Book an Idaho sleigh ride for family fun

Brundage Mountain sleigh rides operates Friday-Sunday at the Activity Barn, south of McCall. Beautiful setting. 

Elena, Michelle and Tom doing the Points Ranch sleigh ride with elk in Donnelly. 

Idaho Sleigh Rides operates in the Garden Valley area, with day rides, lunch trips and Dutch oven dinner trips. 

Hi all,

With Valentines Day coming up, I thought about going on a sleigh ride this weekend as a fun thing to do with your sweetheart or the whole family.

Last year, I took our family on a elk-viewing sleigh ride on the Points Ranch near Donnelly, and everyone loved it! My step-daughter Elena actually got kissed by an elk while it was feeding on a hay bale in the sleigh, and she thought that was quite memorable!

Quinn enjoyed seeing the elk at the Points Ranch.

The Points Ranch sleigh ride trip takes about an hour. They pick you up next to ID 55, load the people on the sleigh, and you go on a very slow loop through a big group of elk that has grown accustomed to being fed at the Points Ranch during the winter months. That means you're going to see lots of elk, which everyone loves, and you get to go on a hay ride as well! Call 208-325-8783 to make a reservation and inquire about rates.

Draft horses at the Points Ranch.

In Garden Valley, Idaho Sleigh Rides offers a great variety of trips, from a simple sleigh ride, to a sleigh ride and lunch, to a Dutch oven dinner ride with live music. The rides last about 45 minutes and take you on a tour of some large snowy meadows and big groups of elk in Garden Valley, with the mountains lording above. Trip costs range from $45/person for a lunch ride to $75/person for a dinner ride.

Get a group of friends together and reserve a trip!



In Sun Valley, you can go on a sleigh ride during the day or do a deluxe dinner ride to Trail Creek Cabin. Both experiences would be great, but believe me, the dinner ride to Trail Creek Cabin would be memorable! The dinner ride costs $129 for adults ($159 from Feb. 14-24) and $79 for kids 12 and under. Reservations required.

Unfortunately, Bogus Creek Outfitters is no longer in business, so if you live in the Treasure Valley, you'll need to travel to enjoy a sleigh ride. It's worth going up to the mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery and ensure there's plenty of snow for the trip!

In McCall, Brundage Mountain offers sleigh rides from the Activity Barn tubing hill location just south of McCall on Moonridge Drive. At this location, you also have the option of going snowshoeing, xc skiing or snow-biking on Activity Barn trails and the North Valley Trail, all of which converge by the Activity Barn parking lot. There is no charge to use the trails. A combo trip of a sleigh ride and snowshoeing/xc skiing/snow-biking might be in order!

Guests check out the draft horses ... (Courtesy Brundage Mountain sleigh rides) 

Brundage sleigh rides last about 40 minutes, taking you into a snowy environment with tree glades, open space and fetching views of the surrounding mountains. There are snacks and drinks available at the Activity Barn. Sleigh rides are available Friday-Sunday, with rides at 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Call ahead to reserve space. Rides cost $35 for adults, and $15 for kids 17 and under.

No matter where you go, be sure to dress warm for the sleigh ride trip. That means full-on winter gear -- long underwear, warm sweater, snow pants or a snowmobile suit, warm boots, warm winter hat and warm mittens or gloves. Bring a thermos of hot coffee or cocoa perhaps?
 
Enjoy!

P.S. We have had a phenomenal series of winter storms pass through Idaho's mountains in the first two weeks of February, dumping a huge amount of snow. Suffice to say that the snow conditions are outstanding everywhere for sleigh rides and any other type of winter activity right now. See my daily snow forecasts about snow conditions at Idaho's ski resorts on opensnow.com 
- SS