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    Ponderosa Stables

    4.7 (274 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Ponderosa Stables Photos

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    Lizzie B.

    Really nice stables and beautiful horses. Honestly this is the best thing in the whole area. You can park at the South Mountain Park or Scorpion Gulch parking lots and just walk over to the stables to view the horses. Very western with the surrounding scenery. This is the only place in this area of Phoenix that I would return to.

    Paula P.

    I was obsessed with my horse, Eleanore. She was the best. The second half of the ride she did seem quite tired though. The check in process was a bit terse, and the woman working was not very welcoming. The safety brief was quite quick and we started right on time. It felt like we had a fairly large group (16-20 people) and 3 wranglers. This would've been a great sunset hike if it was an hour earlier. The majority of the ride was in the dark (the trail is not lit; you just have the night sky). I had a head lamp so I could see the surroundings but was told to turn it off because it could interfere with the horses' sight (which makes sense, but by that same logic they should've mentioned no flash photography). I was hoping for more insight into the trail or the area as we were riding but the wranglers didn't say much- maybe they do for daytime rides, bc even if they did give anecdotes, we wouldn't have been able to see anything. Overall for the price and the length of the ride, it was fair; although it was a long time on a horse, if it's your first time or if you don't ride often.

    Daezha B.

    I really enjoyed my first trail ride experience here! I went on a solo trip to Arizona and found this place through a recommendation on TikTok. I arrived realllly early and basically had to sit around and wait until it was time to go over the instructions, get assigned a horse, and start the ride. The staff were all friendly, and I learned that they're a volunteer-only based establishment which makes me respect them even more. I had the pleasure of riding Yute, a cute male horse who helped me lead our group. It was a 9am ride, and I assume Yute isn't a "morning person" because he would walk slowly at times and I'd have to guide him to pick up the pace. Occasionally, he would get distracted by the greenery and I'd also have to guide him back straight so we could continue. Overall, he was a good boy! This was a very unique experience and I really enjoyed the ride. Kristen was the wrangler in front of me and we chatted quite a bit and became well acquainted. She deserves 5/5 stars too!

    Such an amazing experience!!! The wranglers were so kind and informative! I felt comfortable riding the horse after their tutorials. Landon was a GEM !!!! He needs to be there full time. He made sure we were good and protected the entire time. He stopped to help as needed with such good spirits. And he even took amazing photos for us upon request. We did the hour long ride, and because it was so delightful we regret not choosing the longer trail. 10/10 experience!

    Allison C.

    We had the best time this morning with Nick! He was so nice, very polite, and very responsive to our talkative personalities. We really enjoyed the entire experience from check-in to check-out. We will definitely recommend Ponderosa Stables to everyone! My husband rode Jack, I rode Corn Dog, and our teenage daughters rode Eleanor & Cupcake. Thank you for sharing these beautiful horses with us to ride!

    Kasey G.

    What a great evening ride! We had a wonderful tour, and then an unforgettable dinner. Thank you to the staff Mo, Jenna, Eddie, Fernanda, Peter, and especially Court! Highly recommend for tours, group or team outings, fun for any occasion!

    Horse
    Lindsey Y.

    We really enjoyed our ride today and we have been there 3 times Eddie was really nice and we love our horse spirit and beauty

    Horseback riding at Ponderosa Stables.
    Patty H.

    We had an amazing day with riding and touring the Arizona desert with Chris and Lefty and our tall club gang. The horses, Corn Dog, Darcy, Ben, Dean, Big Larry, and others were well behaved and obviously well cared for. We will definitely be doing this again!

    Alma D.

    We had an amazing family horseback riding experience! Our guide, Chris, was absolutely wonderful super informative, incredibly nice, and she truly made the whole ride special and enjoyable for everyone. We rode Rocko, Ben, Chick-fil-A, Mike, Whiskey, and Eastwood, and every single horse was amazing , well trained, calm, and perfect for a family ride. We were visiting with family from New Jersey, and they loved every minute of it. This experience was definitely a highlight of their trip. We will absolutely be coming back and highly recommend this ride to anyone looking for a fun, memorable experience!

    Eleanor and I, Flowers
    Danielle F.

    I recommend this stable. Staff & volunteers are always kind and professional. The trip is quite therapeutic.

    breakfast
    Michelle S.

    We had the best time today! Brandy was a sassy girl and made the experience great! The guides were very helpful and knowledgeable! The breakfast was amazing! Thank you!

    Louis S.

    $65 for a one hour trail ride. Staff were nice and check in was easy. I never rode a horse before and everything was so easy! We even paused during the ride so the tour guide/wrangler could take our photos, which was perfect since I was by myself. Scenery was amazing.

    Cherian D.

