MacDonald’s Ranch

Great experience. As a horse owner I was happy to see that the horses where in good health with good feet and plenty of water. We took a private ride and our guide, Bryan, was full of knowledge of the desert plants and animals. We got to trot a little, and canter once for about 3 strides. Wish we could have moved at a quicker pace a bit more. We weren’t looking for a quarter mile race, just a touch more trot and canter.

We FINALLY made it to this amazing place, for the first time, yesterday. We weren’t able to get there until a little past 430 pm and because we knew they closed at 530, we weren’t expecting much other than a visit to the petting zoo with our 2-year-old.(he’s a little bit of a wild child. ok, a lot actually) We were instantly greeted by every ranch staff and felt SO welcome despite the time. Genuine «hello’s» and truly sincere assistance and guidance. They were honestly the most friendly people I have met in my entire life. Hands down. Not only did they totally put up with our toddlers outbursts (with smiles) but they offered us a pony ride even though we were too late for the last ride cut-​off time. They were beyond helpful and friendly. Every, single person made it a point to greet us and engage in conversation. The petting zoo was amazing. Pigs, sheep, goats, burrows, peacocks, chickens, roosters etc. As we left, they all said goodbye and once again, interacted with our son. I have NEVER met a better group of people…& I have been in the customer service industry for 15 years. I would highly recommend Macdonalds Ranch to anyone!

I enjoyed my one hour ride. However, I didn’t like riding the horses in a line because then I couldn’t talk to my dad. Also, the lady in front of me couldn’t control her horse every time he stopped to eat. I would rather have been able to ride next to my dad. The guides were nice and the horse was nice. I had Taz. If you bring kids, they will only be allowed to ride horses if they’re 5 years or older. Some kid wasn’t allowed to go because he was 4 and his family got mad lol. There’s also a petting zoo but I didn’t check it out. Goats like to eat my shirts so I passed.

Came here for a work team builder and we had a great time! There were 13 of us for a one hour sunset trail ride and a cowboy cook out!
The staff was friendly, knowledgable, and experienced. Made us city slickers feel comfortable and welcomed.
Our group decided on chicken and ribs for the cook out and everyone agreed it was great food.
Although nobody in the party is an experienced rider, we agreed the ride was a little slow. Giddy up pony! Let’s get this show going. I imagine I know the reasons why they don’t go faster, but it would have been cool to pick up the pace.
Overall, highly recommended. Great for groups!

As a business with high standards. why you can’t update the hours when you open on your website? With my two little kids, I drove 45 minutes in October, on Tuesday and they were closed. I got soo mad

Wonderful Staff, especially our tour guide Jesse, and the BEST horses! They were so well trained! Beautiful ride! We had the best time!

Our family of four went there today and had a great time. Amy was our trail guide and she was amazing with our younger children. It was a great ride and we look forward to another one! Thank you!

Fun area up north to pick pumpkins during the fall season. They have hayrides and a bunch of other activities for kids and adults during the other seasons as well. One guy told us about a sunset ride that would be nice to go on, which I would like to do. Horse back riding is also something they offer as well! There’s so many cool things to try at this ranch! Will definitely come back :)

It was my daughters very first trail ride and she got nervous but everyone there especially Bryan who was one of the trail guides, were awesome in helping with her nerves that she started to enjoy her time on the trail, and renamed her toy horse after the horse she rode on. We had her birthday there and everyone were great! The kids loved it!

A pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a petting zoo, pony rides and the smell of horse poop. What more do you need to enjoy an October outing with the family?
The parking lot looks like a big cluster at first (especially after reaching it from a dirty little road), but after getting past the front entrance it really opens up and there are plenty of spaces to be found.
I can’t tell you what MacDonald’s Ranch is like if you’re going for the horse riding. But if you’re going there for some fall family fun, it’s as good as any other pumpkin patch around town during the season.

Lots to do but way too much $$ it costs $ 12 a person regardless of age which is crazy! The cheapest little pumpkin you can get is TINY and its $ 4. The largest is $ 16. Most everything you can do in the ranch costs money on top of it. We only paid admission and got 3 pumpkins and walked out paying $ 70. Not cool. Not worth it.

I had the best time ever at MacDonalds Ranch. While on vacation, we decided to to go horseback riding. This ranch did not disappoint. The trail was great and everyone that worked there was great. I haven’t been horseback riding since I was a kid and the horses were awesome. Having never been to AZ, they gave us a great education on the area, wild life, types of cactus and how to handle our horses. It was a 5 star experience

This review is for the October Festivities: Such a great time and also improved from last year! Kids loved all the actual activities and games. Petting zoo animals were especially friendly and tame, and there were goats, sheep, pigs, horses, donkeys, and more. Pony rides are great and well run. We did the tractor «train» ride to pumpkin patch and picked ours out, but didn’t end up buying ours due to long lines at end. Overall a fun few hours for any family with small kids. The staff seemed better than last year and there were definitely more things to do. If you go before 9am there’s a 50% off discount too (check their website to be sure), and that’s a great time to arrive before it gets too hot anyway. If I had to suggest anything they could have more staff around to show you where to go and answer questions. And more places to wash hands. But overall it was fantastic!

