Horseback Riding Bucket List: 12 Incredible Places to Ride in Colorado
There’s trail riding, and then there’s riding. If you’ve only ever done the nose-to-tail shuffle down a fenced path, you haven’t really been on a horse in Colorado yet.
Here are twelve places worth putting on the list — starting with the one we know best.
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Rusty Spurr Ranch — Kremmling
We’ll say it: we ruin other trail rides for people.
No single-file line. No guide holding your reins. Just 14,000 acres of open range, a horse matched to your ability, and permission to actually ride — trot, lope, cut across the meadow, help move cattle if you’re up for it. This is a working ranch, and you’re a hand for the day.
The Gore Range sits on the horizon the whole time. By mid-July, the meadows come up knee-high on the horse — lupine, Indian paintbrush, mule’s ear washing across the open country in purple and orange and gold. Riders who’ve been all over the West tell us this is the view they think about later.
Two hours from Denver, an hour from Silverthorne. Half-day and full-day rides, riders of every level.
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maroon bells snowmass wilderness
Maroon Bells / Snowmass Wilderness — Aspen
Colorado’s most photographed peaks, seen the way they should be — from a saddle instead of a shuttle bus window. Outfitters run rides into the Snowmass and Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness, climbing through aspen into meadows below the twin peaks. Late June into July brings columbine, fireweed, and blue flax. Permits and shuttle rules change year to year in the Maroon Valley, so book through a licensed outfitter and let them handle the logistics.
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crested butte
Crested Butte
The Wildflower Capital of Colorado — officially, by act of the state legislature. The bloom here is genuinely a phenomenon: mule’s ear, larkspur, and sunflowers shoulder-high on a horse in a good year. Brush Creek, Snodgrass, and Trail 401 are the classic routes, and mid-July is the window. The town’s Wildflower Festival lands the same week, which means lodging books out early and the trails see traffic. Worth it anyway.
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rocky mountain national park — estes park
Rocky Mountain National Park — Estes Park
The most accessible bucket-list ride in the state. Sombrero Ranch and the Moraine Park stables run guided rides to Cub Lake, Gem Lake, and up into the park’s interior — mostly walk-pace, family-friendly, and heavily regulated, but the scenery does the work. Elk sightings are near-guaranteed, especially morning and evening. Alpine wildflowers peak late July at elevation. Book weeks ahead in summer; this is not a walk-up operation.
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great sand dunes national park — mosca
Great Sand Dunes National Park — Mosca
The strangest ride in Colorado, in the best way. Horses are permitted on the dunes and along Medano Creek — 750-foot sand mountains with the Sangre de Cristos rising straight up behind them. Bring your own horse or go with an outfitter out of the San Luis Valley. Spring and fall are best; summer sand gets brutally hot on hooves and legs by midday.
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steamboat springs
Steamboat Springs
Guest-ranch country at its best. Vista Verde and Del’s Triangle 3 have been at this for decades, running everything from meadow lopes to multi-day pack trips into the Zirkel Wilderness. Aspen groves, ridgeline views, and wildflowers that hang on into August at higher elevations. Steamboat’s the pick if you want a full ranch stay rather than a single ride.
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san juan mountains — ouray & telluride
San Juan Mountains — Ouray & Telluride
The most dramatic country in the state. Old mining trails switchback up into Yankee Boy Basin and the Ice Lake drainage — waterfalls, ghost-town remnants, and columbine so thick it looks planted. This is serious terrain and serious elevation, so go with an outfitter who knows the ground. Late July is the sweet spot; snow lingers in the high basins well into summer.
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vail beaver creek
Vail / Beaver Creek
The easy add-on if you’re already in the resort corridor. Bearcat Stables and 4 Eagle Ranch run Eagle River valley rides with high-alpine options for anyone who wants to climb. Well-run, well-groomed, and reliable — a good introduction rather than a challenge. Book a morning ride and be back for lunch in the village.
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winter park
Winter Park & Fraser Valley
Close enough to Denver for a day trip, high enough to feel like the mountains. Devil’s Thumb Ranch is the anchor — luxury base, well-kept horses, meadow gallops, and trails that connect into the surrounding national forest. The Fraser Valley blooms a little later than the front range foothills, so early-to-mid July is your window. Neighbors of ours, more or less, and worth the stop.
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durango
Durango
Southwest Colorado does something no other corner of the state does — red rock and alpine in the same afternoon. La Plata Canyon and Hermosa Creek are the go-to routes, with outfitters running long-day rides and multi-day pack trips into the Weminuche Wilderness. Longer season than the high country, too. Good for riders who want distance rather than a two-hour loop.
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cripple creek pikes peak region
Cripple Creek / Pikes Peak Region
Gold-rush country. You ride through old mining terrain with the Peak filling the sky in every direction — high, open, and historic in a way that’s hard to fake. Outfitters run out of the Cripple Creek and Victor area. Less crowded than the mountain resort towns, and the shoulder seasons hold up well.
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buena vista collegiate peaks
Buena Vista / Collegiate Peaks
A wall of fourteeners over the Arkansas River valley — Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, all lined up. Rides run through the valley and up into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Because the valley floor sits lower, this is one of the first places you can ride in spring while the high country is still buried. A smart early-season pick.
When to catch the wildflowers
- Late May–June — foothills and valley floors, 7,000–9,000 ft
- Early–mid July — montane meadows, 9,000–10,500 ft. This is our window in Kremmling, and it’s the good one.
- Late July–early August — alpine, above 11,000 ft
A word on booking: July fills early. If you want a wildflower ride with us, don’t wait until June to call.
Rusty Spurr Ranch — Kremmling, Colorado. Real riding on a real ranch. Book a ride today!