Experience a Horseback Riding and Muir Woods Adventure

Tour Description and Details

This exciting horseback riding adventure is combined with a trip to Muir Woods National Monument (home of the giant redwoods), Muir Beach overlook, Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Olema, and Sausalito. On this tour you will see scenery that other tours might miss, traveling through picturesque meadows surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, rugged coastline, and beautiful lagoons filled with wildlife and marine mammals.

After a peaceful walk in Muir Woods, you will travel on California’s scenic Highway 1. Numerous photo stops will be scheduled along the way before you reach Stinson Beach, where you can choose to enjoy your lunch and watch kite surfers and hang gliders land on the beach. Afterward, your guide will take you north through Marin County marshlands to meet-up with horse trainers. Your one-hour escorted ride will take place in the forest, and is an amazing experience suitable for the whole family— even for first-time riders or beginners! No prior horseback riding experience is required, as you will be supervised by professional trainers. Your trainer will choose an appropriate horse for you, based on your experience, age, and weight and answer any questions you may have.

The adventure price includes all applicable taxes, entrance fees to Muir Woods, and 1-hour horseback riding fees. Please note that the horseback riding will take place in the forest and is laid-back for your enjoyment. Because safety is our number one priority, there are age and weight restrictions and guidelines, including a waiver you will be required to review prior to riding. Remember: Safety is our number priority so please wear your helmet and be aware of the policies and safety guidelines.

Excursion Itinerary

• 9:00 a.m. Pick-up in San Francisco or Marin County
• 9:00 a.m. Drive to Muir Woods via Mill Valley
• Roam through the ancient forest of redwoods
• Visit Muir Beach overlook and Stinson Beach
• Drive to Bolinas and much more
• Horseback ride in the forest (not at the beach)
• Optional side trip to Point Reyes Station or Tomales Bay (time permitting)
• 5:00 p.m. Return to home or hotel

Book This Tour

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel in downtown San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf, Sausalito, or Marin County.

Your guide will drive you north to Muir Woods National Park via the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. You will travel on the Panoramic Highway to enjoy views of Marin County, the San Francisco Bay, and Pacific Ocean.

Explore Muir Woods National Monument. Your guide will obtain your entrance tickets (included in the tour price) and give you an introduction to the forest and the best walking paths, so you can contemplate the serenity of this majestic ancient forest of giant redwoods on your own. Muir Woods National Monument's new regulations prohibit guided walking tours inside this national park in order to preserve its peace and tranquility. The park offers several easy and accessible hiking trails along the creek for you to explore. There is also a gift shop with a "locally grown" organic cafeteria and public restrooms.

Drive through Kent Canyon to Muir Beach overlook where Highway 1 offers a scenic and panoramic glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. You’ll then visit Stinson Beach, a community created by people who lost their homes during San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake. It is named to honor N. Stinson who, since 1866, had been the community’s largest landowner. Stinson Beach changed from county to federal ownership, and in 1972, was transferred to the Golden Gate Recreation Area and National Park Service.

Enjoy lunch at Stinson Beach and you may see kite surfers and hang gliders. The beach’s dramatic scenery has been the perfect setting for movies including: “Basic Instinct,” “The Fog,” “Play It Again Sam,” “Shoot the Moon,” and “Memoirs of an Invisible Man.”

The coastal town of Bolinas is located off Highway 1 and is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, lagoons, and wetlands. The trough in which the lagoon sits was formed by the San Andreas Fault, which runs directly through it. The lagoon is separated from the main bay by a small spit of land, known as Stinson Beach. Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal estuary and part of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

Bolinas is only accessible by unmarked roads. The town was featured in the 1981 novel "Ecotopia Emerging" by Ernest Callenbach, and was the mythical setting for Richard Brautigan's novel “In.” Bolinas has a long history of tolerance and environmentalism, and is characterized by its free-spirited community of surfers, poets, actors, artists, and writers. Visitors appreciate its earthy custom-built homes as well as its shingled New England-styled cottages with colorful gardens. Did you know that Bolinas’ post office and some of its houses were constructed in the post Gold Rush Era? One famous resident is Alice Waters, an American chef and owner of "Chez Panisse," the world-renowned restaurant in Berkeley, famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients, and as the birthplace of Californian cuisine. During the tour, you may choose to have lunch in Bolinas or Stinson Beach.

Following lunch, you will head north through Marin County marshlands to meet up with the riding crew. Your one-hour ride starts at a small ranch in Olema, and is recommended for beginners of all ages. No prior horseback riding experience is required, as you will be supervised by professional trainers. Because safety is our number one priority, there are age and weight limit requirements and you will need to review policies, guidelines, and a waiver, before riding.

If time permits, you’ll visit Tomales Bay State Park or to Point Reyes Station. The Coastal Indians, also known as the Miwok, were the first to inhabit this area of sheltered coves, tidal beaches, marshes, and forests of Bishop pines known as Tomales Bay State Park, located 38 miles north of San Francisco. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake was the first to reach this area, followed by Spanish explorers in 1595. German and Russian scientists also explored Tomales Bay in the early 1800s.

If you are interested in seeing Tomales Bay State Park, we recommend adding one-hour of overtime to your tour.

Your guide will take you back to San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge where a great photo stop is scheduled at the Marin Headland. You may also ask your guide to drop you off in Sausalito, and take the ferry back to San Francisco from there (ferry tickets are not included).

This SUV tour is totally private and the price is per person.

This VAN tour is totally private and not available for public
or individual reservations. The price is per party and not per person.

Included: Pick-up and drop off in San Francisco downtown or Fisherman’ Wharf, all applicable taxes, Horseback ride and trainers cost included, guided tour to Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Olema and Bear Valley Visitor Center, Muir Woods National Monument entrance fees and a private 8-hour guided tour from 9 am to 5 pm.

Not included: The price does not include meals, driver’s gratuity, overtime and optional activities or features.