The wilderness around and on Mount Shasta beckons to equestrians with a penchant for trail rides. Many of the hiking trails in the Shasta-Trinity wilderness and the surrounding regions also allow horseback riders. You can bring your own horse up to the majestic mountain region, or you can look to one of the local stable spread across the countryside.

Shasta Cove Stables (800/662-3529, www.visitsiskiyou.org/shastacovestables, $35/hour, $155/day) can take you on the ride of your dreams, whether that’s a brief tour created by the stables or a multiday excursion into the back country planned by you and the stable together. Camps and lessons are available, focused on children.

Another outfit sits all the way up in Yreka is the Rockin Maddy Ranch (11921 Cram Gulch Rd., 530/340-2100, www.rockinmaddyranch.com, $45–175). Choose from the 90-minute Shasta View ride that features grand vistas of the mountain, or the 90-minute Shasta Lake ride.

For a more intense experience, take a full-day ride through the mountains, including tracks along rivers, past waterfalls, and with time to stop to fish while you’re out. Rockin Maddy allows smaller children to ride double on the same horse, and has a small herd of ponies for very small children. You can even book a hayride or a carriage ride.