Why Explore National Parks on Horseback?
Exploring national parks on horseback unlocks a deeper, and more immersive connection to nature. Enjoy close-contact wildlife spotting, and an elevated perch for viewing landscapes. National parks horseback riding gives explorers access to more remote areas, allowing you to discover an authentic and truly wild side of your chosen park. Riding is a unique opportunity to tune into the natural rhythm of horseback travel and your surroundings. Simply sit back, listen to the sounds around you, take in the aromatic scents, and slow your breathing as you absorb the sights of glaciers, volcanoes, or rolling savannahs.
Horseback riding is also a lot less physically demanding than hiking, perfect for those who wish to explore landscapes for longer without the added exhaustion.
The best national parks for horseback riding can be found on just about every continent. We have put together our 11 favorites.
Top National Parks for Horseback Riding
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is perhaps the best national park for horseback riding in the United States. It is located mostly in Wyoming and stretches into Montana. Try horseback riding, instead of hiking, to see as much of this geothermal landscape as possible, teeming with rainbows, hot springs, mud pots, waterfalls, and erupting geysers. Yellowstone rests on a dormant volcano and has more hot springs and geysers than anywhere else on Earth (including the famous Old Faithful). It is also known for its unique wildlife including the largest herd of buffalo in America, grizzly bears, and wolves.
Tara National Park
Tucked into the wilderness of Serbia, Tara National Park is part of the Dinaric Alps. Featuring slopes of dense forests, plummeting ravines, and shimmering waterfalls, Tara National Park is perfect for horseback riding in Eastern Europe because of its steep mountain climbs and sharp clifftop views, which are a lot easier to access from the saddle! Adventurers are particularly drawn to the Drina River Canyon, a dramatic plunge into the mountains, cleaved by the emerald river below. If you seek a thrill, you can try your hand at some river rafting. Horseback riding through this national park offers panoramic views, and easy access to Perućac and Zaovine, Tara’s two lakes.
Hustai National Park
Known as the Home of the Takh Wild Horses, Hustai National Park in Mongolia is a great destination for your horseback riding vacation, thanks to its accessible landscape and unique wildlife. With stretches of flat golden and green grassland, the mountain slopes are dusted with birch forests and the meadows are home to the last remaining wild horse species in the world—the Przewalski’s horse (or the takhi). Offering easy and gentle riding, suitable for beginners and seasoned riders alike, you may catch glimpses of red deer (elk), marmots, gazelles, and birds of prey. Don’t skip this lesser-known destination for horse riding in national parks.
Rila National Park
Rila National Park stretches across the expanses of the Rodopi Mountains in Bulgaria and is considered the country’s best location for outdoor adventure including horseback riding. Rila is prime for unspoiled deep-blue lakes, forests, and mountains, which are protected by the park’s strict sustainable tourism management. Rila National Park is perfect for horseback riding because it allows for an easier trek of the famous Seven Rila Lakes. Climb through the thick pine forest and discover each of the terraced glacial lakes until you reach the highest, Salzata ("The Tear"), at an altitude of 8,200 ft. Within the forests, you may spot brown bears, wolves, wild boar, and unique birds including a protected owl.
Vashlovani National Park
Book your next national parks horseback riding trip in Vashlovani National Park, located in the country of Georgia. Traverse rocky canyons and arid steppes dotted with rare grazing gazelles to discover a landscape that occasionally resembles an African savannah. Scattered with ancient pistachio trees and baked in hot sun, this semi-desert, hot climate is truly best explored on horseback, allowing you to discover the network of dry riverbeds, prairies, abrupt canyons, valleys, and plateaus safely. Gliding above are vultures, eagles, falcons, and storks; and on the land, you may spot jackals, lynxes, and even snakes.
