Maui offers spectacular adventure rides through rugged ranchlands, into tropical forests, and to remote swimming holes. For a 5 1/2-hour tour on horseback -- complete with swimming and lunch -- call Adventure on Horseback (tel. 808/242-7445 or 808/572-6211; www.mauihorsewhisperer.com); the cost is $185 per person, including a hearty lunch. The day begins over coffee and pastries, while owner Frank Levinson matches the horses to the riders in terms of skill and personality. Frank leads small groups across pastures, through thick rainforests, alongside streams, and up to waterfalls and pools. Frank recently added a "Maui Horse Whisperer Experience," which includes a seminar on the language of the horse, a morning snack, a big lunch, and an afternoon trail ride for $300 per person ($200 for 1/2 day; both versions can be extended with an optional ride for $50). No horse lover should pass it up.
If you're out in Hana, Oheo Stables, Kipahulu Ranch (a mile past Oheo Gulch), Kipahulu (tel. 808/667-2222; www.mauihorse.com), offers two daily rides through the mountains above Oheo Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools). The best deal is the 10:30am ride ($119), which includes a snack during the 3-hour adventure (2 1/2 hr. in the saddle) into Haleakala National Park. You'll stop at scenic spots like Pipiwai Lookout, where you can glimpse the 400-foot Waimoku Falls.
If you enjoy your ride, remember to kiss your horse and tip your guide.
Haleakala on Horseback -- If you'd like to ride down into Haleakala's crater, contact Pony Express Tours (tel. 808/667-2200 or 808/878-6698; www.ponyexpresstours.com), which offers a variety of rides down to the crater floor and back up, from $155 to $190 per person. Shorter 1- and 2-hour rides are also offered at Haleakala Ranch, located on the beautiful lower slopes of the volcano, for $60 and $105. If you book via the Internet, you get 10% off. Pony Express provides well-trained horses and experienced guides, and accommodates all riding levels. You must be at least 10 years old, weigh no more than 230 pounds, and wear long pants and closed-toe shoes.
Way Out on West Maui: Ranch Rides -- We recommend riding with Mendes Ranch & Trail Rides, 3530 Kahekili Hwy., 4 miles past Wailuku (tel. 808/244-7320; www.maui.net/~mendes). The 300-acre Mendes Ranch is a real-life working cowboy ranch that has the essential elements of an earthly paradise -- rainbows, waterfalls, palm trees, coral-sand beaches, lagoons, tide pools, a rainforest, and its own volcanic peak (more than a mile high). Allan Mendes, a third-generation wrangler, will take you from the edge of the rainforest out to the sea. On the way, you'll cross tree-studded meadows where Texas longhorns sit in the shade and pass a dusty corral where Allan's father, Ernest, a champion roper, may be breaking in a wild horse. Allan keeps close watch, turning often in his saddle to make sure everyone is happy. He points out flora and fauna and fields questions, but generally just lets you soak up Maui's natural splendor in golden silence. The morning ride, which lasts 3 hours and ends with a barbecue back at the corral (the perfect ranch-style lunch after a morning in the saddle), is $130; the 2 1/2-hour afternoon ride costs $85, including snacks.
