I would hope the quality had been maintained.

[NC001]

@over60

MANY years ago I did a group stay/camping ride with http://www.cataloocheeranch.com/ that was excellent. The wranglers were knowledgeable and the horses very well cared for and suitable for the job- the Ranch is still with the same family so I would hope the quality had been maintained.

Thank you so much for posting this! We have been looking for a place to stay in that area this summer and this looks like what we want. The place we used to go closed down and I havent found another place that worker for us.