We had a great day with Mark. He answered all our "Living in Alaska" questions and kept us entertained the whole day. The views CANNOT BE BEAT!!! If you are headed to the Homer area make sure you give Mark a call (in advance, he fills up pretty quickly for the summer)....also, you will not find a better activity for the price in all of Alaska!!! Would do this again the next time we are in the area. -Mike & Deborah
So here's the thing. For a novice rider, or one that hasn't ridden in a long time, four hours will leave you sore for days afterward. For an experienced rider like me, the duration didn't bother me, but the lack of variety did. From a description I read somewhere, I thought it would be mostly mountain trails, trailering to a starting point, eventually reaching a beach, then heading back to the stables in a linear path. In reality, we trailered to the end of a road, dropped down to the beach in less than a quarter mile, then road the mud flats 3 miles or so to a river crossing, which we couldn't cross because the river was too high, stopped for lunch (you provide your own), then headed to the upper tide line, which had some foliage along it, and rode back the same 3 miles, along the edge of the beach, only in trees. We never trotted, much less cantered, despite the openness of the flats, so it was walk, walk, walk, walk, walk for two hours, half hour break, and walk, walk, walk, walk, walk for another two hours. Climbed the quarter mile up to the trailer, where I hitched a ride with one of the other customers back to the barn. While some people enjoy talking throughout a ride, this was too much. Mark was a character, but he never stopped talking from beginning to end. Another customer did the same, so no matter where in the line I went, I was inundated with chatter. Would kind of have liked to enjoy a little of the Alaskan silence, but it never happened. Horses were mostly well behaved, except one woman who was stuck with a horse that tried to pick a fight with every other horse, so she had to be constantly aware of others around her. But there was a nice view of the glaciers across the bay the whole time, if that's enough for you.
When I say "experience", I mean this is something that affects you in the most positive and beautiful way!! My family of 8 (ages 5 thru 50+, and some of which were visiting from Hawaii) went on a beautiful ride down a switchback and through the tidal flats at the mouth of katchemak bay! It was breathtaking! Mark is very keen on the safety of everyone riding! I swear he has eyes behind his head---and that's a good thing!! He's very knowledgeable of the area and the people! He shared much history & facts and that in itself is very interesting and entertaining! He was also very attentive to any of our needs! He truly is a good old fashioned, hard working, tough cowboy!!! He's absolutely fun to be around!! We were all very impressed and pleased with our ride! My 2 children fell in love with him and his beautiful horses...they ended the ride calling him Uncle Mark! We had another guide --Babette. She was a huge bonus in taking care of us amateur riders along with Mark! And she too was very fun to be around! This truly is a MUST NOT MISS experience!! The only negative is that in our 4-5 hour ride, our butts were very sore! But it's sooo worth it! One more thing...dont forget to bring lunch or a snack---you'll have an opportunity to get off your horse and enjoy a quick bite while enjoying the views! I cannot emphasize enough, the beauty of this place!! We would definitely come back for this experience with Mark!!!
If you miss this in Homer, you've missed one of its best treasures! Mark is a professional, personable and deeply knowledgable Homer resident who will take you on one of the most beautiful tours of your life. He was very good working with both locals and tourists of all skill levels. A gentleman at heart, he even let me borrow a pair of Xtra Tuff's to keep my feet dry! An awesome deal that he should be charging way more for! Don't think twice - call him now!
Ok this trail ride is great because it's truly a trail ride and not some pumped petting zoo walk around the park. And it's not some dude ranch out in Arizona.Mark was our guide and he took us down a cliff and into the Fox River area.If you enjoy horses and truly enjoy riding them then this is for you fellah! You will be on the horse for up to 6 hours. The money is well worth the adventure and the scenery is excellent!Suggestions:Bring waterBring a hearty lunchDress for hot and cold; the winds change during the ride and you will switch from sweating to freezing in the flash.Do not pee into the wind; bathrooms are not available; this is the real deal and if you need to go to the restroom be prepared to do it in the open maybe behind some tall grass.
First thing...this is not a short ride for those who have leg, back or knee problems. You don't need to be an experienced rider but you will very likely be sore. But this was so much fun! Mark is very entertaining, with lots of great Alaskan cowboy stories. Be prepared for rain and cold though, when we were there in June the weather shifted and it was pretty miserable toward the end of the ride. We were able to cross the river, what a thrill! We had a fun group of other people on our ride and had lots of fun and laughs while taking in the beauty of the area.
we have been fans of the TV program - Alaska The Last Frontier. in it they herd cattle along the area called the Kachemak Bay. that is were we went on a fantastic trail ride which had us herd cattle to their new pasture area. cowboy Mark was the greatest guide and educator of all things Alaskan that we met during our three weeks vacation. the highlight of our trip.
We had a great time on this horse ride, mark was a great guide and very orofessional, the horse were in excellent shape and all was very clean, had a great time with a friend who was visiting Homer
We are on a one year ride across America on our motorcycle. The ride with Mark was definitely one of the top three things we have done. The scenery is amazing, the day went so fast. We will definitely ride again if we ever make it back to Alaska!
My daughter was initially reluctant to visit Alaska (who knows why but she always groans about outdoorsy activities). She does, however, love horses and had started riding at 7---a trip that included a chance to go on a trail ride couldn't be all that bad. I wasn't surprised by how much she enjoyed it, which she did---she had a blast. I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I often think the measure of a good travel experience is in how much you get to enjoy something that is different from your regular life. Our trip here definitely showed me something completely different and amazing. We had the opportunity to ride to the Head of the Bay, where we saw some amazing scenery and great conversation and near a community of Russian Old Believers. It was truly the most unlike-regular-life thing I've done in a very long time. At the end as we were riding along the tidal flats with the fog rolling in, it was like something out of a book or movie. The riding trip was the highlight of an amazing vacation and what I talked about the most when we returned. Just incredible. Also, kudos to Mark who clearly emphasized safety. There were riders of varying ages and abilities on the trip (and one who spoke little English). He was very cognizant of keeping everybody together and safe and erring on the side of being cautious. Just amazing.