Chaparral Ranch at Woodside - Woodside, California

Darius Wiles

We booked a 1 hour trail ride via Redwood City's activities page several weeks in advance, but it seems the staff at the stables don't get notified of rides booked this way. We showed them our confirmation email and it only took a few minutes for them to ready some horses and find a staff member to lead the ride, but it's possible you may have to wait if this happens to you.

The ride itself was a pleasant journey along a park trail. The horses were all very well behaved (except mine came to a halt to try and snack on some overhanging foliage at one point). The day was warm but the trail was mostly shaded by trees, so it was just right. Overall, we had a great time.

Pro tip - if the park's parking lot is full, exit at the opposite corner from where you entered and follow the road round to the left to get to parking that's reserved for visitors to the stables. Tell the stables you've parked there and they'll give you a piece of paper you need to display in your car.

Gina Harris

Found Chaparral Ranch through the internet. Booked a 1 1/2 hour trail ride for Sept 1st using their website. When I got there Tessa was expecting me. I was the only rider that morning. It was raining earlier but was thrilled to learn they ride in the rain!
The trail was beautiful. The sun peaked out in spots along the ride, even felt some rain drops that fell from the tall redwood trees. It was nice to see hikers on the trail too, they seemed too enjoy it as well.
While I enjoyed the trail ride, for me, the most that I received from my ride that day was what I learned from Tessa. She is a great trail guide so full of knowledge and shared so much with me on horse behaviors and interactions with the rider. I felt my confidence rise up in me. When I was back from the ride I booked a horsemanship training class and started the next day.
Today was my second training class and what I am realizing is the whole company is about the love of the horse and it's rider. Starting with a good relationship with the horse. I seen for myself the love for the horses in the way they are relaxed and well taken care of. I see it with all the staff I met.
If you love horses this is the place. Thank You Tessa for your inspiration.

sbcb178

It is hard to find a stable like this in the heart of Silicon Valley! Very relaxing and welcoming environment! Two thumbs up!

Kathi E

We booked an hour long trail ride and arrived 20 minutes early as advised. We waited for 35 minutes for our ride to start as the previous ride came back 15 minutes late. Our ride was cut short and only lasted 40 minutes, so that was disappointing as we thought it would be a full hour of riding.

The ride itself was very nice and the area is gorgeous. The horses are well kept, healthy and kind.

Jeanette Robinson

We booked a half hour trail ride on our vacation…I booked this ride long in advance and the guide took my daughter and son (experienced riders) out for 15 minutes!!!! When they returned they I complained because I booked a half hour and she snidely told me they could take them out again on the same loop for another 15 minutes. Don’t waist your time with this place if you actually ride. They gear their “trail rides” to small tots and should only be taking ponies in a circle. Absolute rip off.

Sara Xi

We booked a one hour trail ride on a Tuesday (one adult + one kid). The ride itself at Wunderlich was amazing. Loved going through the redwoods and enjoying the peace and quiet. Abby our guide was friendly but not intruding.

What made it better was that while we budged extra time to drive there, the road off of 280 was closed unexpected. We were 15 minutes late. I called the office while waiting on traffic, didn’t expect someone to actually answer. But Susan answered. She was very understanding of the roadblock and assured me Abby would wait for us. Of course it helped that it was a quiet Tuesday so no other paying customer was waiting on us. But we appreciated them going above and beyond to wait for us.

I saw some negative experiences from other reviewers. Every situation is different. Just wanted to share our positive experience.

Side note - the road to Chapparal at Woodside is almost always having issues .. tree trimming .. accidents .. so if Google maps says 30 mins drive, budget an hour please!

Another note - my kid did a day camp there and really loved how the trainer instilled confidence in all the kids.

Tasha Summers

Enjoying some casual western lessons to get back in the saddle after a few years break from riding, my instructors have been great and so have the horses. Very nice that they provide a separate parking area beside the ring because the main lot is always full.

Parul Soi

Extremely dissatisfied with the lesson. It was suppose to be 4 people in a group but they clubbed us with 6. Class started 25 mins late and ended 15 mins early. The team lacked any
professionalism.
Despite mentioning that I have done English style riding before and would like an horse that can trot I was given an extremely old and slow horse that could barely walk. The instructor kept saying you have got the oldest slowest horse and I did not understand the rationale behind it especially since in the beginning she mentioned I would be able to trot. Would never recommend this place for adults.