What could be more fun than staying in a bed & barn, knowing your horse is stabled just outside, waiting for you to go on a trail ride? If this sounds like horse heaven to you, you’ll be happy to know that facilities around the country are happy to host both you and your horse.
Following are 25 bed & barns to get you started in your search for the perfect destination. We looked for facilities with charm and character that offer great trail riding, as well as nice accommodations for horses and humans in a desirable vacation spot.
For each bed & barn, we give you the location; your host/s; a brief description of accommodations, equine facilities, and trails; and contact information.
PACIFIC REGION
1 Cienaga Creek Ranch,
Big Bear, California
Location: In the San Bernardino National Forest, in the Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead area, elevation 8,250 feet.
Your host: Vicky Wilson.
Description: Rustic luxury best defines the ranch’s cabins and cottages. Accommodations are located in the forest’s quiet backcountry, where you can enjoy mountain vistas and panoramic views. Cabins are pet-friendly and solar powered. Keep your horse in a corral with accessible water and electricity. A 24-by-24-foot round pen is available for guest use. Trail ride on the nearby sandy and rocky trails. Lakes, wilderness, and abundant greenery add to this Southern California experience. The Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada, is also accessible from the ranch.
Contact: (888) 336-2891; www.bigbearcabinscalifornia.com.
2 Ocean Acres Horse
Hotel Bed & Breakfast,
Grayland, Washington
Location: In western Washington’s Grays Harbor County, near the city of Westport.
Your hosts: David and Carol Bainter.
Description: This unique B&B offers seven rooms, each nicely appointed with a full bath, a queen-sized bed and such amenities as a microwave, refrigerator, wireless Internet access, and a television (if desired).
The B&B is renowned for having one of the best breakfasts in the region. It features a stone stable with paddocks for your equine friend. Recreational-vehicle/living-quarters-trailer camping is also available. Ride on miles of pristine beaches, and take in the sights, smells, and sounds of the soothing surf.
Contact: (360) 267-5521; www.horsebeachcamp.com.
3 Sun Pass Ranch,
Fort Klamath, Oregon
Location: Between Crater Lake National Park and Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon.
Your hosts: Patty and Michael Brown.
Description: This horse hotel B&B features a modern, country-style home; the facility can accommodate 10 guests and 22 horses. A covered arena, tack room, hitching posts, turnout areas, and hay service are available. Your hosts will provide gourmet, home-cooked meals. Ride on thousands of miles of riding trails on the surrounding National Park and U.S. Forest Service land. The pristine Wood River, which runs through lodge property, provides opportunities for birding and fly-fishing. The area is rich with mountains, lakes, and wilderness.
Contact: (541) 381-2822; www.sunpassranch.com.
4 Territorial Bed and
Breakfast and Barn,
Junction City, Oregon
Location: Lane County, 17 miles from Eugene, in the heart of Oregon wine country.
Your host: Mary Schoenheit.
Description: This country destination is located near mountain and beach equestrian trails, wineries, restaurants, hiking trails, bicycle trails, and golf courses. The 1950s-
style farmhouse offers two private guest rooms with a shared bath, kitchen, and dining room. Recreational-vehicle/living-quarters-trailer sites, with electrical and water hookups, are also available. Bring your own horse, or lease a smooth-gaited Paso Fino. The guest barn holds 12-by-12-foot, covered stalls with fresh water and shavings. Turnout areas, and indoor and outdoor arenas, are also available for guest use.
Contact: (541) 232-7702; http://horsesand wineandmore.blogspot.com.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
5 Anchorage Farm,
Pine, Colorado
Location: Jefferson County, 25 minutes west of Denver, in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
Your hosts: Jim and Kris Cooper.
Description: This quaint B&B and working horse ranch offers a choice of three suites for lodging. You’ll find a relaxing ambiance, with mood lighting, scented candles, music, freshly baked cookies, complimentary beverages, and fresh flowers. The equestrian facility has accommodations for overnight stabling. Your hosts are credentialed with special-use outfitter guide permits, and can customize your trail-riding experience. The grounds and trails are set in peaceful surroundings, with flower gardens, waterfalls, forests, and mountain vistas.
Contact: (303) 838-5430; www.anchoragefarm.com.
6 Deer Crossing Bed & Breakfast, Hamilton, Montana
Location: Ravalli County in western Montana, along the historic Lewis and Clark Trail, overlooking Bitterroot Valley.
Your hosts: Linda and Stu Dobbins.
