Horseback Riding in the Smoky Mountains is a popular outdoor adventure!
Horseback Riding in the Smokies will lead you through wooded trails, over flowing mountain streams, and up mountain vistas where you can view trees and wildflowers. Don’t be surprised if you run into a black bear along the way.
There are a number of horseback riding stables in the national park and in Pigeon Forge and Townsend. Cooper Road Trail inside the national park is great for horseback riding.
Horseback riding stables at Sugarlands in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
RIDING STABLES:
Cades Cove Riding Stables
Horseback riding, hayrides & carriage rides
(865) 448-6286
Rent horses by the hour. Guides will take you along cool, wooded trails, over small mountain brooks, and up to vistas of trees and wildflowers. Age 6 and up can ride by themselves. Cost is $20 per person. Open 7 days a week, 9 am-5 pm.
www.cadescovestables.com
Apple Valley Riding Stables
5614 Old Walland Hwy.
Walland, TN
(865) 448-8300
Horseback riding, 4 mile ride (about an hour), $22 with tax. Hayrides with reservations $5 per person.
Bear Hollow Stables and Cabins
P.O. Box 416
Townsend, TN
(877) 448-6910
Boarding facilities only
Davy Crockett Riding Stables
505 Old Cades Cove Road
Townsend, TN
(865) 448-6411
Open 7 days a week, 9 am-5 pm; horses for hire or board your own; guided tours
EchoBrooke Farm
117 Flynn Road
Walland, TN
(865) 984-1459
Horse-drawn Carriage Rides, Romantic Wedding venue. Carriage Rides and Haywagon Rides. Boarding.
Gilbertson’s Lazy Horse Retreat
938 Schoolhouse Gap Road
Townsend, TN
(865) 448-6810
Boarding facilities only; self-guided tours
Next to Heaven Stables
1239 Wears Valley Road
Townsend, TN
(865) 448-6947
Horses for hire; self-guided tours
Orchard Cove Stables
1263 School House Gap Road
Townsend, TN
(423) 400-6667
Boarding facilities; 20-stall barn, a 90′ x 200′ covered arena, and a bathhouse; self-guided tours
Pack’s Stables
P.O. Box 184
Townsend, TN
(865) 448-6318
Boarding facilities only; self-guided tours
Twin Valley B&B Horse Ranch
2848 Old Chilhowee Road
Walland, TN
(865) 984-0980
Ranch horses available for mountain riding adventure, 1/2 Day & Day rides, instruction, stabling. Call for reservations.
Horse trail in Cades Cove
You Can Rent a Horse in the National Park
Horseback riding in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is available by the hour from mid-March through late November at four commercial stables within the park. Rates average $20 per hour. Weight limits and age restrictions may apply. Please call the stable you are interested in for operating hours and hourly rates.
• Cades Cove, near Townsend, TN
(865) 448-6286
(also offers hayrides and carriage rides)
• Smokemont, near Cherokee, NC
(828) 497-2373
• Smoky Mountain, near Gatlinburg, TN (865) 436-5634
• Sugarlands, near Gatlinburg, TN
(865) 436-3535
You Can Bring Your Own Horse to the National Park
The best time to bring your horse to the national park is between May and early December. Trail maintenance is seasonal. Take caution when riding in the backcountry. Watch for swollen streams, fallen trees, trail erosion, and washed out bridges.
About 550 miles of the park’s hiking trails are open to horses. Horses are restricted to trails specifically designated for horse use. You can pick up an official trail map at any park visitor center or call (865) 436-0120. The cost of the map is $1.
More Information
Horse camps are open from April through October. Reservations are required and may be made for all five-horse camps through the National Park Reservation Service by calling 1-877-444-6777. Each campsite has a limit of six people and four horses. If you have more than six people or four horses, you will need to reserve more than one site. Sites vary, but generally you are permitted to have two vehicles and two trailers (horse or camping) at each site.
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