San Miguel de Allende Horseback Riding: A Coyote Canyon Adventures Review

Note: This post was written in collaboration with Coyote Canyon Adventures (CCA). All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

During our six-week visit to San Miguel de Allende city in May and June 2022, we had the opportunity to go on a horseback riding adventure with another family.

Our group was given an English-speaking guide to take us through the day’s activities.

Office Location: Zacateros 54, Zona Centro, 37700 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Excursion Location: A canyon near Boca de la Cañada, Guanajuato, Mexico

Price per Person: $2,650 pesos ($155 USD); kids are charged at full price

Times: Departs San Miguel de Allende at 9 am and lasts 8 hours

San Miguel de Allende Horseback Riding: What’s Included

All-day tours start on a local ranch in Boca de la Cañada, which is located outside San Miguel de Allende.

Before enjoying a traditional Mexican breakfast overlooking a beautiful nature scene, participants get to make tortillas and salsas by hand.

Note: The breakfast takes place at a local family’s private home. There are no restrooms available until you get to the stables.

If you have never ridden a horse before or it’s been a while, don’t worry. A quick horseback riding lesson precedes the actual horseback riding in San Miguel de Allende.

Halfway through the horseback ride, your group will get to explore the riverbed and search for quartz geodes. During this time, the cowboys assisting the CCA guide make lunch on the trail.

San Miguel de Allende Horseback Riding: Things to Know

Rappelling. It is listed on the website as an option, but it is an extra cost. We elected not to do it because we weren’t sure how we’d feel after an all-day trail ride.

This was the right choice. We were all pretty tired after the rest of the all-day excursion.

Wear pants and closed-toe shoes. The canyon is rocky and some plants overhang the trail on the edge.

You need proper body protection to prevent your legs from chafing on the horses as well as to keep you from getting scratches.

Bring sun protection. Long sleeve shirts, sunglasses, sun hats are all really helpful in addition to sunscreen.

You will be outside all day long in the sun. Even with wearing sunscreen and sunhats, a few of us got mild sunburns.

Stay hydrated. Two large bottles of water are included. However, you may want to put extra in a backpack just in case.

👉 I love this water bladder day pack! I can pack daily essentials in it, too.

Saddle Safety for Kiddos. For younger kids who may have trouble staying in the saddle, Coyote Canyon Adventures provides straps and harnesses to help them stay on the horse.

This makes the excursion family-friendly even for those with younger children. The two older, elementary-age kids on our tour did fine sitting in the saddle without assistance.

Bathrooms. The only bathrooms are at the stables. It is a simple outhouse. You can use these before you go on the horseback ride or after you return.

For emergencies, bring your own toilet paper and a ziplock bag to put it in, Anything you carry in must also be carried out of the canyon since there are no trash cans on the trail.

Pros & Cons of San Miguel de Allende Horseback Riding

Overall, we and our friends agree that the pros far outweigh the cons when going horseback riding in San Miguel de Allende. The pros are pretty amazing.

None of the cons are bad enough that I would suggest not booking a horseback riding excursion with Coyote Canyon Adventures.

However, in the spirit of being fair, I do list everything about the excursion we wouldn’t give a full five stars.

The Pros

🟢 Locally Owned and Operated

Coyote Canyon Adventures only owns the six horses that its guides use to lead tours.

All the horses that tour participants use are leased by the company from the cowboys who co-lead the tours with the guides. All the cowboys live in the town.

From the family who owns the farm where the breakfast activities take place to the horses ridden through the canyon, Coyote Canyon Adventures’ tourism business provides a regular stream of income for many local people.

🟢 Tortilla & Salsa Making

Immediately after arriving on the farm, we got to meet all the animals. There were chickens, goats, horses, and donkeys.

The kids loved being able to pet them all! They even got to hold the friendly rooster and one of the baby goats.

Afterward, we washed our hands and got to grind tomato salsa by hand in a molcajete. Little Man and his friend didn’t spend as much time on this because it was ‘hard work’ (it wasn’t difficult!) so the dads took turns finishing the salsa.

The best part, by far, was tortilla making. The dough was already prepared when we arrived, but the kids and adults alike had a blast hand pressing tortillas and putting them on the fire to cook.

Little Man even delayed breakfast to make just one more!

🟢 Meals

Both breakfast and lunch are included in the all-day horseback riding tour. They are each traditional, Mexican meals that taste really good. At breakfast, we got to eat the salsa and tortillas we made!

