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Last Update: 06 Aug 2010

Riding Holidays | West Virginia

West Virginia is nicknamed the ‘Mountain State’ for very good reason, as the whole State is covered in mountainous terrain. It is one of the best places to visit in the USA for outdoor adventure sports and has some wonderful horse riding opportunities. West Virginia is located between Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.

The best horse riding holidays in West Virginia are located in the south west around the New River Gorge National Park. The New River cuts a deep gorge as it runs through the mountains creating spectacular vistas and idyllic waterfalls. The surrounding mountains are covered in pristine forest wilderness and open meadows which provide seemingly endless riding trails to explore on horseback.

Visit the New River Gorge National Park for a West Virginia horse riding holiday and stay at Guest ranch. Enjoy horseback trail rides through the forest with views across to the river. Have short morning treks or all day rides with picnic lunches. Join an overnight pack trip and camp out in the mountains. Sunset rides to panoramic viewpoints are also very popular. Riding vacations in the New River Gorge area of West Virginia cater for all levels of riding experience with horses and riding trails designed for complete beginners through to experienced riders. Pony rides are available for children, often as lead rein rides in an arena for the very young and short hacks for older children. Non riding friends are welcome and there are many outdoor activities to keep them entertained.

Maybe stay at a big resort ranch and combine horseback trail rides through the West Virginia mountains with activities like white water rafting in the New River Gorge, plus fishing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, golf, swimming, boating or canoeing. Some larger resorts have fitness centres and luxury spa services. Carriage rides and winter sleigh rides are also available at a few locations. Smaller horse farms take just a few guests at a time, giving a very personal holiday experience and have guest house accommodation in the grounds. Trail riding vacations in West Virginia normally provide western style riding. A few West Virginia horseback holidays offer riding lessons in both English and western style with dressage or jumping tuition.

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 West Virginia please do contact us.

The New River Gorge bridge is a famous landmark and is one of the longest steel arched bridges in the world. Bridge Day in October is a popular festival where people congregate at the bridge to see base jumping and bungee jumping from the bridge, and enjoy delicious food and fun entertainment. Music is very important in West Virginia tradition, particularly Appalachian folk music with fiddles and ballad singing.