Description: Deer Crossing is nestled on 25 acres of tall pines and lush meadows. The bed & breakfast offers suites, guest rooms, and individual cabins. Homemade breakfasts feature hearty Montana ranch-style cooking. Overnight horse accommodations feature corrals and two large, scenic pastures. Watch the sun rise over the Sapphire Mountains, then ride right out from the grounds to the surrounding trails. In the backcountry, watch for whitetail deer, elk, bears, wolves, and mountain lions. Wildflowers abound, as do hundreds of species of birds, as the facility is located on a major flyway.
Contact: (406) 363-2232; www.deercrossingmontana.com.
7Elk Horn B&B,
Mesa, Idaho
Location: Adams County in western
Idaho, two hours north of Boise.
Your host: Debra Buckner.
Description: The ranch’s motto, “Where guests become friends,” best sums up this warm horse and mountain experience. Gourmet-style breakfasts, dramatic sunsets, mountain views, and homey, comfortable log-style accommodations create a perfect atmosphere for a trail-riding vacation. Visiting horses are made comfortable in corrals, turnouts and round pens. Trails are abundant and easy to navigate. The small goat farm on premises offers lessons on how to hand-milk goats, and how chevre cheese is made. After a full day of riding, you may opt for a Holistic Esalen massage.
Contact: (208) 741-2071; www.elkhornbnb.com
8 Sweet Pepper Ranch Guest Ranch, Horse
Motel B&B, Nampa, Idaho
Location: The Treasure Valley region of Southwestern Idaho, a half-hour west of Boise.
Your hosts: Alayne Renee Blickle and Matt Livengood.
Description: Sweet Pepper Ranch is located in the magnificent high-desert setting of Nampa. This 10-acre guest ranch and horse motel offers rustic-feel rooms with a shared bathroom. Amenities include a pool and free Internet access. Bring your own horse, or ride a well-trained reining horse. The guest barn features covered stalls, wash racks with infrared heaters, outdoor arenas, and a large round pen. You can enjoy gourmet trail rides, cowgirl/cowboy weekend getaways, farm tours, and spiritual-enhancement workshops.
Contact: (206) 909-0225 or (206) 909-0511; www.sweetpepperranch.com.
SOUTHWESTERN REGION
9 Blisswood Bed & Breakfast, Cat Spring, Texas
Location: Austin County, one hour west of Houston, in the Texas Hill Country.
Your host: Carol Baker.
Description: This rustic farmhouse, rich with antiques, offers guests the utmost in charm. Cabins and guest homes are also available. Trail riders are offered private, relaxing quarters. Horses are housed in serene stalls and pastures. Available package options offer gourmet food, wine tastings, picnic lunches, and a variety of lodging, making this a romantic equestrian-vacation spot. Ride through 650 acres of Texas Hill Country.
Contact: (713) 301-3235; www.blisswood.net.
10 Cedar Crest Country Cottage, Cedar Crest, New Mexico
Location: Bernalillo County, along the eastern base of the Sandia Mountains, adjacent to Cibola National Forest, near the Turquoise Trail, 15 minutes from Albuquerque.
Your host: Donald Romero.
Description: This lodge’s cozy three-bedroom cottage is fully equipped with a kitchen and living room, and includes a self-service Continental breakfast. Overnight stabling features covered stalls, and large paddocks to stretch, roll and relax. The evergreen forest offers breathtaking alpine views of the Sandia Wilderness area, where you can ride among canyons, waterfalls, and scenic mountaintops.
Contact: (505) 281-5197; www.cedarcreststables.com.
11 Grasslands Bed n Barn, Alvord, Texas
Location: Wise County in north central Texas, across from the LBJ National Grasslands, one hour from Fort Worth.
Your host: Christy Thompson.
Description: This quaint B&B provides a beautiful year-round landscape of tree cover, splendid fall colors, and stunning Texas sunsets. The B&B offers accommodations for people and their horses, with access to miles of equestrian trails and nature walks. The inn offers three bedrooms and an apartment for up to 12 guests. Horses are kept in covered stalls. Trails offer wooded landscapes and a multitude of ponds.
Contact: (940) 627-7176; http://grasslandsbnb.com.
12 Red River Ranch
Retreat, Sayre, Oklahoma
Location: Beckham County in western Oklahoma, two hours west of Oklahoma City.
Your host: Jacqueline Newton.
Description: This ranch is nestled in terrain reminiscent of the Old West. The rustic, native-cedar lodge has wraparound porch views and plenty of indoor and outdoor entertainment areas. The territory is rich with wildflowers and wildlife. Ride in the valley on semi-rugged trails past red-rock mesas. Bring your own horse, or ride one of the ranch’s well-trained Quarter Horses.
Contact: (580) 928-2074; www.redriverranchretreat.com.
MIDWESTERN REGION
13Buffalo Gap Guest Ranch and Trail Head, Medora, North Dakota
Location: Billings County in southwestern North Dakota, two hours west of Bismarck, in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Your host: Mark Golberg.
