{"id":848,"date":"2025-06-13T13:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T13:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plu.jxc.mybluehost.me\/website_d81d5090\/?p=848"},"modified":"2025-06-30T14:42:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T14:42:52","slug":"horseback-riding-near-yosemite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winklerpartyofthree.com\/staging\/4408\/horseback-riding-near-yosemite\/","title":{"rendered":"Horseback Riding Near Yosemite: Our Accidental Adventure:"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We thought we were going to Yosemite. Instead, we found ourselves on horseback in the mountains above Sonora. Kennedy Meadows gave us the kind of unplugged, family-friendly adventure we didn\u2019t know we needed. Here's how a traffic jam unexpectedly turned into our favorite experience of horseback riding near Yosemite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Yosemite Traffic That Turned Us Around<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We were supposed to be in Yosemite. We had made it all the way to the top of the switchbacks above the town of Groveland when we hit the wall\u2014literally, a line of cars just waiting to get into the park. Not El Capitan. Not Yosemite Valley. Just the gate. We were 22 miles out from anything worth seeing, and stuck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Real Life Co-Parenting Traveling Advise <\/span>

\"Check for Busy Dates\"<\/em><\/h3><\/div>
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(Pro tip: maybe don\u2019t try to visit Yosemite on Father\u2019s Day the same year it gets its largest snowfall in 20 years.)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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From Barstools to Backroads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, we turned the car around and drove to Sonora to get something to eat. Cate was tired, cranky, and disappointed. None of this had gone how we planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoping to lift our spirits a bit, we pulled up Yelp and found a place called The Armory<\/em>. Surprisingly, it turned out to be tucked inside an old icehouse with more personality than most entire towns. The building once served as a World War II armory. Later, it became a brewery. Then a B&B. Now, it\u2019s a cozy, eclectic bar with more personality than most towns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I was talking with the bartender, she asked what we were up to. I told her about the traffic jam into Yosemite, how we turned around, and how disappointed my daughter was. Clearly, she could see Cate was bored and restless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when fate handed us a Plan B. As we got to talking, she shared that she used to go horseback riding in Kennedy Meadows as a kid. \"You know what you should do?\" she said, casually sliding a drink across the bar. \"Check out Kennedy Meadows. It\u2019s up in the mountains past Pinecrest Lake<\/a>\u2014horses, cabins, zero stress.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan B is in Action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I immediately called Kennedy Meadows Resort & Pack Station<\/a> to try and save the day. To my surprise, they still had trail ride spots open. I booked a 4-hour guided ride for the next day. Cate\u2019s mood lifted\u2014fast. We had a plan again, and it was something she actually wanted to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bartender also mentioned Pinecrest Lake<\/a>, a spot just up the road where the locals swim. She warned us the water would be cold. That turned out to be the understatement of the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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