    Absolutely incredible ride! I took my dad on a two hour trail ride for Father's Day, and we both loved it so much! The desert landscape is breathtaking, and our guide Natalie was phenomenal. My dad was on Ben who was a gentle sweetheart, and I was easily accommodated as a large 280lb person on a beautiful big horse named Tank. As my dad joked, he was a little can-Tank-erous at times, but Natalie was there to get him moving again when he decided he wanted to just stand around and soak up the sun. The horses are all in excellent condition and clearly loved, and I got so many delightful happy horse hugs. The wranglers are all knowledgeable and passionate, the hitching area for the horses is shaded and lovely, and as a person with some physical disabilities I found the tall stable mounting block a nice change - especially as they allow you to dismount using it for a gentle end to the wonderful trail ride. 11/10, and I will definitely be back the next time I'm in Arizona visiting. The prices for the trail rides are also extremely reasonable, and so worth it. If you're looking for a great stable and a fantastic experience, go here and hit the trail!

    Duke the horse

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    It was amazing, our guide Dallas was so helpful and understanding. My horse Rubble was a sweet old guy. Loved it!

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    Page 1 of 7

    Ask the Community - Ponderosa Stables

    Can you trot on trail ride

    No I'm sorry all of our rides are walking guided rides, nose to tail down the trail.

    View All 2 Questions

    Review Highlights - Ponderosa Stables

    She continued to monitor the group telling our other wrangler, Jason who was at the lead, to stop as needed.

    Mentioned in 31 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    I'm obsessed! Chuy made this an unforgettable experience from start to finish. He was incredibly…read morefriendly, easy to connect with, and shared so much wisdom throughout the ride. He truly went above and beyond to make sure I had an amazing time. One thing that really stood out was how he always knew the perfect moments to stop and take photos. It honestly felt like having my own personal photographer, and I ended up with so many great memories to take home. If you're booking this experience, definitely request Chuy, you won't regret it! I'll absolutely be back, and I highly recommend the Margarita Sunset Ride. It was a perfect way to spend the evening and worth every minute.

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    Phoenix Mountain Preserve S Mtn 19th Ave. Trailhead

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    This review is for the Hau'Pal T-Bone Ridgeline Trail Loop. There are a lot of other trails that…read morestart or branch out from here. This hike in particular is around 3.1 miles (based on my watch :) AllTrails says it's an even 3.0 miles) from beginning of the trailhead back to the trailhead. The parking lot at the trailhead has 26 spots with two of them being handicap parking. By 6 AM the lot was full and there were a lot of cars parked on the streets before the no parking signs. Following the AllTrails review we started counter-clockwise (right) at around 6 AM. The ascent was pretty steep for the first 1.2 miles since there is a 1000-ft elevation gain to the top. However once you reach the top it becomes more flat and gets a bit easier. The only hard parts once you've reached the top are the big rocks you either have to climb up or down to get back on the trail. During these parts we usually had to also use our hands. After that it was a slow descent to the bottom (some parts of the descent were a bit gravelly so be careful not to slip)! Once you hit around 2.3 miles you'll see a sign that splits off the trail to either continue the Hau'Pal loop and head to the parking lot or head to Crosscut loop (according to AllTrails this one is a 4.6 mile loop). We continued on to finish the Hau'Pal loop. Overall we finished the hike in about 1.5 hours moving at a moderate pace. We started around 6 AM and finished before 8 AM. It does get pretty hot halfway through the hike since it was summer so be sure to bring enough hydration and sunscreen or start the hike earlier!!! There are still a lot of people starting the hike after 8 AM so as long as you're properly prepared you should be good! :) This hike can be hard for those who are not used to more steep inclines or declines. The first 1.2 miles up can be strenuous since it is a 1000-ft climb. But there are some shaded spots along the trail from the rocks that you can rest up near! So just be sure to take your time and be careful! There are also currently a lot of bees swarming the water fountain at the trailhead and even during the hike; around every .20 miles we would have bees buzzing around us. If you're not comfortable with bees or allergic, I would suggest avoiding this hike for now.

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    We never actually got to book a trail ride, the low rating is purely for the communication my…read morefiancé and I experienced trying to set up the booking. My fiancé reached out on Tuesday via text to both Mike and Shannon to set up a ride for the upcoming Saturday (my birthday). Didn't hear back so he called Mike on Wednesday. I texted Mike and Shannon myself on Thursday knowing it was a shot in the dark. We figured they were busy and surely someone would get back to us before the weekend, but we were wrong. I really wanted to go for a ride and had Monday off too, so I followed up on Saturday morning and finally got a response. After some back-and-forth over the weekend we finally got a ride set up for Monday, only for the ride to be canceled the night before due to some emergency on their end. While Mike was very nice on the texts exchanged (thus the 2 stars instead of 1), the amount of communication attempts necessary to get a response was really frustrating. If customers feel like they have to hound you to get your business, they're certainly not going to try again a second time much less recommend you to anyone else.

    Another reviewer had the same experience that I did. I asked for lessons for my granddaughter. 5…read moredays later after no response I asked again and got the "no availability" answer. Then an extremely rude response which I will share. Not a secretary?? How about an owner!!!Such an unprofessional washed out business... terrible! Too many places to choose from for riding why choose someone so angry and negative!

    Ponderosa Stables - horsebackriding - Updated August 2026

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