Decided to try something new and experience horseback riding. We booked online, chose the 1-hour trail ride, and enjoyed every minute of it. Once we arrived, the experience was seamless. We learned all the do's and don'ts, how to ride and guide the horse, and then we were off. The creek trail was a nice nature ride, super peaceful and relaxing. Our instructor made us feel comfortable every step of the way, and the horses behaved amazingly, making the whole experience enjoyable from start to finish. As it was my first time, I was definitely a little sore afterward, but the experience was so great that I'll absolutely do it again. Would recommend! read more

Everything went well with this trip. The ranch is hidden, but it's really easy to find. The horses are friendly and filled with so much personality. The staff was right on time and very accommodating. My kids had never done a horseback ride before, but they can't stop raving about how much fun they had. We even had a chance to feed some of the horses and goats and it was a ton of fun. I highly recommend Surfside Ranch. read more

WOW!!! Sunset Beach Ride - Fabulous!!! I got Buddy, she was GREAT!!! And my guide was Eileen, OMG!!! We laughed & laughed!!! When I wasn't awestruck & wide eyed at the sights!!! Had no idea how close we were to the border.....SO COOL!!! If you get a chance, you gotta go!!! read more

Surfside Ranch - Me & Buddy - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Brought my daughter for her 3rd time and my son for his 2nd time horseback riding as always was a great time. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. Great conversations and laughs while on the trails. My kids love feeding the animals after our rides. read more

See all

My husband surprised me with a birthday ride here and it was amazing! The trail was so fun and it was such a great experience! I rode Buddy and she was so sweet! I 100% reccomend coming here! read more

See all

What can I say about this experience... literally memorable to the core! Honestly these people are super down to earth and ready to give you a great trail experience. The horses were super well behaved on the trail and did really well. Many of us were inexperienced riders and didn't know much, but it was easy to do since you're moving slow and all in a line. Towards the end of the ride they allowed us to trot a bit with the horses and have a little fun... it was super fun! I'm going to be candid and say that the beginning seemed a little bit worrisome. They were being very honest about the horses and it scared us a bit. Some of us thought the horses were gonna take off with us running by what they were saying. This was absolutely not the case though, I think they just shared information too freely, which is fine, it just scared some of our riders a bit. All and all this experience was a whopping 10/10, with many laughs and good memories to go around! read more

I absolutely loved this place ! I didn't ride horses but if your someone you enjoys animals and love to take pictures, this is the place ! It's a small fee of 5 dollars and no time limit. All the animals are super friendly and the staff was great as well. Definitely will visit again read more

See all

Love this ranch! Ive done a few rides and every ride has been a blast! Little cups of carrots were offered so I could hand feed the horses and goats until the ride was ready to go. Eileen, Cynthia and Arthur help to make every ride a great memory. Looking forward to making more memories with all the horses at the ranch read more

Surfside Ranch - Couldn't ask for a better day! - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

My friends and I booked a 1.5 hour ride with surfside ranch and it was lovely! The staff is knowledgeable and very clear with instructions for each horse. Would highly recommend to anyone! You can tell the animals are well taken care of and loved. read more

plan and simple, do NOT ride with surfside ranch, there are plentyy of other places that actually take care of their horses and who have actually trained and well behaved horses for you to ride! i could go on and on about why surfside ranch should be shut down but i wont, - coming from a former volunteer and worker of surfside ranch read more

The guide was a great story teller and fun! The horses are well taken care of and they do a great job rod matching you up with your horse. I will go again when I am back in San Diego! read more

See all

This ranch was amazing! Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. It felt like we were part of the family. The handler I rode with, I think her name was Eileen (correct me if I'm wrong lol), was fantastic, to clarify it was Cynthia's mother that made the ride even more fun! They were so accommodating and managed to fit us in even after we called last minute. We spent the whole time laughing and having a great time with the horses. The whole experience was peaceful with a beautiful view. Can't wait to go back! Sierra was fun to ride thanks everyone! read more

This is an excellent place for first time horseback riders. Knowledgeable staff who made the experience fun and safe for me and my kids. Thank you Ricky and Alex! read more

I have no words for how great of an experience this was from start to finish! Everything was extremely professional. The service was a 12 out of 10 and I was so excited that it was a private experience for both my roommate and I. She turned 31 and wanted to ride horses since she used to ride when she was in college! We got a tour of the ranch, got to pet some little goats and sheep, then finally got settled up and enjoyed a ride of the century. Everything felt very safe educational and it was just clear. That service was their number one priority. Highly recommend and I'm definitely coming back for more ! @neeks93 on insta We did the 1.5 hour trail ride! read more

