Saguaro Lake Ranch Stables offers memorable trail rides for all ages and abilities
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SCOTTSDALE, AZ. — I’ve been to this popular winter destination several times, and every time I land at Sky Harbour Airport in Phoenix and make my way north into Scottsdale I’m not thinking about golf, food or shopping — three world-class aspects of the city. I’m thinking about horses.
As a kid I grew up with Sunday morning westerns on the TV during cold Canadian winters, and the desert landscape of Maricopa County and the stark and beautiful mountains that dominate the horizon always make me think of horses and the cowboys who rode them. On my most recent trip to ‘The West’s Most Western Town,” I finally had a chance to live out a boyhood dream and ride a horse in this spectacular landscape.
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To do so my wife and I drove east 45 minutes from the Fairmont Princess in North Scottsdale to Saguaro Lake Ranch Stables in the Tonto National Forest. The ranch features 20 rustic cabins and a few outdoor activities, guided horseback tours among them.
What appealed to me about the tours is that, water permitting (usually during the winter months), you cross the Salt River on horseback a few times. That, the numerous Saguaro cactus that gave the lake its name, and the looming Bulldog Cliffs, provided a setting right out of my imagination back in those pajama-ed movie watching mornings. As did the names of the trail sections: Horse Thief Wash, Salt River, Mesa, the Goldfield Mountain Range. My horse’s name, Gus, fell a little short — I was hoping for Maverick, Bullet or even Rider — but the big fella proved a steady and sturdy stead, apart from the odd nibble on the horse’s tail ahead of us.
The gentle, well-trained nature of the horses and head-to-tail, single file format of the tour provide a great experience for veteran and rookie riders, with the former able to sit back in the saddle and enjoy the beauty of the Sonoran Desert, and the latter able to channel their inner Clint Eastwood.
Our 90-minute adventure included a multi-generational family — from a nine-year-old to an 80-year-old — along with couples and a group of women friends.
The trail includes some climbs and descents, but nothing too drastic, and the trail surface ranges from desert scrub to loose gravel to dirt road. And some water fording, which I can’t deny was thrilling. Given the backdrop, there are numerous amazing photo-ops that the wranglers make stops at along the way.
Back at the ranch and out of the saddle you can feed your horse a treat — and your wranglers a tip — before heading back to the beautifully manicured golf courses, the five-star restaurants and the luxury-brand malls of Scottsdale with one great check mark on that ol’ bucket list. And a little dust in your hair.