Griffith Park Pony Rides: 10 Parent Tips

Pony rides at Griffith Park are a great idea when you have kids home at any time throughout the year! Read on for 10 tips to have a great experience!

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Ten Tips for a great day:

Tip 1: Verify requirements to ride.

There are differing minimum age, height, and weight requirements for each type of pony ride. Make sure to check these out before making the drive out to Griffith Park Pony Rides.

Tip 2: Plan ahead to avoid lines.

You must buy a ticket for each ride. One ticket gets your child two laps around for the pony rides. Buy multiple tickets if you know your kid will want to ride more than 2 laps. The employees will allow your kid to stay on the horse and keep riding rather than get off and wait in line again for another ride.

Tip 3: Make sure your kid is willing to get on a horse without your help.

Parents are not allowed to help kids onto the horses in the pony ride area. Once your kid gets past the fence line, an employee will walk your child to a pony and assist them in getting onto the horse. Therefore, make sure that your child will be ok with this set up.

Tip 4: Protect sensitive skin.

You might want to have your kid wear pants to ride the horses. Naturally, their skin will make contact with the horses and it gets pretty dusty at the stable. If your kid has sensitive skin, the pants are a good idea 😉

Tip 5: Don’t stress if your kids ride the “fast” ponies.

There are slow, medium, and fast lanes for the pony rides. Although the “fast” lane allows the horses to go at a nice gallop, there are men running alongside the horses in the event that they need to slow the horses down.

There are slow, medium, and fast pony lanes designated by wooden rails. The horses stay between these rails.

Mr. Jackson came along to keep an eye on his little sisters.

Tip 6: Stay close by to claim your kid when the ride is over!

Be sure to stand at the entrance/exit gate when your child’s pony ride ends. The staff member will help your child off of the pony and walk them back to the point at which your child entered to ride the ponies. They will not let your child exit until you pick them up from that point.

Tip 7: Know your options in case your kid is too scared to ride alone.

If you think your kid will be too scared to ride the ponies that are free running, there are other options.

The Pony-Go-Round is an area where there is a group of ponies that walk in a circle. Parents are aloud to walk along side their child for this ride. But beware: walking in there can be messy. You probably don’t want to wear sandals or shoes that you care about 😉 In my opinion, this ride is meant for toddlers. However, they allow kids up to 100 pounds according to the sign.

A third ride option is to ride on a wagon. There is no age minimum (or maximum). I have never taken a ride on the wagon, but have seen plenty of families do so.

Tip 8: Walk over to the miniature train!

There is a miniature train station right next to the pony rides! It is a family favorite and all ages can ride.

Tip 9: Take a short drive to treat your kids to the beautiful carousel!

Hop in your car and drive just a little further into the park where you will find an old-fashioned carousel!

Tip 10: Have a picnic after working up an appetite!

Take the opportunity to have a picnic! There are plenty of grassy areas nearby that are perfect for a picnic lunch. This would round out the day very nicely!