Wine Country Trails by Horseback

This was the most amazing experience ever! Took my cousin here for her 21^st bday then went wine tasting at Wilson Creek, she had the most amazing time of her life. Abby (my horse) was such a cutie! Had a heart on her leg, made me not be as nervous as I was. What I loved about it the most was that YOU get to maneuver the horse. Kylie (our guide) made it so much fun! And the pictures she took turned out amazing, thank you Kylie! We aren’t around the area, your recommendations were great! You’re the bestest!

What a wonderful experience. This is a great way to enjoy the amazing Wilson Creek Vineyards and Winery.
Let’s start with Chelsea a beautiful soul who knows and loves horses. She pairs the rider with the perfect horse. Her knowledge assures that your 90 minute ride is a extraordinary occasion.
Our trail guide, Kaitlyn, made a good ride into an amazing memory. She knows so much about the vineyard, horses, and the Temecula Valley.
If you are looking for something different and are bored of the same old wine tasting this is your destination. Moreover, you are helping these beautiful rescued horses My horse, Brody, was a 15 year old Mustang from the BLM in Montana. Many of the horses have a great story.

Excellent experience. The entire staff worked with me to surprise my girlfriend, now fiancé, with the most magical engagement I can imagine. It went perfectly!

This place is wonderful! We bought a Groupon and booked through their website. We had no issues upon arrival. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The horses looked happy, healthy, nicely groomed and well fed. The tour itself goes on different paths through the vineyards. There are many guides, so you will only be in a small group, which is great. I definitely recommend this place and would love to come here again if I come back.

My husband and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary yesterday.
The horses were all great and obviously well taken care of. It was very organized.
The weather was beautiful. The guides were very nice, helpful, patient, and informative. I could be wrong but I think our guides name was Caitlyn. She was fantastic.
We truly had such a great experience and will definitely go back. I highly recommend this company.
Look out for their groupon and living social deals or call them directly for the deal.

It was a wonderful experience! Great staff and horses are well trained. We were matched based on our experience so they even allow you to trot if you are up to it. My husband and I enjoyed it very much and continued with a wine tasting at the winery. It was a great way to spend our day!

We took a family trip to celebrate by father-in-law’s birthday on Saturday ⁴⁄₁₆ and had a terrific time.
In contrast with some reviewers we had no problem whatsoever using our Groupon vouchers for the tour and wine tasting.
The staff was quite accommodating– our excursion was originally scheduled a week earlier but we had to rebook because it rained. In addition due to freeway construction the traffic from Calabasas to Temecula was horrendous but we called ahead and the staff allayed our fears and squeezed us in despite our being a little late.
The guides were knowledgeable and courteous and did a splendid job educating us about the area.
Our 8 yr old daughter thoroughly enjoyed her experience and her guide who had been ponying her made her feel at home
and had an excellent rapport with her.
In summary, we all had a wonderful time and will definitely be back!

Thank you Jennifer for a beautiful ride through the vineyards. Give Squirrel a hug for me!

Such a cool time, Chelsea and Cowboy, her pup, welcomed us to the ride and got us all paired up nicely with our horses. Chelsea was very attentive to us riders, and knowledgeable on her horses, the vineyards and surrounding areas. We saw some hawks, buzzards and even some endangered burrowing owls.
It was a relaxing way to tour the vineyards and gain some knowledge on the different vines. Highly recommend this to anyone from bull riders to golden sandaled princesses.
Kimmie and John

First time horseback riding, this was a great experience. Staff was friendly. The trails through the vineyards were beautiful. We made the 9am reservation which worked out because it was a warm day and we wanted to be done early so that we could do the wine tasting afterwards.

Bought a Groupon for a 90-​minute horseback ride and wine tasting for 2 for $ 150. It was a first visit to Temecula for my boyfriend and me. Neither of us are well-​versed about wine, so we didn’t know that the vines were in stasis during January. If you’re looking to vines in bloom, check when that season is. Regardless, the tour still offered gorgeous views of wine country.
The check-​in area is a trailer in the back end of the Wilson Creek Winery parking lot. You can fill out your waivers (or download them beforehand to save time) and try on helmets. The tour guides wait until the entire group arrives before assigning horses, which I infer is assigned according to your riding experience. My horse was very easy to handle, but another person in our group has riding experience and he got a horse with more «personality».
There is a little bit of instructions from the guides before you embark. If you are fearful or hesitant to want to ride the horses, this may not be the experience for you. My boyfriend and I have no prior horseback experience, and it’s basically learn as you go. The horses are very relaxed and comfortable with riders, but they still need guidance.
I would have liked more interactions from our guides throughout the tour. I didn’t learn anything about wine or what we were looking at, unless we asked our guide directly. Talking to her was difficult because our horses walked in a straight line, so when I was in the back, I couldn’t hear or talk much.
If you’re going to book the 90-​minute tour, your legs will be sore when you’re done! Wear closed-​toe shoes so you can control the stirrups easily. Bring sunglasses for sunny days, maybe a hat if you can fit it under the helmet. Apply sunscreen before you go because there is no shade on the trails.
When you return from the tour, the guides can line you up for photo ops and take photos on your cameras.
Fun experience, but buy deals on Groupon or on Unilocal

Only worth it with the groupon tbh. The groupon is almost always sold out for any day, so if it is just call and buy from them. They’ll honor the groupon price plus $ 5/​person.
Pros — on a nice winery. Enjoyed our wine tasting afterwards. Cool atmosphere to ride going through the vineyards. Small group of 4, plus a guide.
cons — I wish our guide was more engaging and a bit mire nice. I wish they didn’t put me and my girlfriend on horses that hated each other and have to be separated in the group.
All in all though, I wouldn’t have chosen anywhere else to go horse back riding in Temecula.

