As a child, my only dream was to ride a horse. A few years later, I’m really doing it. The morning of July 5th, on the base of Deer Mountain in Rock Mountain National Park, my sister, dad, and I got to ride horses for a 2-hour tour!
OUR DAY AT A GLANCE:
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To the Stables!
What a peaceful morning in Loveland, CO. Wait a minute, that’s around an hour away from Estes Park! That meant that for our 10AM Ride, we’d have to leave around 9 AM. But getting ready would’ve taken too long, so calling into the stables, we rescheduled our time to the 11 AM Ride. After eating Mac and Cheese for breakfast, my sister and I had enough time to watch a movie before we left.
My mom decided that she didn’t want to go on the ride because she already rode horses when she was young and wanted to read a book she had brought. We got to see city views after a long time in the wilderness, and saw the iconic Stanley Hotel on the way! Finally, we arrived for our horse ride around 11:15 AM because of the light traffic on the route. There was a sign directing us to the stables, and after parking, we headed down a dirt path toward our ride.
National Park Gateway Stables
The distinct smell of horses was clear as we got closer, turning on the path toward the gate of the National Park Gateway Stables. Located just on the outskirts of the Old Fall River Entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the stables provide an affordable yet amazing time in their various tours around horse trails in RMNP. You don’t require park passes to go on the ride if you’re going with the National Park Gateway Stables, so just walk right in!
Here’s the layout: The office is on the far left, opposite the large barn, and in front is a fenced horse field with mounting stations and a large water tub.
Getting checked in and paying for our ride, we were told by Jessi Kokjohn, the owner of the stables, on which horses we’d be riding. My sister got a black and white horse named Moses, I got a strong stallion named Blue, and my dad got a brown horse named Ronny.
Jessi had our water bottles strung so that we could hang them on the saddle, and we walked towards the main gate where we’d get our horses walked to us so that we could mount them. Telling the guides there on what horse we were told to ride, they went back into the barn to walk the horse out. Moses and my sister went first, then my dad and Ronny, and finally, Blue was the last horse to come out. The guide yelled out Blue, and then I was off after waving goodbye to my mom. The guide hooked my water bottle onto the saddle and then guided me on how to place my foot on the straps and hoist my body around Blue’s shoulder. Pretty simple: you push down with your left foot and then swing over.
After quickly adjusting my straps and teaching me how to control and steer Blue (basically tugging in the directions you wanted to go), I was off to the line where we’d start. Our trip’s guide’s name was Ricky, and he was a senior at Georgia State University who came to Colorado to help out on horse tours. Ricky put horses in order based on rider experience and age. My sister was at the very front behind Ricky and his horse, Choctaw, with Blue and I following and my dad and Ronny just behind me. Around 5 more people were on our trip, lined up behind my dad.
Off we go! Yeehaw!
The Ride
And then we were off, passing the road and crossing the bridge, we were on the trail. There was a bunch of burnt Ponderosa lying around in piles everywhere. Ricky said that it was because of two reasons. Wildfires in the region as well as beetle infestations, caused the park service to cut down the infected trees so that the uninfected ones could be preserved, as ponderosa pine bonsai takes thousands of years to grow.
Coming up was the most beautiful and close-up view of the lush Deer Mountain. And if you are wondering why in the world it is called Deer Mountain, here’s a little explanation by Ricky:
Of course, you might think that it’s called Deer Mountain because it has a lot of deer up there roaming around, but another reason, the main reason, is because a long time ago when Native Americans ruled the area, the Ute and the Arapaho Tribe fought for the area of the mountain because there was a lot of good game to hunt. So, approaching a peaceful settlement, they decided that every year, each side would send out a hunter to kill a deer, and the first one to kill a deer and drag it to the top and pin it on the peak would win their tribe hunting privileges on the mountain for that year, and the other tribe would have to find a different place to hunt their game.
As we ventured closer, the mountain views became better and better, and we also got to see Horseshoe Park, where when RMNP was being explored, the expeditions would set up base camp there. On the other side, you could see the large, snow-capped Mummy Range, which was a contrasting view to the lush and green Deer Mountain, making our sights simply breathtaking.
Turning to a dropping point where you had to lean back and let your horse climb down, our group emerged into the Hidden Meadows. The reason it’s named that way is because you can’t really see it unless you actually get in! From Deer Mountain, nobody would have guessed that there was a meadow down there, because the terrain hid it, and the curved dropping point was the one that led to it. Wildflowers dotted the area, surrounded by the snow-capped Mummy Range. You could see a couple of birds, as well as squirrels scampering around the area.
As we headed past the Hidden Meadows, there was another drop and climb that led us to a small clearing between the trees where the horses would usually do their business and take breaks on the trips. Trotted out, we emerged into the road! The ride was coming to an end as we headed back into the stables. A sight that not many see is the primitive Park Ranger Cabins, which are located along the base of Deer Mountain.
What a ride! It was so much fun, but getting off my horse Blue just felt weird. I was kind of used to horseback! We took pictures together with Ricky and our horses, bidding farewell to the National Park Gateway Stables.
After tipping Ricky for the fun trip and taking pictures with him and our horses, we were done with all our trip plans. However, there was the Rocky Mountain Gateway Gift Store, and we did have a plan to get some souvenirs…
Souvenirs and Road to Parker, CO
Walking in we came around to see rows and rows of various souvenir items of Rocky Mountain National Park. So much to choose from. After looking through crystals, magnets, wall pieces, bracelets, mugs, wood carves, etc. We chose our collection, checked out, and headed to Parker, CO, to visit our friends who lived there. They kindly offered us to stay the night, so we got them a little something from the Gift Shop too!
Souvenir Examples:
As we left Rocky Mountain, there was a special wildlife encounter! Deer! I jumped out of the car to click a few pictures with a distance so close. As I was taking pictures, another deer walked from right behind me, almost knocking me over to my surprise!
The city highways were such different sights after 3 days of roaming through the wilderness in Rocky Mountain National Park. An hour later, we pulled up to our friend’s driveway. After a nice reunion after 5 years, my sister and their daughter started playing while I hung out with their little son as our parents talked!
After a delicious dinner, we headed to bed. What a day! A fabulous finish to our Colorado Trip. I slept well for our departure early in the morning the next day…
Recommendations and Takeaways
Want to go horseback riding in the hills too? Here are my recommendations for you!
- Getting there:
- Hotel Stay – We stayed at Travelogde, Loveland, CO. I would say it is okay if you are fine staying a little far from RMNP. Otherwise, consider other hotels close by.
- Eat a filling breakfast before you leave from your home/hotel
- Depart early so that you can reach your destination earlier.
- National Park Gateway Stables:
- Check out National Park Gateway Stables here! They are an affordable but amazing horse stable offering rides for any experience.
- The Ride:
- Enjoy the views and have fun on your horse!
- If you enjoyed your ride, thank your horse and tip your guide!
- Souvenirs, and Road to Next Destination
- Grab a souvenir to take home. There’s a whole lot to choose from!
- Depart early to reach your next destination on time.
That was it for our horseback riding in the hills of Rocky Mountain National Park. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post and are inspired by our experiences and plan to go horseback riding in RMNP in the future! As always, share your feedback, and comment on this post on what you think about Deer Mountain and our horseback trip in RMNP. Leave a like on this post if you think I did a good job, and subscribe to my blog for more!
The Kartik-Sphere 