Surfside Ranch - @neeks93 on insta - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

Came here in February and did the 3 hour sunset beach horse back riding. What an experience! The horses were beautiful and the beach was really nice. I wasn't expecting to see the Trump wall and seeing Mexico on the other side, so that was interesting. 3 hours was a long time in a horse, so prepare your legs to be a little sore lol. read more

Surfside Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Amazing experience! We enjoyed a late afternoon ride on great horses, Buddy and Toxica, led by the wonderful guide on the beautiful trails! The staff were welcoming and so were the animals, horses, donkeys, and goats in the petting area. We highly recommend this awesome experience! read more

Surfside Ranch - The Tijuana River. - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Ask for Eileen or Cynthia. They're the best trail guides . They have a lot of different types of animals on the ranch that are very friendly and approachable read more

My husband took my horse back riding here for my birthday! Cynthia was an amazing trail guide and I rode Buddy who was the sweetest mare!!! The trails were gorgeous and we had a great time!!! read more

Loved this place. A cute farm. Our guide (Cynthia) was very nice and patient with 2 first time riders. Planning to come back when we can!

Im not the type to write a review but I had such a great experience with them that I decided to write one! They gave us a great tour of the different animals they had and allowed us to pet and hold them! The whole family was super friendly, kind, and great company! We spent our hour ride with Cynthia and she was very kind and fun to talk to. My group and I loved getting to know and supporting the small family business and would definitely book another ride with them in the future! The trail was easy and beautiful! They take great care of their animals especially the horses. read more

Surfside Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

Will always come back here. The staff are accommodating and we love seeing and feeding their animals! Keep it up! Will see u guys soon! read more

This experience was nothing short of amazing. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly and reservations are simple to book on their website. My girlfriend and I I are both beginners but felt like professionals by the end of our session. Make sure to come a little early to check out the petting zoo. If you are in the San Diego area and are looking for something fun to do... CHECK OUT SURFSIDE RANCH. read more

I really enjoyed this! It was my first time on a horse and the staff was very patient with me and made sure I felt comfortable. The ride itself was lovely and the horses are very well behaved and smart. 10/10 recommend! read more

We had really good time on the trail ride with SurfSide. 1 hour ride for first time riders was a good vacation event for us. Easy riding horses and great scenery. read more

My husband took me for our anniversary yesterday.It was both of our first time .Very down to earth people .Not to forget we loved all the personalities of the horses.You can tell they take good care of them .We will be back thanks ! read more

Surfside Ranch - Me with sally! - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Had the best time of my life visiting this horse ranch for first time with my kid. The staff is very friendly and outgoing. I love the dedication and patience to feed the animals, pet the animals, and horse riding. This location is kinda hidden but worth the experience. My son and I went horse riding through the trails it was breathtaking. It was my sons first time riding a big horse like Sally and the staff did an amazing job preparing him. I rode Buddy he was a fun curious horse to ride. I highly recommend this location for an outdoor horse riding adventure and petting zoo experience for the kids. I will definitely make this my designated place to learn more about horses and become better at horse riding along with my son. They also offer private lessons and experiences even for events. read more

See all

Surfside ranch was amazing!!! Eileen and her two children were spectacular. Great customer service and attention to detail. It's a family owned business and not only can you tell that they put a lot of love into this ranch but safety is #1. Keep up the fantastic work and thanks for making our 3 hour beach trail adventure a memorable one!!! read more

See all

Great staff, great time my husband and I are getting up in our years and found this facility to be very user-friendly and had horses that were compatible to our experience. We love horseback riding but it's been a while. The staff was amazing, knowledgeable very easy nice trail. I loved my JACKIE boy horse, in his way to retirement was the best! Thank you for a great experience! Next time we'll do the surf ride read more

Surfside Ranch - Surf side Ranch! - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

This was such a fun experience! As a beginner to horseback riding, I would recommend the one hour trail ride, as being on a horse for an hour straight definitely works the muscles you never know you had. Our guide was great and told us about the personalities of the horse and gave us tips for riding on our horse and what to do if certain situations happen. You get pretty views of the trail and are led to a nice overshoot of a pond and scenic San Diego. The staff were really friendly and we had no issue with our horses. It's one of the more affordable options for horse back riding as some places charge over $100 for a one hour ride. I definitely felt safe and cannot wait to come back! read more

