Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables

Gosh, I miss this place so much. It was my home away from home when I lived in LA. The guides are great-​so knowledge and patient. They take wonderful care of their horses as each one is special. Love Bear, Chief, and above all Mr Gus. Happy trails!

Fun tour in Hollywood Hills.
Location — at the top of Beechwood near the Hollywood sign. There’s NO parking up and down the street however don’t fear. Sunset Ranch has their own parking lot. If the gate is closed, just use the call box, someone from Sunset Ranch will buzz you in.
We were a party of 3. Originally we booked the 2-​hour tour for $ 60 but when we got there we decided that was too long so we went with the 1-​hour tour for $ 40. The other 2 people in my group who did not pre-​pay switched their reservation with no problem. Since I had pre-​paid, they gave me a $ 20 credit which I used to buy 2 cute tank tops. They take riders of all experiences. We were a group of 3 women and we had 1 advanced rider, 1 beginner and 1 person who had never been on a horse before. Everyone is required to wear a helmet (thank g-​d) and they actually assign horses to you based on height, weight and experience. I was given Gus who looked a hot mess but ended up being the most gentlest horse out of the lot. There were about 15 riders in our group so it took at solid 40+ minutes for everyone to get fitted and on their horses. Our guides were Issac & Joy. They were seriously the best! They were both extremely knowledgeable & super friendly. They were also funny, engaging and knew a heck of a lot about horses. They made this more than just a tour. I actually learned things about horses that I never knew before.
After we finally started riding on the trail, one of our guides went around and re-​arranged the order of our line so everyone was riding next to the people in their party. Our guide also went to each group, took phones, and got pics of everyone while riding. I was a little skeptical on how the pics were going to turn out but Joy definitely knows what she is doing. They came out great! She got a group action shot of us 3 riders. The horses ride close to the edge and YES it is scary. The 1^st 30 minutes I was pretty terrified. The last 30 minutes I realized that what our guides told us was true — the horses have done this hundreds of times and no, you won’t fall off the cliff. There’s a reason the horses walk this way, which the guides will explain to you. You don’t actually ride the trail next to of under the Hollywood sign but the guides get you close and let you know when to take out your cameras for the money shot. After the fear of riding the edge went away, I didn’t want the tour to end. I’ll definitely be back to do this again. I highly recommend everyone who lives in LA do this at least once.
Tips — Bring sunscreen & cash for tips. Wear old clothes you might get dirty & dusty.
4.5 stars

We decided last minute to go by horse to see the Hollywood sign instead of hiking. We went to the Sunset Ranch. Everyone there was very polite and helpful. They all seemed happy to be working there. It was the first time on a horse for my kids. They made sure to choose the appropriate horse for each of them. The kids still talk about Tiny and Gus. Cassandra was our guide, she was very knowledgeable about the area and taught us a lot. She also was able to spend time with everyone during the 1 hour trip. It was a great experience. We hope to do it again during our next visit.
They do take credit cards, but be sure to bring cash for the tip, you will definitely want to tip your guide.

Went on Valentine’s Day and I am glad we choose this as our date! It was my first time and I enjoyed it all! The views were amazing! I got to ride on Sundance and he was the best! I had no problems at all and was very obedient! My boyfriend and I definitely had a blast and definitely want to go on a sunset ride next!

We’ve been here before, but never for the evening ride or BBQ. Well, this ride and venue by moonlight is much better than in Southern California’s famous sunny days! We enjoyed a Valentine’s weekend sunset (literally we began at 6 pm) 2 hr ride followed by an on-​site «BBQ». The horses are phenomenal at night which is a good thing since the trails are often on steep hilltops (they have superior night vision we were told something I never knew) but the wildlife sightings included owls, coyotes and the view of greater Los Angeles from Mt. Hollywood by horseback was extraordinary, and our young guide was personable, informative and well… a sweet kid who enjoys people and horses.
The after ride BBQ seemed to please everyone and those we spoke with felt the same as we did;that the food exceeded what we thought we could expect and by quite a margin. To be clear, its called a BBQ and indeed the food was BBQ’ed but wasnt prepared there, however fire in these Hollywood Hills is always a major concern so an open BBQ fire isnt practical. The offerings included chix, ribs, pulled pork and all the trimmings and it was delicious and the riders all seemed to enjoy. Soft drinks were served and BYOB was allowed and being a good Boy Scout I was prepared that way too.
Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables is a great slice of LA and not the «typical» LA-​ish thing to do. We consider it one of our favorite LA things to do.