Description: This ranch, situated in the rolling hills and colorful landscape of North Dakota’s Badlands, offers 22 cozy, air-conditioned rooms where you can soak in the lodge’s rustic country atmosphere. You’ll enjoy a hearty country
breakfast at the adjacent restaurant. Campsites with hookups are also available. The stable facilities are spacious, and offer amenities to help keep your horse safe, rested, and clean. On the Maah Daah Hey Trail and the Buffalo Gap Trail, you’ll traverse the same wooded draws and high plateaus that President Teddy Roosevelt once did. Keep an eye out for wild turkey, sharp-tail grouse, bighorn sheep, and mule deer.
Contact: (701) 623-4200; www.buffalogapguestranch.com.
14 C&W Ranch/North Ranch, Smolan, Kansas
Location: Saline County in central Kansas, 20 minutes from Salina.
Your hosts: Joel and Jeri Rimer.
Description: This B&B/working ranch offers a simple, serene, and secluded getaway. The surrounding countryside offers a relaxing atmosphere for equestrian travelers. Suites, cabins, and bunkrooms are furnished with antiques and charming country decor. For groups of up to 10 people, the ranch’s Extreme Country Getaway takes place at North Ranch, 60 miles northwest of Salina in the gorgeous Bohemian Hills. Horse layover accommodations include large turnout pens and box stalls. Trail-riding options are abundant through a landscape rich with wildflowers, water crossings, and shallow canyons. More than 1,000 acres is available for open ranch riding.
Contact: (402) 668-2352; www.cwranch.com.
15 Dakota Dream B&B Horse Hotel, Custer, South Dakota
Location: Custer County in southwestern South Dakota, in the state’s Black Hills region.
Your hosts: Ernie and Kathy Mowery.
Description: Dakota Dream, situated on 20 pine-covered acres close to Black Hills attractions, offers cedar-log décor in its two guestrooms with private baths. Five large barn stalls are available for overnight equine guests, along with outdoor paddocks, a pasture, and water faucets. Most of the 100 miles of adjacent trails are covered with crushed limestone and gravel. The nearby George S. Mickelson Trail passes through national forest land and makes for a perfect day ride. The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is 45 minutes away.
Contact: (605) 517-2292; www.dakotadreambandb.com.
16 Dream Horse Guest House, Kinsman, Ohio
Location: Trumble County, in the Lake Pymatuning resort area of northeastern Ohio, an hour southeast of Lake Erie.
Your host: Catherine Kaulback.
Description: Old World elegance with an Amish countryside backdrop best describe this timber-frame barn that has been converted to a B&B with country décor. The full breakfast is chef’s choice for each individual guest. Horse accommodations include a seven-stall barn and paddocks; pastures and a round pen are also available. Ride on miles of trails featuring lakes and mountain scenery.
Contact: (303) 876-0428; www.dreamhorseguesthouse.com.
17Turkey Creek Ranch, Newcastle, Nebraska
Location: Dixon County in northeastern Nebraska, 45 minutes northwest of Sioux City, Iowa.
Your hosts: John and Brenda Wortman.
Description: This ranch is located along the beautifully wooded bluffs of the Missouri River, an area rich with lush fields, fertile farmland, and bountiful lakes. The secluded, cozy, post-and-beam cabins feature stone fireplaces and full kitchens. Overnight horse accommodations are available in the adjacent ranch campground. Explore miles of mapped trails. The terrain offers hilltop views of the Missouri River, and shaded ravines that make for a serene trail experience.
Contact: (402) 355-2614; www.turkeycreekne.com.
SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION
18 Bluegrass Country
Estate, La Grange, Kentucky
Location: Oldham County, a half-hour northeast of Louisville, in the heart of Bluegrass Country.
Your host: Cheryl Sabin.
Description: This exquisite horse-country resort offers first-rate accommodations. Upscale country bedrooms come complete with luxurious linens and Scandinavian Sleep Systems. Have a fabulous breakfast in one of two sunrooms or on the patio of the private Turf Suite. The onsite barn has eight stalls for visiting horses, as well as turnout pastures. Ride through rolling hills dotted with Thoroughbred farms; 25 miles of trails immediately surround the farm.
Contact: (877) 229-2009; www.bluegrasscountryestate.com.
19 Burnside Plantation, Henderson, North Carolina
Location: Vance County in northern North Carolina, 40 minutes north of Raleigh, close to Lake Kerr.
Your hosts: Agnes and George Harvin.
Description: This restored 18th century plantation, rich with history, includes a fully refurbished guesthouse. Stone fireplaces, full kitchens, and well-appointed bedrooms create an ambiance of the old South. Visiting horses have access to four stalls in a restored barn, along with fenced pastures for turnouts.
