It’s this simple really: grab your partner and go for a breathtaking, wrangler-led horseback ride through the historic and beautiful Garden of the Gods Park. Academy Riding Stables is just minutes from Manitou and Colorado Springs and offers a couple of terrific packages for riders eight and older with any range of abilities and experience. Choose from a one or two-hour tour through nature’s incredible rock garden led by a skilled guide who will share his or her knowledge about the local sights, history, plants, and animals along the way.
To get started, an experienced staff member will choose a horse for you based on size, age, and experience, and then run through a safety briefing before fitting you with a helmet. Four rides a day are scheduled during the fall and winter months at 10:00 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 3:00 pm. The two-hour tour is designed for intermediate to advanced riders and allows them to experience a greater breadth of the enchanting beauty that the Garden of the Gods offers. These guests must have 10 hours of riding experience before getting in the saddle. Academy Riding has a reputation for clean and humane stables and animal care, with rider reviews boasting five stars and return visits. So go ahead and reserve your first, and make it a date to remember.