Fantastic horseback riding experience, amazing views, great guide and wonderful horses. The drive up to this place was somewhat sketchy on the dirt road due to bad signage, just remember you must park in the hikers parking area before the ranch itself.
The 2 hour tour was great, not very romantic for me and my fiancée as I was in the front and she was behind which meant no side by side riding, however it was well worth it.
The only real negative was that when our tour guide was taking us up the trail we couldn’t hear her up front as she was in back of the pack and vice versa going down, I do get why this was done though. Overall great experience with great views, we highly recommend.

Let me preface this by saying I grew up in Culver City with horses in our backyard and plenty of trails to roam daily after school. Honestly the last time I had been to the Ranch was as a child in the 70’s. My Father had known the owner but by that time his son was running the stable. Thought it would be a nice change of scenery to take my niece as I had many fond memories as a kid here. Unfortunately as an «advanced» rider I was given a horse (Singer) who was head strong and liked to putter along. If you tried to take a picture he immediately started to eat vegetation along the trail and you had to strong arm him to stop. He was consistently outpaced by the other four trail horses and in my opinion not a good match for this group. I could easily get him to trot but would stop him as I was told explicitly several times WALK only prior to our ride commencing. Hell you have to sign paperwork to the same. Think of this horse as Ferdinand the bull… now only if there had been a bee floating by!
Upon our return I was asked how the ride went… I answered honestly, «miserable». When I explained why, the guide told me in a condescending manner I should have KICKED him and as an advanced rider I should have known to do so. Singer walks SLOW kicking to speed up his «walking» pace would have been useless unless of course she had at any point during the 2 hour ride bothered to tell me that I could trot to catch up. Oh but wait she never dropped back to instruct me… not once! Every trail horse I’ve ridden may need to be nudged or reins pulled up /​given direction but this was 2 hours of trying to get this horse to get a move on without breaking a walk. It wasn’t Singer’s fault. Again… simply was in the wrong grouping. Had they bothered to explain Singer’s temperament and it was okay to trot to catch up I would have had a better time although that would have meant a whole hell of a lot of trotting. I’m trying for once in my life not to break the rules and instead am told at the end an experienced rider would know better… she might want to check the definition of the word guide and all that it truly entails. So if you get this horse know that trotting to catch up is a-​okay otherwise imagine spending $ 150+ talking to yourself for 2 hours because you will be 3 – 4 horse lengths behind and hear absolutely nothing from your guide who was oblivious. My niece’s horse Apache on the other hand was great. Therefore the 3 stars for Apache, my memories from yesteryear and even Singer. But for now I’ll stick to riding in PV or Malibu.

I absolutely loved the 2 hour ride to the top of Griffith Park trail. The view was amazing & our guide the English cowgirl Amy was awesome & very informative. You can see the Observatory, the Hollywood sign… which is in the photo… and it was such a clear day, we were able to see Catalina! It was a great way to start New Years Day: D
The 2 hour ride was perfect… although if you haven’t gone horseback riding in a while, you will be sore for a couple days… just warning you. My horse was Boomer and he was great, but he seemed to like to stay behind a bit & stopped to eat a couple times. I was having a little bit of a hard time getting him to speed up… but it might have just been me & not really wanting to give him a strong enough kick like I was being instructed to: P
I would definitely come back here again… the view was breathtaking. It had been 7 years since my last horseback ride… but hopefully it won’t be another 7 before my next one. And don’t forget to leave a nice big tip… especially if you get Amy as your guide:)