The area, lush with wildflowers, native wildlife, and ponds, is often cited as one of the best places to trail ride in this part of the country. The historic locale offers miles of maintained trails through forests and fields.
Contact: (252) 438-7688; www.burnsideplantation.com.
20 Seventy-four Ranch: The Butler Cape House, Jasper, Georgia
Location: Pickens County, one hour north of Atlanta, in the North Georgia Mountains.
Your hosts: Pam and Larry Butler.
Description: Built in the mid-1800s, this rustic B&B and working ranch offers handcrafted cabins and suites decorated with antiques, as well as cowboy artifacts and artwork. Enjoy an organic breakfast each morning; at night, head to a hearty campfire cookout. On the grounds, you’ll enjoy cool breezes carrying scents from the antique rose garden. Board your horse at the ranch or saddle up one of the ranch’s well-trained mounts. Ranch staff will guide you over 20,000 acres of trails.
Contact: (706) 692-0123; www.seventyfourranch.com.
21 Twin Valley B&B
Horse Ranch,
Walland, Tennessee
Location: Blount County in central Tennessee, in the scenic foothills of the Smoky Mountains and close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Your host: Janice Tipton.
Description: This B&B horse ranch is a trail rider’s paradise. Homey cabin rentals, spacious in-house accommodations, and wilderness suites are available. Secure, covered paddocks await your horse after a fulfilling day on the mountain trails. Watch for black bears, wild turkey, coyote, elk, red fox, gray wolves, and deer.
Contact: (865) 984-0980; www.twinvalleyhorseranch.com.
MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST REGION
22 Grace Note Farm, Pascoag, Rhode Island
Location: Providence County in northwestern Rhode Island; Pascoag is one of several villages that make up the small town of Burrillville.
Your host: Virginia Sindelar.
Description: Tucked away in a rural corner of New England, this historic inn is rife with local charm. The farm atmosphere and B&B experience create a cozy setting as you take in picturesque views of the region. Safe, secure corrals, rolling pastures, and spacious stalls are available for guest horses. Ride along 25 miles of sandy trails that wind through groves, and past lakes and streams. Autumn visitors are treated to spectacular fall colors.
Contact: (401) 567-0354; www.gracenotefarmweb.com.
23 High Pocket Farm Bed & Breakfast,
Colrain, Massachusetts
Location: Franklin County in north Massachusetts, an hour north of Springfield.
Your hosts: Mark, Sarah, and Lynne McKusick.
Description: High Pocket Farm is located in the picturesque town of Colrain on 545 acres. The farm’s quaint, 170-year-old farmhouse has a large kitchen and pantry, laundry room, dining room, living room, free Internet service, and three bedrooms with private baths. The outdoor hot tub faces majestic views into Vermont. A gourmet breakfast is served every morning. A four-stall barn is available for visiting horses, as well as a turnout paddock and round pen. Ride on scenic wooded trails with water crossings.
Contact: (413) 624-8988; www.highpocket.com.
24 Memory Lane Vacations,
Andover, Maine
Location: Oxford County in western Maine, crossed by the Appalachian Trail.
Your hosts: Deb Cayer and Matt Bean.
Description: This farm offers a fully furnished studio that sleeps seven, a private entrance, and a hot tub. Overnight horse accommodations include pastures, electric-fencing paddocks, and box stalls. Fifty miles of trail riding in this lush mountainous area are available right from the farm, and feature views of farmland, fields, lakes, streams, and woods.
Contact: (207) 392-2381; www.memorylanevacations.net.
25Sharon’s Horse Heaven,
Marienville, Pennsylvania
Location: Forest County in northwestern Pennsylvania, two hours north of Pittsburgh, in the Allegheny National Forest.
Your hosts: Sharon and Tim Perschke.
Description: Sharon’s Horse Haven is surrounded by lush greenery, hills, valleys, streams, and a large variety of trail-riding options. This restored Craftsman-style B&B home, nestled on 60 acres, provides a serene experience. Upscale, rustic rental cabins are also available. Guest horses stay in box stalls or paddocks. Explore miles of winding trails through fields, pine tree groves, creeks, and apple orchards.
Contact: (724) 355-4844; www.horseheavenpa.com.
Do you run a bed & barn, or have a favorite bed & barn where you take your horse? Tell us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/trailrider.
Audrey Pavia, an award-winning freelance writer based in Norco, California, is a competitive trail rider and member of the North American Trail Ride Conference. She’s the author of Trail Riding: A Complete Guide (Howell Book House imprint of Wiley; www.howellbookhouse.com).
