Imagine the exhilaration of riding four abreast cantering down an open stretch of beach . . . Or for the more sublime, a relaxing wagon ride through a vineyard and wine tasting to finish the ride . . . Outback Trail Rides can provide riders with either of those experiences and even more in between.
We’re not the average trail ride,
explains Mick owner of Outback Trail Rides. “We give our riders lots of freedom, but they are expected to keep their horses under control. We do give riding instruction to all our riders at the beginning of each ride. Our rides offer the chance for riders to spread out and ride next to one another not just one behind the other. Experienced riders will have the chance to trot and canter under control.”
Spectacular ocean views, open beach riding, cattle ranch riding, and vineyard exploration via either horse back or horse-drawn wagon are all experiences one can have with a guided ride with Outback Trail Rides based in Cambria. Along with the spectacular Central Coast scenery, local wildlife (and not so wild) show up to delight riders as well. “We regularly see cattle, coyote, and deer,” mentioned Mick.
Outback Trail Rides moves locations throughout the year to offer their guests a variety of choices and to take advantage of everything SLO County has to offer. Each ride is catered to different riding abilities and the wranglers make sure they give their riders instruction on how to keep their mounts under control and the wrangler uses his or her discretion regarding how much trotting and cantering can be done by each group.
Mick’s favorite ride is called, “The Drover”, a 2 hour ride which takes riders along the ocean side of the Fiscalini Ranch – a 900 acre private cattle ranch in Cambria. “The views on a clear day are absolutely spectacular!” exclaimed Mick. Outback Trail rides host several rides that cover the Fiscalini Ranch in Cambria and they have many returning guests who choose to experience each ride either on the Ranch or come back to ride at other locations. On select days year-round Outback Trail Rides hauls the horses down to the beach in Cayucos for exhilarating beach rides.
The Paso Robles vineyard rides are held from October – April to avoid the summer heat. At the Cass Vineyard riders have lots of opportunities to spread out and ride side-by-side. Wagon rides provide a relaxing trip through the vineyards and are an option at Cass. The Calvareous Vineyard ride provides hill climbing and fantastic views of Paso Robles, with the mountains behind on display throughout the ride. This ride is for intermediate and advanced riders. Due to the terrain, the riders will ride one behind the other more frequently on the Calvareous Vineyard. After each vineyard ride, riders return to the vineyard to sit back, relax, and recount the riding experience while enjoying the wine offerings at each vineyard.
What makes riding with Outback Trail Rides special? “Our guides are wonderful, the scenery is spectacular, we allow our guests freedom under control, and a variety of places to ride,” explained Mick. He went on to describe his horses, “These are not dead-head trail horses, they are ranch horses that have life, yet are very controllable.”
In addition to the trail riding, Outback offers wagon rides along Moonstone Beach drive in Cambria from May – September on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons/evenings each week. Billy and Bob pull the wagon while a group of guests take in the stunning ocean view and perhaps enjoy a bit of conversation with the wagon driver.
Mick advises guests to call about a week ahead to schedule a ride to be sure of where and when rides are being offered. No matter where you ride with Outback Trail Rides, it will be a great time spent either on the back of a horse or behind a horse in the wagon surrounded by spectacular scenery. One ride with Outback and you’ll be back!
Outback trail rides wishes you happy trails as they embark on a new adventure. Unfortunately they no longer operate in Cambria.
Come horse around with us in San Luis Obispo County! There are so many ways to horse around in stunning SLO County. To keep this info at your fingertips we have developed a FREE Hot Sheet that will direct you to stories which tell you where you can trail ride, stay with your horse, show and taste. We’ll continue to add horsing around stories to our website. You can stay up-to-date by becoming a SLO Horse News herd member. Get your Horsing Around in SLO County Hot Sheet here >.
