The beach has always been a favorite choice when it comes to taking a family vacation or a solo trip to get some much needed rest and relaxation. The Long Beach Peninsula (LBP) in Washington is a beautiful place to spend a few days enjoying a variety of fun food from local restaurants, browsing local shops, and of course enjoying some much needed sunshine at the beach. Long Beach Peninsula (LBP) is also a huge destination location for horse lovers! It doesn't matter if you have never been on a horse and it would be a dream come true to ride a horse down the beach or if you have been riding horses for years and own a few of your own that you travel around with, you will be happy that you decided to spend a few days in this horse friendly place and taste what horseback riding in Long Beach Peninsula offers!

The Pacific Ocean meets the sand of the Long Beach Peninsula (LBP) and creates 28 miles of continuous breach making it the longest beach in America and the 2nd longest beach in the world. LBP has a handful of options for those who want to take a ride on the beach, all offering a slightly different experience but they all are excellent choices for a spectacular beach ride.

Finding a Stable for Horseback Riding in Long Beach Peninsula

The Long Beach Horse Ride AKA Back Country Horse Adventures

Back Country Horse Adventures offers horseback rides on the beach as well as carriage rides on the beach or at offsite locations. Carriage rides are done by reservation only and are rarely available at the last minute. Back Country offers two different beach ride options for riders, the most popular is the 1 hour ride. This ride is suitable for riders of all ages and skill levels.

From the facility you follow a trail through the dunes and arrive at the beach, this is a walk and trot ride, so if you are feeling like going a bit faster when you hit the beach that is when you will get to pick up the pace. For those who are more experienced riders a two hour ride is available. This ride is only offered once a day and it's the first ride of the day at 9am.

Back Country allows riders of all ages to experience the fun of riding on the beach. Children ages 4 and under will ride with an adult, children must ride in front of the adult, not behind, and these little ones get to come along at no charge. For youngsters who are five have the option of riding with an adult or riding their own horse, but at age 6 riding their own horse is the only choice available.

Helmets are available to guests if they would like to wear one during the ride. Back Country also does not have any requirements when it comes to what you should wear of what type of shoe or footwear should be worn. Although they will allow you to wear whatever you choose, it is always recommended to wear closed toe shoes, tennis shoes are just fine if you don't have boots, but wearing sandals around horses can be potentially very dangerous.

As for attire, keep in mind that you will be sitting on a leather or synthetic saddle for about an hour, pants would provide a barrier between the saddle and your skin, but if you choose to wear shorts, be prepared for the possibility of skin irritation, traditionally known as saddle sores

Back Country rides depart every hour and a half so 10:00 am 11:30 am 1:00 pm, and so on. They ask riders to arrive 15 min prior to departure time and all reservations are required so don’t forget to call ahead. The Back Country team of guides and ranch hands are friendly and are very experienced horsemen. You will have a great time and make memories that will last a lifetime!

Red Barn Arena

The Red Barn Arena is a private boarding facility and has been family owned and operated since 1977. The Red Barn doesn’t offer guided beach rides or have horses for rent, but they do offer dry camping and horse corrals for horse owners. This is a great place if you enjoy traveling and camping with your horse. You can access the beach from the facility or trailer to one of the many trail heads lead to the beach.

Reservations for overnight stays with your horse may only be booked 3 days in advance and they also allow you to bring in portable corrals if you’d like to set up a temporary pen instead of using one of their corrals during your stay. Showers are not located on the property but there a bunch of them very close by and available for campers.

West Coast Horse Rides

There is no doubt that West Coast Horse Rides offers a fun and safe beach riders of all ages and skill levels. During the ride smiles are on every rider's face and you can see the pure joy and excitement they are getting out of this experience. Sometime big horses can be intimidating for small children, so West Coast offers pony rides for the little ones and take them out on the private trail that weaves through the ranch and limiting exposure to anything that could spook the pony or any other horses, so your little can have a safe and fun riding experience also!

Speech time before heading to the beach.

West Coast opens at 9:30 am and highly recommends booking reservations and they now have gift certificates available so you can surprise someone with this awesome ride as a gift.

Peninsula Saddle Club and Horse Camping

Peninsula Saddle Club and Horse Camping is a non-profit that began in 1945. This beautiful 10 acre facility has a large riding arena and track. You can access the beach directly from the facility or trailer to one of the many beach trail heads and head out from one of those individual staging areas. Saddle Club is another place that does not offer guided rides or horse rentals but offers horse overnights and dry camping.

Portable pens are allowed to be used instead of the corrals at the facility. They take reservations but only with a maximum notice of three days and the Saddle Club is completely closed for business during the last week of July for the Annual Rodeo and the first week of August for the Jr. Rodeo. So if you are looking for a place to horse camp and enjoy historical sites and learning fun things from the past this is definitely a horse camp destination for you!

Although it is unlikely any of these places will be unavailable in the future, you still shouldn’t wait to head out solo, with a friend, significant other, or the entire family. Head to Washington and experience all of the fun things to do in the Long Beach Peninsula. There is something fun here for the entire family. By the way, if you are an equestrian who is passionate about horseback riding at seaside, take a look at Top 14 Locations in the USA for Horseback Riding on the Beach.