Camping with horses: your first trip
Yes, you can camp with a horse, at campgrounds that take stock. The trip comes down to four choices: a camp that allows horses, how the horse is kept overnight, water and feed, and the rules of the land where you camp. This page covers each with sources, and a 50 California horse campgrounds list from Ride's data. Packing list: horse camping checklist.
Where can I camp with my horse?
- For a first trip, choose well-established trails with water access and designated horse camping. [1]
- Check the land manager's rules, permits and horse camping regulations before you go. [1]
- Reservations differ by camp. Front-country stock sites need a reservation. Each site takes up to six people and six head, and each parking area is limited to two vehicles and two stock trailers. [2] At Lake Perris, book up to 6 months ahead and at least 2 days ahead. Vehicles need a parking pass from camp check-in, and the reservation covers one vehicle. [3]
- Some parks allow stock in only a few campgrounds: Yosemite lets private stock stay overnight in the front country only at Wawona, Bridalveil Creek and Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite Valley has no stock camp. [2] Ride has camp pages for Bridalveil Creek Horse Camp, Tuolumne Meadows Horse Camp, Wawona Horse Camp, and a Yosemite horse trails page.
In California, 50 public campgrounds list horse sites that Ride has gathered from agency records:
- 50 Northern California horse campgrounds on Ride. 14 camps publish a longest-rig limit, from 25 to 60 feet (median 37.5 feet).
- 14 camps where an agency says corrals are provided: Butte Lake Stock Corral, Carter Meadows Horse Group, Cuneo Creek Family Horse Camp, Devil's Gulch #1, Dru Barner Campground, Frank Valley Horse Camp, Hidden Horse Equestrian Campground, Juniper Lake Stock Corral, Martins Dairy Horse Camp, Packsaddle, Skillman, Snake Lake Campground and Equestrian Camp and 2 more.
- 5 camps where an agency says there is water for horses: Butte Lake Stock Corral, Devil's Gulch #1, Frank Valley Horse Camp, Martins Dairy Horse Camp, Skillman.
Counted when this page was built from the camps listed on horse camping in California. A camp is left out of a count when its agency doesn't say. Each camp page gives the agency's wording and link.
How do you keep a horse at camp overnight?
Camps with built-in corrals are the easiest. Where there are none, riders use one of the setups below. Check the camp's rules first: some require a hitch line or a portable corral and ban tying to trees.
Two guides go deeper: how to set up a horse highline and portable horse corrals for camping.
Highline
- A highline is a rope strung between two strong trees with tree savers to protect the bark. Hang it above the highest point the horse can raise its head, keep it fairly tight, and tie the loops about 6 feet apart so horses can't tangle. [4]
- Set a highline on high, rocky ground and move it during a long stay. Use lead ropes with swivels. [4]
- Modoc's highline advice: hang it about 7 feet up, use a tree-saver strap, tie with a quick-release knot, and pick hard, rocky ground, never a meadow or a spot next to water. [5]
- Teach the horse to stand on a highline at home, with other horses present, before camp. [4]
Electric fence, hobbles, picket line, tree
- Electric fence works for horses already trained to it: one highly visible, properly grounded strand. Introduce it at home first. Wildlife may not respect it, so tie horses to a highline overnight. [4]
- Hobbles go on the pasterns, not the cannons. Train on soft ground first, and don't count on hobbles alone to keep a horse near camp. [4]
- A picket line uses a 25 to 30 foot rope with a swivel, clipped to a hobble half on one front pastern (never the halter) and a stake. Train to hobbles first and move the picket often so it doesn't wear a bare circle. [4]
- Tying to a tree is for short stops only. Pick a solid live tree (no dead or burned ones, no sharp branches) and tie high and short, with 18 to 24 inches of slack at nose height. [4]
What camps in California provide
- Lake Perris State Recreation Area's horse camping has 7 primitive sites with a fire pit, picnic table and two corrals each, 1 or 2 horses per site, horse troughs, drinking water and chemical restrooms, and no hookups. [3]
- At front-country stock sites, use hitch lines or portable corrals, wrap the trees under the ropes, and tie stock so it can't chew bark or woody plants. [2]
Ridden here?
Ride is a free iPhone app for logging rides, built for trail rides out of cell range: GPS keeps recording with no signal and the ride syncs later. If an agency hasn't published something on this page and you know it, add it in Ride.
Free · iPhone · iOS 16.4+
How much water and feed does a horse need at camp?
- A horse not in work drinks about 10 to 12 gallons a day, and roughly double that in hot, humid weather. [6]
- Where the site has no water, bring about 10 gallons per horse per day. [1]
- Confirm where the water is before you leave. [1]
- Start feeding certified weed-free hay at home: some public land requires it, and an abrupt feed change can upset a horse's gut. [1]
- Check whether the area requires certified weed-seed-free feed, and read the tag: some feed cubes are certified and some are not. Get stock used to certified feed several days before the trip. [5]
- Weed-free feed is required at the front-country stock camps, and grazing there is banned. [2]
This page does not cover how much hay a horse eats or the weed-free rules of any one forest. Ask the camp's land manager, which publishes its own order.
What should you practice before the first trip?
- Do a dry run in your own pasture before the first trip, to test the whole setup. [1]
- Teach the horse to stand on a highline at home, with other horses present, before camp. [4]
- Start feeding certified weed-free hay at home: some public land requires it, and an abrupt feed change can upset a horse's gut. [1]
- Pick a first destination close to home, so you can cut the trip short. [1]
- Go with a friend or an experienced horse camper on the first trip. [1]
What are the rules for horses at a campsite?
They differ by land manager, so the numbers below are examples, not a standard.
- Distance from water: Yosemite's stock rules say to picket stock at least 100 feet from any stream, lake or spring. [2] The Modoc National Forest advises keeping pack animals at least 200 feet from streams, lake shores, trails and camps, and rotating stock around the area. [5] On that page the 200-foot figure is a requirement only in the South Warner Wilderness, where it covers gear too. The rest of its stock advice is written as advice, not as rules. [5]
- Manure: At front-country stock sites, rake and bag manure and leftover fodder every day and put it in the dumpsters. [2] In the wilderness, carry a shovel and rake and scatter manure when you clean up camp. [2]
- Rig security: Lock the truck and trailer, keep valuables out of sight, and park where the trailhead is busy and visible. [1]
Keep going
- Horse camping checklist: what to pack, grouped, with the source for each group.
- Portable horse corrals: panels, electric tape or a highline, what size and what it costs.
- Horse camping in California: every campground with rig length, corrals and season where agencies publish them.
Ridden here?
Ride is a free iPhone app for logging rides, built for trail rides out of cell range: GPS keeps recording with no signal and the ride syncs later. If an agency hasn't published something on this page and you know it, add it in Ride.
Free · iPhone · iOS 16.4+
Sources
- TrailMeister: https://trailmeister.com/from-hesitant-to-happy-horse-camper, fetched October 24, 2026
- National Park Service (Yosemite): https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/stock.htm, fetched October 24, 2026
- California State Parks (Lake Perris): https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=28032, fetched October 24, 2026
- Horse&Rider: https://www.horseandrider.com/horse-life/travel/horse-camping/horse-containment-while-camping-15649, fetched October 24, 2026
- USDA Forest Service (Modoc National Forest): https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/modoc/safety-ethics, fetched October 24, 2026
- eXtension Horses: https://horses.extension.org/how-much-water-does-a-horse-need/, fetched October 24, 2026