Posted 2013-05-03 10:45 PM (#151771) Subject: Virginia horse trails and camps
Member
Posts: 29 Location: Kenesaw, NE
Do any of you know of any civil war battle fields etc. that have horse trails the public can use? How about horse camps that are close to some of the battle fields? How about any other good trails in Virginia?
Posted 2013-05-06 9:43 AM (#151809 - in reply to #151771) Subject: RE: Virginia horse trails and camps
Veteran
Posts: 282 Location: southcentral pennsylvania
Manassas Battlefield has many miles of well maintained trails. Petersburg, Va., also has miles of bridle trails. You can ride Antietam, but must follow the roads used by cars touring the battlefield. However, we rode our horses over Burnside Bridge....Wow! At Gettysburg, Big & Little Round Top trails are now closed. If you camp at Artillery Ridge, you can ride out and back one way, then the other, as there is no longer a large loop. Hopefully, after the 150th (this year), some original farm roads will be opened to once again provide a loop. Battles in the Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania area do not have bridle trails. As for horse camping, the only thing I can suggest is searching for horse motels.
Posted 2013-07-04 7:26 AM (#153132 - in reply to #151771) Subject: RE: Virginia horse trails and camps
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Southcentral, PA
Antietam Battlefield near Sharpsburg, MD also has an equestrian trail open to the public. There isn't a campground for horses in the immediate vicinity (that I know of) but Artillery Ridge in Gettysburg is definitely within a reasonable drive...and you can kill two birds with one stone by riding both Antietam & Gettysburg all in the same trip, from the same home-base campground. I've stayed at Artillery Ridge several times & have always found it to be a nice place. Well-maintained, pretty quiet, easy access to the battlefield trails, plenty of showers & flush toilets, etc. In fact, the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Assoc. (PQHA) is hosting their annual trail ride there again this year, Sept. 13th through Sept. 15th. I'm sending in my reservation today. I had a great time last year & the food was AWESOME! The Saturday PM pig roast is a definite "not to be missed" part of the ride!On that note, though, for those of you familiar with Manassas Battlefield.....this year is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg & I wanted to do a "Trails of the Blue & Gray" tour of my own making. I've ridden Gettysburg many times...and, as I said, will be riding there again this Fall with the PQHA. I plan to ride at Antietam sometime later this month. I would like to do Manassas Battlefield in October when the leaves are ablaze in color but I can't seem to find a campground nearby that has horse facilities. I've done Google & Bing searches for the past 3 days & really can't find anything. I would prefer to stay on the same property as my horse. I'm not a fan of boarding her somewhere & then going to a hotel or campground 10 miles down the road. I like to be where I know what is going on with my horse and who might be messing with her. I'd prefer a water/electric hook-up campsite but could do without as long as I'm able to find good accommodations for my mare & I can stay on the same property she is. I'd be ok with a B&B-style set-up but the few that I've found in the Manassas area are WAY fancier than I need & definitely appear to cater to the money-laden blue-blood fox-hunting crowd. I know a simple country girl like me who rides Western on a bulldog-style, cowpony App would feel very uncomfortable in that environment.Can anyone recommend any horse-friendly campgrounds in or around Manassas Battlefield?
Posted 2013-07-08 2:51 PM (#153222 - in reply to #151771) Subject: RE: Virginia horse trails and camps
New User
Posts: 4
Location: Virginia
I live about 45 minutes from the Manassas Battlefields and used to board our two horses right adjacent to the Battlefied for years before we moved out to "the country." I have to say I can't think of anywhere you can camp with your horse in NoVA. That area really is just DC suburbs now. The only place that comes to mind is Hunters Rest in Flint Hill, but that may be pricey. How about staying out off of Rt. 81 in the GW Forest? Then you can do a day trip into Manassas. Look at http://www.fortvalleystable.com/.
Virginia horse trails and camps
