In Zion National Park, that is, inside the National Park itself, there is only one horseback trail ride and it is run by an outfit called "Canyon Trail Rides." This is a very beautiful ride that follows the riverside up a trail, then makes a figure-9 and comes back down the river. You will get a great view of "The Patriarchs" inside Zion National Park and have a relaxing, easy going nose to tail ride on your horse or mule. Because of the tourist-like nature of this ride, you will only be allowed to follow the horse in front of you at a walk. If you are looking for a ride that will teach you to trot or gallop and take steep hills, there is no such ride open to the public within the National Park itself.
If you have your own horse, there are trails you can ride inside Zion National Park such as Cassidy Trail, the Casto Canyon Trail, Losee Canyon Trail, Rich Trail and Thunder Mountain Trail. There are certain rules that apply if you bring your own horse inside the National Park (such as using only certified weed free hay and hobbling your horse when you are not riding him) so be sure to read up on what you need to do.
As far as Rising K Ranch is concerned, we are between Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. We are about forty miles from Zion National Park by horse (50 miles if you take the interstate) and about 60 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park by horse (80 when you drive a vehicle following the roads and such.) The countryside where we ride at Rising K Ranch is very much like a mix between Zion and Bryce Canyon, with the tall red cliffs and red rock peaks such as you find in Zion and with the ponderosa pine and high country such as you find at the higher elevations of Bryce Canyon.
Zion National Park receives about 5 million visitors per year, and Bryce Canyon National Park receives over 1 million visitors per year. Each of the National Parks are large enough that they are not too crowded to have fun (at least not if you start early in the morning). Here at Rising K Ranch, we receive only a very small percentage of these tourists, so we are much more free to ride as we please without being crowded (probably not even seeing another person actually.) If you would like to know for yourself what kind of countryside we ride in, take a look through our “Photographs” page on the website, as well as our Facebook Page & Youtube Channel.
If you should ever find yourself visiting Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park, or are just in Southern Utah, I hope you will drop in for some great horseback adventures!
