OJAI : Inn’s Ranch to Offer Guests Carriage Rides

The Ojai Valley Inn’s Rancho Dos Rios next month will begin to offer horse-drawn carriage rides through the rolling hills south of the inn and across the San Antonio Creek.

The Rancho Dos Rios also will soon offer a children’s petting farm, horseback riding and lessons, and other activities, said John A.V. Sharp, executive vice president and general manager of the Ojai Valley Inn.

Arrangements and reservations must be made through the Ojai Valley Inn and prices range from $15 for a hayride to $50 for a 90-minute horseback ride through 800 acres of canyons and trails. Prices for children, guests and Ventura County residents are discounted.

“We wanted to provide more activities for our guests,” Sharp said. “It’s a way to help keep occupancy up in a very competitive atmosphere and a tough economy.”

But the ranch, which is privately owned and leased in part to the inn, also offers families weekend and weekday entertainment, he said.

“It’s the only public place in the (Ojai) valley where trail riding is available back into canyons,” he said.

Officials cut the ribbon on the project Thursday, but Rancho Dos Rios will not be open until the end of the month, Sharp said.

The trails, which the U.S. Forest Service helped develop, offer beginning, intermediate and advanced riders sweeping views of the rugged terrain that runs between Black and Sulpher mountains, said Alison Brainard, a spokeswoman for the inn.

“Besides being available to take guests on tours and hayrides, a team of two-ton Belgian draft-horses is also available for driving lessons,” she said.

For information and reservations, call 646-5511.