Took the kids to the pumpkin patch and everyone had a blast! They have everything to keep the kids busy and the people are so nice! Parking was easy and close, food is available and the petting zoo is awesome.
The only thing keeping them from 5 stars is there was not enough shady areas. The areas they do have for eating and sitting would do better to have fans and misters. It was a really hot day and it would have been nice to just sit down.

Fun place!
We had bought a groupon for 4 adults for a 2 hour guide for $ 133 (tax and gratuity not included) and called to make reservations for our tour.
When you get there you’ll have to sign a paper first then wait until your time to go and get your horse. They have tons of beautiful horses but they pair you up with one that’s about your size and one you probably will get along with well.
Once you choose your horse they put you in order and you take off. The one thing that I didn’t think was great was the trail. It’s really just the same thing you can see all around Scottsdale. It’s just a flat trail and nothing really major. You see the same thing for 2 hours (not really exciting for me). There are some parts on the trail with little dips where your horse will go fast and that’s pretty fun. However, since we had gone for the 5:30 ride, we got to see the sunset which was BEAUTIFUL!
The workers are pretty cool and sweet very informative about everything you ask them while on the trail.
You must eat and drink lots of water before! While on the ride take a water bottle that’s a little frozen just enough for some water in there and until the ice melts, otherwise you’d be thirsty the whole 2 hours! And put on some sunscreen so you don’t burn.
Overall, I thought this place was pretty cool and our tour guides were awesome.
Oh and another thing, when you start off your ride they take a picture of you and sell it to you at the end for I believe $ 10 each. It’s good to get it for a good memory but I didn’t like my picture so I didn’t get it.

My mom’s family used to ride horses out in the desert of North Scottsdale before it became so developed. It’s been a long time since my mother had a horse in the valley and I know she misses riding. On a whim, I booked us for a trail ride at MacDonald’s Ranch for Mother’s Day. Brunch is so expected, I wanted to do something different.
Obviously, the trail ride isn’t going to be challenging for someone who is experienced, but it’s fun just to be out there. The guide was very knowledgeable of the desert plant life and he shared numerous interesting facts along the way. I think he might have even flirted with my mother a bit. She is a nice looking woman, and it’s obvious she knows her way around a horse. She might be my mom, but even I admit that’s hot!
It’s definitely worth a visit, especially for former horse lovers who haven’t been on one in years. Like I said, it’s also a fun idea to just spring on someone. Hey, we’re going horseback riding!

I some how stumbled upon this place wandering to the art festival, but was warmly greeted by the rancher himself! «Make yourself at home,» he said.
What a fun place for families and kids!

I took my kids last year when they were just 1 and 2 years old and we had a blast! The girl who took the kids on a pony was so good with the kids and they werent scared at all after she talked with them. She walked the pony in a couple circles while i held the kids on.
After that we went into the free petting zoo which had a lot of animals.
Weve already gone back 3x since last year and we live in MN

FREE! It doesn’t get much better than that. We had some friends in town visiting last week and they have a little one who loves animals. We live just North of MacDonald’s Ranch and drive past it daily so we said, «Let’s go to the Ranch». When you drive down their dirt driveway you quickly leave behind the hustle and bustle of daily life in the 21^st Century and harken back to a time when horses were the mode of transportation and before parking lots replaced hitching posts. Inside the ranch we were warmly greeted by the family that has owned the place and operated it for many decades and generations. They explained that they have a petting zoo which you can visit for free and offer free «pony rides» for kids. After visiting with pigs, goats, donkeys, and chickens we went and played horseshoes and ring toss. This place was amazing! Our last stop was the free «pony ride» which turned into a true horse ride for my son complete with photo ops in front of store front facades for a Saloon and General Store. We will absolutely be back to this little known gem and suggest you support this great family owned business.
They make their money through horseback rides through the desert that you can schedule ahead of time. They looked to be very popular and a sign also identified paintball as an offering too.

I’ve been here twice. First for the pumpkin patch and then just yesterday for the moonlight mud run. The pumpkin patch was well organized and they had everything set up.
The mud run was a blast because it was my first one ever. With that being said there were a couple things that stood out to me. The generator ran out of gas for the showers at the end so over 100 people lined up and just starred at one another. They had to run to the gas station to get more. –_​– poor planning. Then, there was some crazy drunk lady that worked at the ranch running around belligerent. I thought it was funny but then again I wasn’t the person she was hanging and hugging on in line.
With that said I will go back here because I want to check out the moonlit ride. Sounds fun! Hopefully the guide isn’t drunk ;)