circle bar b guest ranch

HalftimeMom

We enjoyed a private four hour ride. The scenery was beautiful, the guide very friendly, and the horses were well cared for, good mannered and gentle. Book direct and not through a broker such as Captian Jacks, you will save money by booking directly with Circle B. The trail ride was mostly up and down the mountain, I has wished there was a bit more flat trails. The guide did trot several times to make it more interesting though. All around a great ride and would come back next time with my kids.

562NB

This place was a great find. A gem buried int he mountains near the coast. We went horse back riding here. The handlers were friendly enough. We took the 1.5 hour tour, it was just the two of us and our guide. They pick the horses for you. The scenery is beautiful. I can't remember our guides name, but he is from New York(insert witty comment). He did not ruin the time by talking a lot. He let us enjoy the scenery and our horses. They also have lodging(we did not stay) and they will serve you breakfast if you do stay with them(it smelled fantastic, but we did not eat there). Spring and Summer are the best times, but anytime is really good as long as the weather is good.

cristinam950

We have visited here to go on trail rides two times now and have not been disappointed. Our recent ride in December included sunny skies and clear views for miles. For $50 you get 1.5 hours of great riding in the Santa Barbara hills with awesome mountain/ocean views. Our teens have loved it each time, getting to chat with the cowboys and riding on well mannered horses. We found out some celebs come riding here too and my daughter got to take a pic with pony Kim Kardashian rode on...too funny! The trip is a short drive from SB and you can visit some vineyards on the way if you give yourself enough time. Stopping by In and Out Burgers is a great lunch stop too and always enjoyable!

923terriv

My daughter and I went on a wonderful trail ride with an engaging trail leader, nice staff helped us on the horses and a small group that we could get to know. It was a nice trail with beautiful trees, creek (if it had rained I am sure there would be water in it) and we went tot he top of a mountain and saw the ocean. Just a wonderful day. The ranch looked fantastic as well as well and next time I think I might stay there. Looks

Renata1985

Having owned and ridden horses most of my life, I knew this would be a fairly sedate ride, however I wish I'd read the reviews and realised how sedate.My boyfriend (who is a 'novice' but a competent one, and definitely capable of more than just a slow walk if given proper instructions) and I took the private 2.5 hour ride thinking we'd get more out of it than if we were with a larger group. We imagined the guide would have more freedom to adjust the ride to our skill level, this was not the case.Like others have said, our guide was quite hard work, probably not what you'd call a people person and we only got to know some of the history of the area, the horse's background etc when we asked him. The horses were SO unresponsive, it's obviously not their fault but it makes for quite an un satisfying ride.One thing I will say is that the horses are really cared for which is good to see. They're well fed and they're perfectly shod. In short my advice would be that these rides might be ok for beginners (I'd recommend the 1.5 hour ride) but definitely NOT for anyone with more than a year's riding experience.

mattpC8450VO

Ensure you do the half day trail ride; the trail is an excellent mountain trail that allows you to see most of the surrounding grounds and if you're lucky you get to see the ocean from the top of the mountain.I insist on you striking up a conversation with your guide; there are some real cowboys there and they have great life stories to tell.

dlb0758

My wife and I attended the Circle Bar B dinner and theatre and thoroughly enjoyed it. An incredible intimate 90 seat theatre with quality actors and a fantastic buffet dinner made for a really enjoyable night out. Highly recommended.

michelledL3695LU

My husband and I and our two kids (11 and 8) went horseback riding here today. It was ok. The ride was much hillier than they said it would be. There are no waterfalls due to the draft so it wasn't really that pretty of a ride. Our guide Joe was very gruff and not patient. He did not take a family photo as advertised. I wish there were more options in this area.

iamqueenme

My husband had been looking for something different & interesting for us to do while in SB on our recent anniversary trip. He came across the dinner theatre here. It was terrific, though my one complaint, man those seats need new cushions/upholstery!!! Tough to enjoy the entire show when you just cannot get comfortable in your chair! Otherwise the show & the food were all terrific! Pro tip...don't drive your corvette or other low car up there, take the truck, suv or crossover...the road in to the ranch is a bit rough & tumble, too bad if paved well would have been terrifically fun in the vette with all the turns & lovely scenery!

losinginla

Went on a afternoon horseback ride at the Circle Bar B Stables. Michelle was our "guide". Very friendly. We were on a group tour, but we were only 4 total. Beautiful weather. Route was mostly up hill or down hill, which was a bit hard on an old girl like me, but very nice ride. You can book private rides too. Beautiful view at the top so don't forget your camera. Very fair price. They also have a "hotel" here that looks very cool with a pool and jacuzzi and all meals are included. (There isn't anywhere else to eat unless you take a good ride) But this seems very cool. They also have a theater that puts on a Sunday show, and they do offer a senior discount. But Hey I am not that old. LOL

sunriseeveryday

I recently went horseback riding here and I must say it was great! I had a lot of fun and the views... The views were breath taking! Rick was the one showing us the way while horseback riding. He was very friendly and patient! He was all around helpful! The whole staff was very friendly and wanted to make sure you enjoyed it. Shout out to Jimmy too! I would recommend this to everybody!

pleasureseeker2235

Beautiful, scenic horseback ride even for inexperienced riders. Mick did a great job guiding us on the ride and the horses are well trained so they're easy for all beginners. We would highly recommend this 1.5 hour ride!

AnnaG412

We booked a private horseback ride - 1 hour and a half - at Circle Bar B and we so enjoyed it. The trail was great and our guide Rick did a great job. Having done many rides, I highly recommend this place if you are in the area.

spotsandfriday

We reserved the 1.5 hour private ride for our family of four. I expected that we would take a different route from the group rides, but it was the exact same route, and there were a lot of riders on the trail that day so it wasn't really "private".Our guide was quiet; not much conversation or entertainment in that regard. However, the woods and scenery are quite nice. As others have mentioned, the horses plod along at a slow walk; it's probably not safe to have them go any faster since the trail winds through the hills with some pretty steep drop-offs.While it takes just under 30 minutes to get to Circle Bar B from downtown Santa Barbara, it is a nice drive. Also, the horseback riding prices are much cheaper than the ones in Santa Barbara, and Circle Bar B is able to accommodate heavier riders.

taragrl

We went there for a horseback ride, and even though we were both experienced riders, we fully expected a typical trail ride. Well, we got what we expected -- horses that don't do anything but a very, very slow walk. Bu what we didn't expect was a guide who treated us all like we were kids, had zero personality, and spoke like he had said the same exact thing a thousand times. As for the horses, they were all lined up and tied up with a rope so tight that they couldn't move their heads. It was a slow weekday in November, so we were saddened to think they would be forced to stay like that all day waiting to go out on a ride, with saddles on them all day too.We toured the inside of the main lodge, they consider it rustic, it just looked very old to us. We asked to see what a room looked like and we were told to go online to look at pictures!! We for sure won't be going back to stay or ride again!