I first discovered this in Groupon where they offered $ 149 for horseback + wine tasting for two. Seemed like a cute Christmas date, so I called in to make a reservation.
Reservations:
While they do honor deals purchased through Groupon, priority will be given to customers who purchased directly through them. MEANING, if you purchased a groupon deal ($ 149) and I bought directly with them ($ 160) and we scheduled for the same ride time and there’s only one spot left, they would guarantee my time slot over yours. Not too bad, they will just reschedule but for people who have to drive out to Temecula (it’s 75 miles from my home) it’s normal to want to guarantee that slot, so that you didn’t have to drive all the way there just to be turned away. So as you can see, we purchased through WCT directly. Better safe than sorry.
Timing:
I purchased this in December, so since it’s winter time, don’t expect a great view. If I could do this all over again, I’d come back in Spring or Summer or when the grapes are still in season. When we came for the rides, everything was already harvested and instead of the lush greenery landscape you are expecting, you get a barren view of the land. It gets boring after a while since the ride is about an hour long. Still a nice view, but doesn’t look good in pictures.
Horses:
The horses are fantastic! Very well trained, heeds command well and just a delight to ride. I rode Quincy and my boyfriend rode Brody (who farted about three times during the tour, it was hilarious!) and they were great steeds. The tour guides teach you the basic commands and how to steer your horse properly, nothing too complicated, you’d get the hang of it after a while. Every now and then your horse will want to trot so be prepared to heel!
Wine Tasting:
After our ride, they gave us vouchers for 5 tastes at Wilson Creek Winery. Nice little ending to our date. Great room with lots of varieties, I wish they had charcuterie available but it’s no deal breaker. BEWARE because although there are different wine stations, some wines will cost you more than 1 voucher. We went to a different station to try their chocolate wine — not a fan, btw — and the server took all our remaining vouchers! We had 3 left each out of the 5, but just tasting that particular wine cost us the rest! AND we didn’t even like the wine. So sad :(

One of the most fun dates my (then) boyfriend, Tim, and I have been on! We took the day off work Friday ¹²⁄₁₈ for a horseback ride through the Wilson Creek vineyards.
This was my first time riding a horse and although I was nervous, we were immediately greeted by very friendly and helpful staff and ridiculously awesome horses. I rode Ducky and Tim rode Squirrel. They were happy and friendly and had such fun personalities. Our trail guide was also very friendly, took very good care of the horses, and knew what she was doing. I couldn’t have asked for a better first time horse-​riding experience!
Little did I know that my (then) boyfriend had planned all-​along to make this one of the happiest days of our lives and ask me to marry him! We walked across the parking lot to Wilson Creek to enjoy our inclusive tasting and it was there by the creek where HE GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE!
We will ALWAYS cherish the sweet memories at Wine Country Trails and share our experience with everyone, including our future children.
Thank you for helping make this day so incredibly special for us. We can’t wait to come back!