I highly recommend everyone to come here at least once for an experience!
First of all, to get to the ranch, make sure you have a sturdy car that will be able to take handle the SUPER STEEP dirt roads to ensure safety of all your passengers! Not knowing where the ranch is located, I drove a manual car here, and was scared shitless. When you approach the gate, let the parking attendant know you’re going to the ranch, and they will then allow you to pull up to the gate, this will trigger the gate to open. Then, the fun begins. You start driving up the super steep dirt road mountain. It was so steep, that my traction turned off. As you’re close to the top, you will see a little parking lot on the right. It’s not really a legit parking lot. It’s just a fenced off patch of flat dirt surface. If it’s full, just park on the side along the wooden fence. DO NOT drive all the way up to the ranch and expect them to let you park, they will make you go back down to the little lot. How did I know? That’s what I did. U-​turning up at the ranch is difficult because there are horses everywhere and limited space.
I did the $ 40 for 1 hour horseback riding tour around griffith park. Honestly, 1 hour is more than enough because if you’re not used to riding a horse, your inner thighs will be super sore the next day! Once you park and go up to the ranch, you will sign your life away on a waiver form. Then you wait til they bring out the right horses that will suit your weight and body build. You and your horse will be best friends for 1 hr, and you must build a trusting relationship that your horse won’t go crazy and run off the cliff.
My horse likes to be the center of attention. She purposely goes between 2 other horses, so I can be slapped around by the other horses’ tails. If I haven’t already mentioned, be prepared for the smell. You are at a stable after all… During the tour, your tour guide will give the history of griffith park. Your horse will always walk the side of the cliff, and we were told that it is because the horse will be able to see if there are any predators coming from below and above the mountains. This is where the trust comes in, so don’t be afraid.
You will get the view of LA and beautiful landscape scenery, it is absolutely gorgeous! Our guides helped us take pictures along the tour, and was super helpful, so we left them a great big tip!

My boyfriend and i had the best experience today horseback riding! We look forward in going to ride again!

If you’re looking for a good place to ride horses, this is the right place! This was my first experience Horseback Riding. My boyfriend surprised me with the two hour ride as we were celebrating our 6 months. My experience here was amazing. He decided to go with the 5 P.M. reservation, wanting to overlook the beautiful sunset. (Very romantic) The horses are all beautiful. The name of my horse was Phoenix, who was such a loving and beautiful horse. (Definitely recommend)
As for the duration of our experience, Kelton, our guider was simply amazing. He is so sweet and friendly. He did not only focus his attention on one person. He dispersed himself amongst all of us. He made sure that we were all comfortable. Kelton also was our personal photographer. He had no problem with taking photos of all us.
Parking: It is definitely not an issue, well not for me when I went. You drive all the way up on Beachwood Canyon until you reach the gates. You’ll see security and orange cones there, however, you just tell the security that you have a reservation with them. You get to the buzzer and tell one of the employees the name under the reservation and your reservation time and they’ll buzz you in. There will be a parking spot to the right after you drive a bit upward. You’ll automatically see it. Once you’re parked, you walk up the hill and you’ll see a place to sign in on your right.
The sunset was beautiful. I definitely recommend you all to try this place out. If it’s your first time, don’t expect to gallop away rather quickly. It’s a smooth, and relaxing experience. No need to be scared that the horses will start galloping. Also, if you remember your horses name, you can always request the same horse you rode on the next time you come.
Thanks Kelton for such a lovely experience. I had such a great time thanks to you. Hopefully once I go back, I get you as my guider again!

