Horseback Riding

Sixty percent of the trails at Guadalupe Mountains National Forest are open to horses. Horsepacking is not allowed; day use only. Easy and moderate horse-friendly options are: the Foothils Trail, Williams Ranch Road, Frijole Trail, Marcus Trail, Bush Mountain Trail from Dog Canyon to the Marcus Trail, the Tejas Trail from Dog Canyon to Pine Top, McKittrick Canyon Trail from Tejas Trail to the McKittrick Ridge Campground, El Capitan Trail from Pine Springs to the Salt Basin Overlook and the lower loop of the Salt Basin Overlook. More difficult horse-friendly options include: the Tejas Trail from Pine Springs to Pine Top, Bush Mountain Trail from Pine Top to Bush Mountain Campground, Guadalupe Peak Trail and El Capital Trail from Salt Basin Overlook to Williams Ranch. There are no horse rental options, so you have to bring your own horse if you want to ride. There are corrals available at Dog Canyon and at Frijole Ranch, each with four pens and a capacity of ten animals. You can reserve a space at either corral, over the phone during normal business hours. You can also camp at either corral, with your animal. At Frijole Ranch there are tent sites and RV sites; at Dog Canyon there are designated spots where you can park your RV for the night near the corrals. There is a camping fee associated with staying near the corrals, which you are required to do if your horse is staying in the corral. All horse riders must start and end at the trailhead associated with one of these corrals; you aren't allowed to transport your horses to a different trailhead via trailer.