Had a great time at Surfside Ranch! Friendly staff, nice long trails, and most of all happy and healthy horses. They also were very flexible with rescheduling due to weather issues. Come a little early and pet some baby goats. Would come here again! Great value, money well spent. read more

Surfside Ranch - On the trail! - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

BACK INJURY sustained while riding Tóxica. Our one hour ride ended in about 15 minutes. Eileen "Barnes" is the alleged owner & I believe she is using untrained horses and untrained staff, using her young son as "tour guide", his horse was the lead horse, however his horse stood on his hind legs and threw him off the horse as his horse got spooked simply because there were other horses on the trail. My daughter and my horse went from complete stop to full throttle in record time. Even after 48 hours after the incident Eileen never reached out to me, her son did not keep a safe distance from the horses and backed his horse into mine and caused the accident, it was me falling off the horse or getting thrown off by it. There was a female attendant who didn't properly attach my saddle correctly, it was loose. She was also beating the lead horse on the face, I was in shock to see how they mistreat the animals, some of them had no water to drink. This place needs to be shut down, they clearly do not care about your well being and Eileen is trying to protect her son who is a liability to her. The condition of this ranch is poorly maintained and they do not have trained horses. I was injured but next time someone can die from their negligence. Avoid this place at all cost. read more

Awesome experience. Our guides were great, horses were relaxed and easy to ride, and we had fun checking out the other animals before the ride. read more

as beginner riders we absolutely loved our trail ride, cynthia our guide was overall great start to finish we really enjoyed our 1 hr tour with very calm horses, & beautiful scenery throughout! read more

Surfside Ranch - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

This was so much fun and I can't believe I haven't done it sooner. The staff were great. The trail was fun. I highly recommend it and will definitely be back! Maybe next time I will commit to a 3hour beach ride! read more

We booked online the morning before and it was super easy. We went with our 12 and 9 year old and it was amazing. The horses were so great, we had some control but they were just such amazing animals we could just trust them to follow the guide. The trail we were taken on was beautiful and nice and at points you can only hear nature. It was just a 1 hour ride for us, but we could have stayed out for hours. My kids didn't want to leave the ranch with the petting zoo full of friendly animals. read more

See all

Booked our ride over the phone for 2pm. We showed up at 1:50 and they had a birthday party as well as some other riders so we had to wait till about 2:30 before we started to ride. We were fine with it cause there's goats and llamas and pigs you can pet and watch. Had a super fun guide that is very passionate about horses. We only had 2 riders and were riding with another 2 riders that showed up who obviously had zero experience and expected to be entertained. They seemed surprised that they couldn't jerk the reigns around and use/abuse the experience. All I can say is that this place has horses that can be ridden easily but they are not well seasoned "tourist" friendly horses. You have to follow the instructions given to make them walk where they are supposed to and realize that this isn't a pony in a pen. Other than that we had a blast and will likely return for a beach ride. read more

Absolutely wonderful experience. I am an experienced rider, and have ridden in many places. This definitely is up there with some of the best rides I have had. I rode Buddy who was great, responsive and willing I had to be flexible with the timing as I booked for 2 o'clock ended up riding at 5:30 but thankfully this worked for me. I'm so glad that I waited because I got to see the sunset on the beach and rode back in the dark! It really felt like an adventure and seeing the border wall from the beach and looking through it to see the people in the buildings in Mexico was memorable. We walked the whole way, and I was fine with this. We had two beginner riders, first time ever on a horse and Eileen did a great job of putting them at ease and continuing to educate them about how to ride, and also understand their horses and to know their personalities and quirks. They also clearly look after their horses and also have some rescues, which is an additional reason why you should support this family business. I will defiantly come back! read more

See all

Great ride and beautiful horses. Fun guide who totally made the ride awesome! Went to beach but only looked and didn't ride on beach as it's closed thanks to parks dept (wtf) read more

Cynthia was our guide and she was an absolute delight to have show us the trail. We got horses appropriate for our size and went through this amazing hike with stunning views. Definitely will be coming back again and would recommend for birthdays, dates, or any or occasion :) read more

Surfside Ranch - Our your guide ready to take us out. - Horseback Riding Near Me - San Diego, California

Jay was great as a guide. That said, we waited over an hour for our ride, no safety equipment offered. And as soon as the more expensive beach ride group showed up, we basically had to dismount ourselves. Would not return to this place. read more