Ricochet Ridge Ranch

The place is amazing me and wife enjoyed much more than we expected, Jake the owner is really the nicest guy that we ran into during our trip in the Sonoma county, he runs well oiled machine and you get an experience that will go with you for life.
I highly recommend to take the one hour trip it’s just fun fun fun.
Thank you guys for such an awesome experience, can’t wait to come back.

I really did enjoy my private ride, and you might enjoy yours, too, but do NOT think you are going to get the experience they show in the photos on their website, which are really misleading. They show all beach rides with everyone riding in the water in an amazing landscape. You will spend almost all your time getting to and from the beach. Once you get to the beach, you will ride on a road, then dip down onto the sand for ten minutes tops. You don’t get anywhere near the water. I enjoyed my time. Just don’t believe their misleading photos and you might not be disappointed.

Loved our time here. Super relaxing. Vida is leaving :) but was a great guide. We didn’t get to ride on the beach as much as we would’ve hoped but it was high tide. We drove 3 hrs each way and it was definitely worth every moment

Had an amazing time with Vida and my horse, Voltaire. Vida was awesome and totally calmed my fear of horses so that I could check this off my bucket list!

I love horseback riding but my boyfriend was really nervous since he is a big guy and has never been on a horse before. I felt like the process getting on the horse and out was straightforward. You ride in a single file line and down to the ocean and back. This was a gorgeous trip, but being the caboose wasn’t ideal because the horse ahead of me was really slow and would periodically stop (they had a lot of space between them and the one in front of them) so my horse would get irritated or even run into the in front. The guide made an effort once or twice to tell him to move up, but they kept going back into the slow rhythm. Because of this, my boyfriend’s horse would get really close to mine as well.
I highly recommend this tour and the ranch — the horses are well taken care of. Maybe bring your own helmet since theirs are really used and old (kinda gross) and try not to be at the end of the line!

What a wonderful ride! We did a 4 hour private ride in the forest with Noël as our guide-​he was such a pleasure and incredibly knowledgeable too. When we come back, we will definitely return to RRR & ask for Noël again!

Rode with Vida for the girlfriends birthday. Vida was an amazing guide and we enjoyed every minute. We went along the beach and got an extended ride because the weather was so nice.

Absolutely fantastic. I’ve done a lot of trail rides in my day, but this one was something a little extra special. Taylor was our guide and she was a literal breath of fresh air for me. Made great conversation and reminded me how much I miss the horse world.
My husband, a beginner with only a few rides under his belt, rode Cloud who did her job perfectly.
I rode Natasha, who was stellar. She was responsive and exactly what I was looking for in a trail horse. Not dead broke with her nose stuffed up the horse in front of hers’ butt.
Fantastic way to wake up on the 5^th day of our road trip. Absolutely would visit again! Maybe even book one of the day long rides through the redwood forest! Can’t say enough good things about this place!

Celebrated our 29 years of marriage on a private 1.5 hr ride, husband riding Poncho a huge 17 hand paint and I was on a beautiful white gelding whose name I am sorry I cannot remember but he had one eye basically — loosing the other! We have horses and we are riders, our horses are not yard ornaments as one girl put it at the ranch after a movie we felt we did not need to watch but hey we still have a fabulous time riding with our guide although she forgot to send us the pics she took with her cell, saved my number under «Shelley» — we have faith she will. :-) good thing we were riders because their normal sand «sprint area» we approached upon at a canter/​lope was real familiar to the horses we were on and they wanted to GO! Don’t think that’s a great place to take riders if you don’t want us sprinting your horses too! All in all, the ranch is great, our guide was awesome — horses seem well cared for and we definitely will go back… thank you for a great anniversary!!!

Rode both at Simcha Ranch (the mountain) and MacKerricher State Park (the beach). Private ride with Sam (experienced endurance rider) and had a blast. These horses are VERY well taken care of — nothing like a typical hack stable. Highly recommended!

Had a lovely time and it is well worth the price. Knowledgeable and friendly staff! I would highly recommend Ricochet Ranch to any first-​timers or expert jockeys.

My husband and I decided to go horseback riding while celebrating our 10^th anniversary in Mendocino. We were a little nervous about what to expect (my husband had never ridden a horse in his life and I only rode once on a friend’s property –just in a coral). I’m so glad we went! We had a blast. Riding horses on a beautiful day on a Mendocino beach on a 70 degree morning was AMAZING. Our horses (Cloud and Rioja) were well trained, super sweet, and responded to our commands with no problem. They made it easy for us and we had a blast. We will definitely be back with the kids next time. Megan was a great guide — friendly and talkative and kept us entertained the entire time.