My first horseback riding experience since I was a little girl riding the ponies at Griffith Park about 20 years ago and it was really amazing. My boyfriend took me this past Saturday to celebrate my birthday weekend and it was a beautiful and scorching 95 degree day in sunny Los Angeles. Despite the heat, the ride was really breathtaking.
Parking: Go up to the gates and let them know through the intercom of your reservation. Then pull up to the right, you will find a small dirt lot you can park at. Later in the day though, it gets full and we saw other cars parked just alongside the road within their gated facility.
Check-​in: Walk up the small hill and to the right you will find a row of helmets near a little booth and that’s where you’ll check in. (You’ll also sign your life away with a little waiver. That’s always nice. Also, you can’t bring purses/​bags so I suggest leaving them in your car or you can leave it with them. You can bring your «on silent» cellphone and cameras.)
Pick your size helmet (small, medium, large), they’ll assign your horsie, and then you’re off!
The horses are beautiful and so were the people there. Very friendly, especially our tour guide FERNANDO! He was awesome, friendly and so helpful. He provided bottled water for us and was our own personal camera man during our 2 hour tour. They get paid on tips alone so tip fairly and well! You’ll see the recommended tipping sign near the helmets before you get on your horse. The horses were easy to maneuver, calm and friendly (we had the beginner rider horses).
Would probably just take the 1 hour tour looking back, maybe because the heat was pretty intense. Wish they offered earlier times, maybe a sunrise tour would be nice. If you’re thinking about trying horseback riding, don’t think twice. You won’t regret it :)

First time riding a horse and this was seriously the best experience ever. I’m literally the worst when it comes to animals. I have this irrational fear of dogs, cats, rabbits, goats etc. Like when I see a dog, I need to walk super far away from it and my heart starts racing. But when it comes to horses, I don’t know, something about their large, calm demeanor doesn’t freak me out as much.
Anyway, so when the guy I’ve been dating and I first got there, all my flight hormones were like. ohh goodness. this is going to be scary. BUT credit to the Guides, they were amazing and super soothing. I asked if I could ride a really calm and mellow horse, and they gave me a brown horse named Malcom. They explained everything to me with such care, I felt silly for even being scared. They constantly talked our group of beginners through the first section of the horseback riding session until we all felt comfortable. Towards the end of the ride I was able to start taking photos and felt relaxed riding Malcom.
P. S. Our guide’s named was Kelton and he was amazing. Anyway, this experience has opened me up to horseback riding which I would love to do again in another city :)
Thank you Sunset Ranch !

This was one of the final things we did in Hollywood. Didn’t know what to expect and there was some confusion upon arrival so we spent some time around the ranch itself before taking off on the horses. Everyone was polite and professional.
The ride itself was relaxing. Yes, the horses do ride very close to the edge of «cliffs» but i morbidly asked if any horse had ever slipped or if anyone had ever been hurt. The honest answer was no… But that there were times the horses got spooked and took off or behaved in unexpected ways. My horse was one of those (Kennedy) and seemed to really want to challenge one of the tour guides’ horses. That said, it really only made for a more memorable experience that left is laughing long after we left.
As others have mentioned, bring some cash to tip your tour guides. You’ll feel awkward if you don’t and they don’t really have a way to take card.

My husband and I came here for the 2 hour ride at 10am. I made the reservation online and had no issues at all. Received an email receipt and email confirmation. They even sent another email the day before as a reminder. We made the drive from Orange County and found the Stables with no problem. Had a smidge of an issue with the security guard at the gate but he doesn’t work for the stables so I really can’t complain too much about him. Got there, checked in, got a helmet and got assigned a horse. Easy as pie.
Our guide was Kelton and he was great! The horse I got was named Geronimo and he liked to be the leader of the bunch which was fine with me. We only had 4 other people in our group so we got to ask lots of questions. We got up the first hill and then Kelton started to bring the parties together so I could ride with my husband. We made the trek up the Hollywood hills and the views were amazing it was such a clear day! We made it to the highest point and our guide took pictures of us with the sign in the background. We started to head back down and got to have a nice chat with our guide.
Kelton was very nice and made us all feel at ease with our tour. He also informed me of the sunset tour with bbq that’s BYOB, so my husband and I are definitely going to have to try that next time!

This review is long overdue. I had a great time at Sunset Ranch back in November ’14. It was my first visit to Cali and LA, so I figured why not do something different?! I booked my afternoon 1 hour tour the morning of on their website.
I’ve never ridden a horse before, but the guides made the experience fun and easy. They did warn me that the horses like to walk near the edge of the cliffs. This was mildly terrifying at first, but I got used to it.
LA is known for it’s smog. I went on the PERFECT day. It rained the day before, so there was ZERO smog! I was able to see all the way past the city to the Pacific. If I squinted, I’m sure I could see the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. ;)
The guide was awesome! My tour group only included myself and a couple, so the guide was able to give information on LA, take tons of pictures of us riding, and crack some jokes. A+!!!