Breakfast consisted of cheese quesadillas, eggs with potatoes scrambled in, veggies, beans, fresh nopales, salsa, tortillas, coffee, and water. They also served us orange slices for dessert.

Lunch was similar to breakfast but without coffee. In addition, we also had the option of fresh guacamole to go with our tortillas.

Little Man may have had a ‘guacamole taco’ for lunch since we established in Mexico City that he’s obsessed with it.

🟢 Staff

We were assigned a tour guide on arrival in Boca de la Cañada. She stayed with us the entire day. On arrival in the stables, we were joined by three cowboys.

One owned the horses we rode that day and the other two worked with him on tours. Each of them was incredibly friendly and welcoming. We really enjoyed their company during our excursion.

The office staff members are also very kind. In both arranging our excursion and on the day we met at the office to go to the canyon, everyone we encountered was helpful and so nice.

It was also very helpful that the office staff and even several of the cowboys spoke English, as our conversational Spanish still needs improvement. We’re working on it, though!

🟢 Views

The farm overlooks part of the canyon. It has a beautiful spot to enjoy breakfast while enjoying a stellar view. It was a breathtaking way to start the day.

Getting to the top of the canyon was also pretty exciting. While it doesn’t compare to a natural world wonder like the Grand Canyon, I certainly wouldn’t say it was boring to look at!

After arriving at the top of the canyon, we gave the horses a rest and spent a bit of time admiring the views. By the time we left, I still wasn’t sick of staring out at the canyon.

It was truly lovely. And I bet during the summer months, it’s even prettier with the river running below.

The Cons

🔴 Egg Gathering

Although the website itinerary said we would get to gather eggs for our breakfast, they had already been gathered when we arrived.

Little Man was disappointed because he hasn’t gathered eggs since our NE Tennessee house sit in 2019.

Ultimately, not having egg gathering on our itinerary gave us more time to enjoy making tortillas. And the kids still got to engage with the chickens, and the goats, so they were pretty happy with our farm experience.

🔴 Roping Lesson & Demo

The website itinerary also said there would be roping lessons and cattle herding demonstrations. Neither the guide nor the cowboys initiated this during our rest atop the canyon or during lunch along the river.

We asked about it upon returning to the stables, thinking it would be an end-of-day activity.

There must have been some miscommunication because I guess this only happens if there are cows present at the first rest break.

Note: There were plenty of cows on the river but none on top of the canyon.

The cowboys were really great, though, when they saw the kids’ disappointment. David suggested they rope him instead of cows, and so they did a demonstration right there at the stables!

Neither of the kids were brave enough to try roping, but they got a kick out of being roped. Little Man and I were even roped together by the lead cowboy. I was surprised to learn that it doesn’t hurt at all!

🔴 Swimming

Unfortunately, swimming in the river is only available during the rainy season. We did our tour during the shoulder time, so there wasn’t enough rain yet to fill the river.

We knew in advance that this wouldn’t be included, at least.

This con is not at all because of Coyote Canyon Adventures. It’s fully dependent on the time of year, and is just something to keep in mind when you are booking your tour.

The plus side of not being able to swim is we were more easily able to find some cool quartz geodes in the dried up riverbed during our lunch break. The kids felt this was a worthwhile tradeoff.

🔴 Trail Difficulty

There are several levels of trails. Because we were doing the excursion with a pair of nine-year-old kids, we were taken on the easiest trail. While it is easiest, it is still not for the faint-hearted.

You will ride into the canyon along the river, up the wall of the canyon on a series of switchback trails, then back down the canyon wall on a different path before returning to the stables along the river the way you came.

The path up is steep, and the horses sometimes have to take parts of it at a bit of a run. During the pre-ride lesson, the guide does explain all this.

They give excellent advice to trust your horse. However, it still may be a bit intimidating for some people.

Conclusion: San Miguel de Allende Horseback Riding

Horseback riding is certainly one of the most unique things to do in San Miguel de Allende.

Overall, we really enjoyed our day, as did the family who accompanied us.

Bottom Line: We do recommend horseback riding in San Miguel de Allende with Coyote Canyon Adventures.

To ensure you know what to expect during your excursion, be sure to confirm in advance what activities from those listed on the website will be included.

After all, some are seasonal and some are an extra cost.