Some things in life are just meant to be done … And you can’t put a price on them. This happens to be one of those things! Cantering along the beach with my sweet sixteen year old daughter, wind in her hair and a grin on her face, priceless! Not to mention riding through redwood forests while over looking the Pacific Ocean brought a smile or two. Ricochet Ranch offers great value for all abilities. Truly a horse lover’s heaven.
Ask for Megan you won’t be disappointed. She definitely knows her way around horses and is as honest a cowgirl as they come!
Don’t let the facilities (along with the 80’s instructional video) fool you the riding is first class and the horses well cared for.
We drove all the way up from San Diego to do the 4 hr. Forest and Beach ride and we’re glad we did well worth the trip!

My wife and I reserved a private 1 hour ride on the beach. Our guide Meghan was both friendly and instructive. We had a terrific experiance walking, trotting and loping the beautiful shoreline.
Next time we visit we will choose the 4 hour wilderness trip.
Thanks Meghan!
Erik & Barb

My boyfriend and I had a great time horseback riding along the beach. When you first arrive, you will sign some liability forms, choose a helmet, and watch an instructional video. Don’t worry if you don’t catch on to everything the video covers. It can be a little overwhelming, but the staff walks you through mounting and controlling the horse. I was honestly terrified since my horse, Roller, seemed to be unresponsive to my demands and walked wherever he wanted. Once the ride starts, it gets a lot easier as the horses are training to follow one after another.
Roller definitely loved his snacks. If I took my attention off of him for a second to enjoy the views, he would take the opportunity to start snacking on the nearby foliage. Don’t be surprised if you see the horse in front of you pooping and trotting at the same time… it is an interesting sight!
Our guide was very friendly. She called my boyfriend my husband which we both got a kick out of. During the ride, she engaged us in friendly conversation about our trip here, our career aspirations, etc. She told lovely anecdotes along the way that gave the trail more context and history. Each horse had its own unique personality, and it was funny to see her chastise certain horses along the way.
The trail goes through a little of forest before you reach the beach. All of it is very beautiful. It was a great escape from urban life. We could see seals sunbathing out on the rocks. I was so happy to see them, since we heard the seals were in hiding after many abalone seekers had scared them off.
This is a definite must for all Fort Bragg visitors!

Pure novice here, my previous experience was a pony a long time ago.
They suit me with a the perfect horse, a grumpy frenchly named Voltaire, whom would go on strikes for no reasons and would barely respond to my thick accent.
We had a blast.
Make sure that the tied is not to high if going on the beach matter to you.

It’s been a small while since I mounted a horse and rode along the beach. Ricochet Ridge Ranch offers a great opportunity to do this. I was the most experienced rider in the group so I help up the back on a horse with a little bit of an attitude, but still fun to ride. My horse’s name was Vzethesda (or something)
After watching an informative video, that may be overwhelming if you never been on a horse, we mounted up and took a trail ride. Vida was our guide and she was pretty on top of things.
My fiancé and I enjoyed the trail ride immensely and had some great views. I’m only docking a star because the group was six people with varied experiences and it seemed a little large. I had no idea what the guide was saying 95% of the time being in the back so it would have been nicer if the group was 4 people max.
It might be worth it to take a short lesson before doing something like this if you never been on a horse. There was a girl with zero experience on a docile pony who was quite frustrated at many times since she didn’t know how to hold the reins, control the pony and that pony took advantage of opportunities to graze. She wasn’t near the front of the group so it delayed us on a few occasions.
Overall, great ride, beautiful views, good horses and a nice tour guide. I’d do it again if I was in the area. This was actually what prompted us to do a weekend getaway to Mendocino in the first place.
Here’s a tip, check on Yipit for a deal before booking. They’ve been running a deal for $ 35/​person or $ 69/​2-​people.
Also, bring your phone so the guide can snap a picture of you. We didn’t bring ours and another guy offered to send pics to us but they never came through.

We were recommended to this ranch for a beach/​sunset ride and we had the best time of our lives. Let me tell you the pros… horses were awesome, Jenna, our guide, was super kind and I could tell that the other guide, Vida, was pretty patient with a first time rider (me:). I was scared… I’ll be honest… my horse (Roller) was humongous and completely more knowledgeable about being a horse than I was…
I’m a ‘heavier gal’ so of course I was worried about mounting, dismounting… there’s a riders block and Jenna completely encouraged me.
This was one of those ‘moments’ in my life that I will never forget. Unbelievable scenery… sunset and waves, deer in the brush… couldn’t have asked for more!