Our guide Trace was absolutely amazing! Made my moms birthday truly special and Trace was extremely knowledgeable about the area and random facts that’s people don’t know. they call him the human encyclopedia. The horses were well behaved and made us feel right at home on their backs. All of these horses are well fed and well cared for.
Everyone at the ranch was super nice and were very willing to share stories about the horses at the ranch and about their own personal horses. Loved it!

We had a really good time and felt like the people were super friendly. My only real complaint was the group was big and we had to stop a few times along the way to wait up for them, but the view was spectacular and it was very inexpensive. I would totally repeat!!!

Just got home from a ride with my daughter for her 16^th birthday.
I will say that I bought a Groupon, and at no point during my experience was I treated any differently than any full paying customers. I’ve heard of that happening at some places and besides the 30 seconds of handing the paper to the lady at the office, it was never mentioned again. I’m already planning to go back for the full price ride with my other children
5 star experience overall. The guides were all great, the staff who checked us in was great, the whole thing was a lot of fun.
I will list the things that you might remove a star from the rating for, but are not allowed to because that is just part of the experience.
* These are horses you are riding, not tour busses. They are live animals and as such, they have their own ideas about some things. Part of riding a horse involves developing the relationship that you are in control. Just like any pack animal, they feel more secure when you know what you are doing. You don’t get to complain when an animal doesn’t behave like a robot when you are inexperienced.
* There is limited parking. When I was there, somebody complained that the people in the parking lot were «parking wrong». Actually, the lot was just full. This is a popular spot and you might have to park in the dirt. And, they offered for the person who couldn’t find a spot to pull right up into the employee parking if they couldn’t find any room
* Your 4 year old is not allowed on a horse. Sorry, I brought my daughter when she was three, many years ago, to a place in Griffith Park and they said you can’t put a child that young on their horses. Same deal here. Waiting till your child is old enough to «ride that ride» is just part of the deal. Most adults don’t know what they are doing, the last thing they need is for your 4 year old to try to ride a horse on their own.
I want to go back and try the dinner ride over to the Mexican restaurant in Burbank, but for now, we did the 1 hour ride. And, I will say, that the whole thing took about 2 hours because in addition to the paperwork, setup, safety talk and such, they really did give you a full hour of riding. (for my money and my butt, that was enough, no need to pay for the 2 hour version)
I’ve got a few reviews here, but I just wanted to make sure to come leave a positive one for an organization that seems to be doing it right. Thanks for all the fun.

5 stars for the horses, the great customer service while reserving over the phone and arriving, and the views. Oh, definitely 5-​stars for the views.
–2 stars because our tour guide was really unpleasant and unhelpful. No stories were told, no tips. I think the only time I saw him smile or laugh was when he talking about his own experiences in Hawaii (when we told him that’s where we were from) and at the end when one of the horses farted, ha! I don’t remember his name but I was truly disappointed when we expressed a little anxiety with being so close to the edge of the cliff (no support or reassurance) and when my horse started to go a different direction (the guide told me the horse knew where to go so no need to steer him when the road split into two directions) he got mad at me telling me I need to control my horse!
Sadly, I was so anxious about the heights and now having to make sure my horse doesn’t go the wrong way, that I really just couldn’t wait to reach the point where we would have to turn around and head back. It was my birthday and I kind of regretted choosing this to do on that day. To top it all off, when we finally returned to the ranch, he didn’t help me off my horse, some other guy saw me still sitting (guide no where to be seen, he just left without a word!) and helped me instead. I was very close to not tipping because, uh, you didn’t even say thank you or goodbye?! but we asked some other guy to call our guide and tipped him, regardless.
The route that the horse went on is a hiking trail apparently, so since the only thing that I really liked was the views, maybe we’ll just walk it next time like everyone else. :(