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Last Update: 06 Aug 2010

Riding Holidays | North Carolina

North Carolina lies on the eastern seaboard of the USA, next to Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina. The State has three distinct regions. The coastal zone is filled with sandy beaches, river inlets and barrier islands. The central Piedmont region is North Carolina’s industrial zone. The western highland region has the Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The western mountains provide a wonderful location for a North Carolina equestrian vacation. Guest ranches are found throughout this area, offering authentic ranch accommodation combined with fantastic mountain trail rides. Learn to ride western style on a well schooled horse and be guided by an experienced wrangler. Ride through pine forest, past clear mountain lakes and wildflower meadows to high viewpoints in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Choose from small family run ranches offering a personal tailor made holiday experience, to larger resort ranches.

Most ranches in the Blue Ridge Mountains cater for all riding abilities, from complete beginners to experienced horse owners. Western riding lessons are available to get you started and the trail rides vary in difficulty and length, to suit your riding ability level. Some North Carolina ranches organise evening cook-outs around a camp fire, hay wagon rides, or fun western games. Overnight horse pack trips are also available, some lasting several days. On these trips you camp out in tents and use pack horses to carry your gear. If you are only in the area a short while there are many day trail riding centres to visit in the western parts of North Carolina. Book anything from a short one hour trek to a full day guided riding trail. The riding is normally western style.

After your ranch stay maybe visit Carolina Horse Park, near Raeford. This is the main equestrian competition venue in the State and normally has a busy calendar of events. The Park sees all types of riding from Steeplechase, eventing, jumping classes and dressage, to carriage driving and Pony Club competitions. It is also worth taking time to visit the Outer Bank Islands off the North Carolina coast. Here you will find the Corolla wild horse sanctuary on the beaches and marshland in Currituck Country, near the Virginia border.

We are always looking for new riding destinations and regularly update the information on this site. If you have information about horse riding or trail rides in North Carolina please do contact us.