9 horse-drawn carriage tours to try in North Carolina

Get out in the open air with these horse-drawn carriage rides offered throughout North Carolina. 

There’s something about the sound of a horse’s hooves clodhopping along a cobblestone street that brings us right back to a time when that was all our ancestors had for transportation. While we now live in a more advanced technological age, there will always be a certain joy that comes with riding on a horse-drawn carriage. 

While Christmastime is the most popular season for sleigh rides, there are opportunities for horse-drawn carriage tours offered year-round throughout the Tar Heel State. 

We’ve compiled the nine best tours we could find across the state, separated by region. 

Carriage rides in Western NC

Carriage Run Carriage Service

Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Blowing Rock

Price: $100 per passenger 

With 32 miles of carriage roads built throughout the property, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park serves as one of the most popular spots for horseback riding in all of North Carolina, but you don’t have to ride your own. 

Carriage Run Carriage Service offers two-hour tours around the park, with breathtaking views of the estate, which includes not only Cone’s historic manor but two man-made lakes, sprawling meadows with mountainous backdrops, the historic Cone Cemetery, apple orchards, and more. 

Biltmore Carriage Rides

Biltmore Estate, Asheville

Price: $40 per passenger

Biltmore Estate suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Helene, but it has fortunately reopened in some capacity for its renowned Christmas offerings, including carriage rides that allow passengers to take in picturesque views of the historic Biltmore House and its 8,000-acre backyard. 

While options are limited—the season is closed on one-hour rides and private rides—there are still 30-minute rides available on afternoons Friday-Sunday through Dec. 31 on a 12-person wagonette carriage along a route that provides stunning views of the estate and offers an opportunity to meet the horses.

Carolina Horse & Carriage

NC Clear Creek Adventures, Hendersonville

Prices vary

NC Clear Creek Adventures is the perfect spot for parents who want to provide their kids with a memorable experience on their special day. Along with the bevy of other offerings at the park—like crafts, zip-lining, slip-n-slide, and other water games—it also offers a 2.5-hour horse-drawn tour for up to 10 kids, turning any event into a timeless fairytale. 

The tour includes 30 minutes of prep time, during which participants get to feed the horses treats and get them ready, a 30-minute stop at the petting zoo, a 30-minute tour, and an hour for meal time in the party area. Other options include the Pony Party, which includes a 45-minute Cinderella Carriage tour and 45 minutes of “unicorn” rides. 

Explore Forest City Carriage Rides

Main Street, Forest City

Price: $50, up to four adults

Book a white Cinderella carriage for a magical ride to see over a million holiday lights along the historic Main Street of Forest City. Carriages can seat up to four adults or fewer adults plus additional children. Rides last 15 minutes, departing from the concession stand behind POPS in Huntley Alley. 

Time is limited on this holiday ride, as the first two weekends have already passed. Sales for the final weekend, Dec. 20-21, go live on Dec. 16. 

Carriage rides in the Piedmont

Southern Breezes Carriages

Union County

Prices vary

Formerly known as Charlotte Center City Carriage Tours, this company rebranded as Southern Breezes Carriages following the COVID-19 pandemic. They no longer offer tours of Uptown Charlotte but are still offering rides by appointment in the Union County suburbs south of the city, including downtown Waxhaw, Monroe, and just over the border in Rock Hill, South Carolina. 

The company keeps Belgium and Percheron horses to pull a fleet of beautiful Amish-built carriages, including Victorians, limo carriages, Vis-A-Vies, hotel surreys, sleighs, wagons, and hearse wagons. They also offer Country Carriage Rides at their scenic Draft horse farm in the Union County countryside.   

AJ Carriage Rides

Raleigh

Price: $75

AJ Carriage & Livery’s horse-drawn carriage rides will transport you back in time to the Wild West with a touch of modern elegance and class, offering scenic tours through the state capital or the Queen City. Create memories with the company’s Date Night Thursdays.

Glide through Raleigh’s picturesque neighborhoods, immersed in the tranquility that horses provide. Explore the city’s hidden gems from a unique perspective, where every trot and turn reveals a new story to those who listen with an open heart. 

Pinehurst Carriage Tours

Pinehurst Village Resort

Price: Unknown

In between rounds of golf, journey back into Pinehurst’s history and tradition by stepping into period-appropriate transportation boasting exactly one horsepower. 

Seated aboard plush carriages helmed by knowledgeable guides, you’ll roll leisurely through the charming streets of the Village of Pinehurst, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed designer of New York’s Central Park and the aforementioned Biltmore estate. 

Carriage rides in Eastern NC

Springbrook Farms Horsedrawn Tours

Downtown Wilmington

Prices vary

Springbrook Farms operates first as a rescue for Percheron draft horses, providing tours of historic downtown Wilmington as a way to get their rescued horses some exercise and fund opportunities for the company to rescue more.

Springbrook’s friendly, knowledgeable, uniformed guides describe Wilmington’s history and the famous personalities who have lived and visited there as passengers leisurely ride past the stately mansions and homes of the city’s elegant downtown. Private tours are available with carriage, trolley, and evening coaches year-round.

Beary Merry Carriage Tour

New Bern

Prices vary

The famed Carriage Tours of Savannah make a trip north for the holidays to host horse-drawn carriage tours through the decorated downtown of New Bern. Options include group rides on a wagonette for $12-$25 or private rides for $119-$149 to take in the mesmerizing Christmas lights. Act now, as the fine folks from Savannah will only be in town through Dec. 23.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.