My husband and I made reservations for our second anniversary on Halloween. The evening prior to, a large storm came in and was predicted to rain until 10am the next day. Even though our reservation was at noon Lari was honest with us and told us that the horses where soaked, the beach was extremely sloppy, and we would need to take it very slow. She was well aware that I wanted to trot and canter on the beach. She said she would still take us out but wanted to make sure that since we are paying to ride that we enjoyed ourselves.
We decided to hold out and see if the weather would be better the next day.
The next morning my husband called at 9am and she was able to get us in at noon on Saturday the 1^st.
We arrived early and my husband walked up to the gentleman tacking the horses, and asked if the portapotty was ok for him to use. When my husband returned to the car he stated the man was a little rough around the edges and felt like he had bugged him.
Once he was ready for us to fill out paperwork I could see what my husband meant (i’ll elaborate a little later). He asked us to watch a video about mounting, dismounting, and basic riding. The poor video is really outdated and old with skips in the footage. Although I am sure the information would be the same it would be nice to have a crisp clean video. With today’s technology this could pretty much be done on a cell phone and burned to a dvd for cheap.
After the video he asked us to go outside and go by the mounting blocks and he will bring us horses to get on. On my reservation I had stated that I would like a english saddle. When he brought a horse around he told me it was mine. I was surprised because the horse had a western saddle on. I asked if an english saddle was available and he stated I ddin’t ask for one and prompted me to get on. I was a little taken aback by his response and did not want to start an argument so I got on. My husband thinks that maybe because our reservation was moved the information was not transferred over??? Being an individual who has trained hunter/​jumper, dressage I am most comfortable in an english saddle. I was a little bummed but at least it was not a bulky western saddle and was a western endurance saddle.
I was paired with Cowboy and my husband was paired with Roller. My poor husband had no idea what he was doing and Roller was doing whatever he wanted in the parking lot. I was concerned we may have to pony him. There was another lady and her two children in our group who had some issues so they cancelled their ride. It turned into a private ride for us which was nice.
Our guide mounted his horse Chardonnay and led us across the road. Once we started riding he actually turned into a nice guy. I engaged in conversation with him while my husband and Roller slowly brought up the rear. We took a relaxing walk on a path above the beach before we headed down onto the sand. Once we got closer to the ocean our guide offered to get off his horse and take pictures for us. I thought that was so nice of him. I expected him to only take one or two pictures but he took closer to 20 from all different angles.
By the time I was going to ask if I could canter he lead us back up to the paved path. I wasn’t sure when I should have asked or if he was going to tell me I was free to canter on the beach. I was really disappointed that I lost my opportunity especially since the lady we made the reservation with was very aware that I was really looking forward to it.
As we made our way back Cowboy started limping on his front left leg. I was concerned for him and offered to get off and walk back. Our guide checked his hoof and could not find anything in it. I took a few more strides and there was no improvement. I dismounted and rode Chardonnay who was such a gentleman. I anticipated him needing a little more guidance since he had spooked earlier on our ride and gotten frisky a couple times. With a quite seat he actually started to round his neck and his ears started to flop with his steps.
It took a little coxing until Cowboy would walk but eventually his limp went away. Our guide gladly walked the mile and a half back and did not mount Cowboy. To me this is a person who really cares about the horse’s well being. He even said if his limp didn’t go away once we got to a spot a trailer could get to he would call to have Cowboy picked up.
We we got back to the ranch I was able to dismount on my own. My husband on the other hand needed a little talk through. Our guide was very patient with him.
Before we left he brought us out a horseshoe to hang over our door for our 2^nd anniversary.
I would take a ride here again! I would just be a little more vocal about an english saddle and wanting to do more than just walk. It was a nice relaxing ride.

We made a reservation online and went to the ranch to get ready for our tour when we were told that we had to reserve 7 days in advance, which we were not aware of since we were only in town for a short weekend.
It was not blatant on the website nor on the confirmation e-​mail that we received after inputting our credit card information. They should not ask us for our credit card information or use the online reservation system if they don’t even use it.
Also, at the ranch, the tour guide was extremely rude to us and snapped «no there’s no room» directly to us and I was very taken aback by her comment. Then another woman did help us and asked if 2 pm was a better time but we had other engagements at that time.
I am sure it would have been a good experience if we had the chance.