Thingvellir National Park
Considered the national shrine of Iceland, Thingvellir National Park is an incredible choice for your next horseback riding vacation. Where history meets geology, discover the birthplace of a nation at Þingvelli—the formation of Iceland’s parliament as early as the year 930. Trekking through this national park on horseback allows for a closer connection with the ancient volcanic peaks, lava fields, forests, and pastel-flecked skies and waterways. This magical landscape was torn away by tectonic forces, revealing deep gorges and fissures, and the Öxará River, which tumbles through the Almannagjá gorge on its journey to the largest lake and a scattering of submerged fissures.
Monfragüe National Park
Monfragüe National Park in Spain is famous for its bird watching and copious wildlife, including large populations of vultures. Upon your saddle, marvel at the soaring vultures including the Eurasian black vulture, griffon vulture, and the endangered Egyptian vulture, all against the backdrop of towering mountains. Trek through arid Mediterranean shrubland dotted with white and yellow wildflowers, along windy green rivers, through oak forests, and past wild olive trees. With so much to see, including frogs, salamanders, the Spanish ribbed newt, endangered Iberian lynx, otters, badgers, foxes, discovering Monfragüe National Park on horseback will help you cover more ground.
Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine National Park is in Chile’s Patagonia region. Exploring on horseback is the best way to discover its soaring mountains, blue icebergs tumbling from glaciers, and rolling golden pampas (grasslands). As the 8th Wonder of the World, the park is one of the one of the quietest, most vast, and most isolated wildernesses—and, on your horse, you’ll get the chance to better connect with the landscape’s spirit and energy, where mountains meet glacial-blue lakes, and wildlife is abundant. Catch sight of grazing llama-like guanacos in the plains, swooping condors, and even pumas and Southern Andean Deer (huemul) in the lush forests.
Abruzzo National Park
Abruzzo National Park, only two hours away from the ruins of Rome in Italy, delivers rolling hills, plunging valleys, and sharp mountains. Tucked into the Abruzzo region, this conservation and rewilding national park is perfect for a gentle horse-riding adventure, where golden and green meadows stretch toward the pristine mountain forests. Rich in wildlife, you can encounter the rare Marsican brown bear, wolves, deer, and eagles. Trot past stone buildings in the town of Civitella Alfedena, toward the artificial Barrea Lake, enveloped in mountains the color of fire in the fall, and climb to the medieval village of Barrea at its 3,497-foot-high perch on the overlooking hill.
Hwange National Park
Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe encapsulates the most magical Southeastern African experience. This vast golden savannah is ideal for exploring on horseback to cover more ground and discover its array of diverse landscapes including arid grasslands, sparse woodland, rocky outcrops, and even wetlands. Encounter large herds of elephants, lions, endangered wild dogs, sable antelopes, and even monitor lizards. For a national park that captures the spirit of Africa, choose Hwange National Park for your next horseback riding safari.
Lago Puelo National Park
Lago Puelo National Park in Argentina is one of the best national parks for horseback riding in Latin America. Given its vast landscape and Andes Mountain terrain, which can be tricky to navigate on foot or wheels, exploring on horseback opens the door to this wild, isolated land. Saddle up and step into a world of Patagonian forests and steppes, crisscrossed with mountainous rivers and lakes reflecting the vibrant greenery around them. Don’t forget to take your camera to capture the calm and reflective surface of Lake Puelo, the park’s namesake, and the jagged, snow-kissed mountains hugging it. Iconic wildlife you can meet in this park includes the cougar and the red fox.
The Final Verdict: Horse Riding Tours Deliver True Immersion
Jump in the saddle and embark on an adventure into the world’s most remote and isolated corners, where the chatter of tourists dissipates, and it’s just you, and the wilderness. Horseback riding offers a unique, sustainable way to discover the best national parks on every continent. Less physically demanding than hiking, horseback riding delivers accessible adventure travel—for beginners and experienced riders alike, fostering a more authentic and immersive connection with landscapes and wildlife.
If you’re ready to saddle up and discover the wild like never before, be sure to explore our full collection of horseback riding tours through national parks across the world.
