Horseback riding in Tucson, at the Saguaro National Park

Horseback riding in Tucson’s desert had been on my bucket list for years! I can hardly believed I have been coming here for 8 years now and never tried it before. After checking out some of the options available in Tucson, I decided to contact Houston’s Horseback Riding to try one of their two hours long tour.

One of the thing that attracted me to this tour is that they take you in the beautiful Saguaro National Park in the Tanque Verde Valley. It’s a sight you wont forget.

So I drove there with my sister, who was visiting me, on a beautiful sunny afternoon of February.

This small ranch has a lot of personality. Driving into the front entrance, you can see all kind of antiques displayed on the property. As soon as I met the owner, Bobbi Houston, I knew my sister and I were in very good hands!

Her smile is contagious and she is obviously passionate about what she is doing. The ranch originally belong to her parents, and now she is the one running it.

With 27 horses, they organize daily tours for everybody – experienced riders and well as newbies, everybody is welcome!

I was a little bit worrying about being scared, having not been on a horse since I was 12 years old at summer camp, but the horses are so gentle and patient, I was completely comfortable on my handsome horse Tom.

That day, we were a small group of six people, and all women! It took us about 30 minutes to reach the Saguaro National Park through the Tanque Verde wash.

My sister and I had a fabulous time riding on those beautiful horses that day. It will cost you $80,00 per person for a two hours tour.

There also offer private lessons for 1 or 2 person at the time. If you want to gallop, here’s your chance to learn how to do it and practice. The price for the private lessons is $150,00 per person.

We saw all kind of wild animals during our ride, including two Jack rabbits and a whole pack of coyotes that seemed totally indifferent, if not a little curious, by our presence.

This was a wonderful experience for me and my sister and I strongly recommend you come to this ranch while you are in Arizona!