I feel a little sad giving this place 3 stars, because if I were to rate it from the ride/​experience/​value alone, it would be a solid 5 stars. However, due to their booking policies, that I don’t agree with, I have no choice but to lower that rating. In case you don’t read any further, the TLDR is BUY ON GROUPON.
Let me explain:
1) If you call them, they will tell you to just pay when you arrive and they will match the Groupon price. Because when you buy on Groupon, Groupon takes a cut of their money. When you book directly with them, they get to keep all of that. This slightly bothers me because they are using Groupon to advertise their business, yet not willing to give Groupon the cut of money they promised them? I mean, yes, they are a small business, so I understand a little… but let’s continue to point 2.
2) If you are so nice to pay them instead of purchasing through Groupon, they will tell you to pay upon arrival. Once you do, they will tack on a fee without telling you. They’ll just hand you a receipt and have you sign. Kinda shady that they don’t even tell you that there is an extra fee before swiping your card. If you notice this on your receipt, you’ll naturally ask, why the extra charge? They’ll tell you it’s «tax,» but that doesn’t even make sense since tax is 8%. And this «tax» fee was NOT 8% of the amount we paid. The fact that they say it’s «tax,» when it isn’t. is sorta shady too.
3) If you read reviews on Trip Advisor, they will tell you that if you pay this «discounted» price, you will get last pick of reservations. It’s not even that they won’t let you reserve until a later time, which would sort of still be fair if you knew upfront. The thing is: IF you reserve at a cheaper price, and someone the day of, walks in and reserves at a higher price, they will cancel your reservation and have you reschedule. So if you make travel plans, don’t have another free day, etc etc, tough luck. At least if you buy on Groupon, you can file a complaint, and get a refund. at the very least.
ANYWAY, on to the good.
1) AMAZING tour guides. You will get a personal tour guide for every 2 – 6 people, which is great. The tour guides are amazing, will teach you how to ride your horse, calm your nerves if you’re nervous, jump on/​off their horse taking photos for you, teach you about horses, engage in small talk, point out some history, give you some grapes to try, point out wildlife, and much much more! My tour guide, Jennifer, was simply AMAZINGGGG.
2) Price is very reasonable! I believe it’s $ 150 for two people on Groupon, but that includes wine tasting for both people. If you buy wine tasting alone at the winery, it’s already $ 40. So that’s $ 110 for a 90 minute ride for two! ($ 55 a person). Not bad at all. :D I’ve paid more than that for horseback riding in developing countries, where it’s supposed to be «cheaper.» Haha. Also, all their horses are rescue horses, so that adds to the aww-​money-​well-​spent factor.
3) Beautiful views of the winery. The tour does get a little boring, because you’re literally just walking around the same views. But the tour guides are so engaging, that you don’t really notice. You’ll get to pass by the beautiful Wilson family house, the Merlot Mesa, walk through vines with your horse, feed your horse, and taste some grapes. :D
Tips: You will need to sign a waiver, and tell them your weight and experience before riding. They will match you with a horse to suit your needs. If you’re nervous about riding, TELL THEM! They will give you a more mellow horse. :) Also, the weight limit is 230 lbs. They don’t weigh you, so if you’re on the border, I’m sure it’s fine. But if you’re a lot over, please don’t be a d*ck and lie about it. It’s straining for their horses, and their insurance policy won’t cover it.

I checked Unilocal and saw that they have some amazingly great reviews and some not so great reviews. I decided to take a chance and bought the deal off Groupon anyway. After rescheduling a couple times, I am glad to say that our experience was a splendid one. The weather was perfect. We checked in with ease, filled out some papers, they assigned our horses according to size/​experience, and off we went! Our guide was Shelly and she was amazing! Very friendly and very informative. She took us in and around the vineyards which was beautiful and calming. I’m grateful that I had the chance to experience this!

Our guide was awesome! We rode for about 1.5 hours in the beautiful wine country by Wilson’s Creek Winery. Loved the scenery, the horses were wonderful, and the experience overall was fantastic!
We got a great deal on groupon for horseback riding and wine tasting tickets to Wilson Creek and Danza del sol. Highly recommend this activity, great to do as a couple or with friends!

Jennifer is GREAT !! She made a point of knowing everyone’s name, told us a bit about each individual horse we were riding, and was super knowledgeable about the surrounding vineyards.
We’ve been to a handful of places in Corona, Norco, and riverside for trail rides, and this was by far our best experience. We were here to celebrate my Fiancé’s birthday, and she had a great time. We will definitely be back!

Five star experience! This was technically my first time riding, as the last time I was a kid and only remembered a traumatic experience. They gave me a very mellow horse (I love Quincy!!). He was old so he went slow, stayed in the back, and sometimes tripped but would trot to catch up with the others if I told him to. I was totally fine with this as I was a bit nervous at first. Very well trained and would listen to me very well. Sweet horse.
Our group was a few couples and two guides. The guides were friendly, one was especially great and not only stayed with me for most of the ride to make sure I was okay but also took a couple great pictures of me and my boyfriend. If you ask, they will take pictures for you at the end too — they didn’t have the photographer when we went so no need to pay for pictures as other reviews state. They were so nice I doubt they would say no even if they were selling pictures.
Not quite a 90-​minute ride more so an hour and then paperwork and getting all of us on horses, but honestly 90 minutes would have been over kill anyway. Afterwards we had wine tasting at Wilson Creek (which is a part of this horseback riding organization I think). Diana, the owner, was kind enough to drive us in her little golf cart down to the winery even tho it was a quick walk down. Don’t expect that tho bc that was just something nice she did for us. I wish I had cash on me so I could have tipped my guide — no idea if that’s what u do when u go horseback riding or not, but that’s just how great she was! Such a fun time, would recommend to anyone!
Keep in mind, Groupon deals have limited space available but you can buy it through Diana for the same price. I got the flu the week we were originally suppose to go and Diana was so sweet and scheduled us for the weekend after instead. I would suggest scheduling in advance though and also go to a morning ride so you have time to wine taste after.

5 stars for the horses, 4 stars because I paid full price, not knowing about the Unilocal deal… Nevertheless, booked last minute and was able to get 6 of us in.
This was my second time on this trail, unfortunately it was shorter and they no longer go through the orchard. I got to ride a beautiful half horse this time around named Mona. She was a great horse, very graceful and obedient.
I recommend this adventure to anyone responsible and respectful enough to ride a horse. Great team that works here; I appreciate their helpfulness and insight.