Pony Ride and Adventure Park at Les Carroz

We’re spending the summer here in Les Carroz d’Arâches in neighbouring France and I was quick to revisit the pony rides that we did here a couple of years ago.

The Adventure Park that is in the middle of the pony ride course is now a viable option for both of our children who are now five and three years old. It so happened today that Miya asked to go on a pony ride, and Kai had asked to go to the Accrobranche. I said OK! mainly because it was going to be a crowd pleaser, including Luka, sort of. Plus it’s been ridiculously hot lately, 30°C+ so anything that is in the shade seems like a good plan, and these two plans are both in the shade, in the forest and dog-friendly.

Where to park

We were coming from down the mountain, so opted to park at the Spar car park just before you get into Les Carroz d’Arâches, which is located right next to the horse stables. The other option is to park at the public car park just past the Aquacîme swimming pool which is located at the end of Route de Mont Favy, located much closer to the Adventure park. If you are parking here, then go all the way to the end of the car park, nearest to the tennis club.

Pony Rides in Les Carroz

The horse stables is open during the summer months and is well equipped for English-speaking clientele with tiny humans who want to go on a pony ride. It costs €10 to take a pony for a 20-30 minute route around the forest which is well sign-posted. It is all off-road, meaning it’s on rocky gravel paths and quite undulating. In my previous post I did say it’s pram-friendly but it is really at the limit of what would be doable with a good all-terrain pram as there is some incline and decline along the route.

At these stables, it is the parent or guardian who takes the pony for a walk, not the staff, so be aware in case you prefer not to be in charge of a pony! Our pony Folie made a couple of stops suddenly, but she was happy to get going again with a little pat and encouragement. She was very good about stopping whenever we needed to (to let mountain bikers or other walkers past us, or go and get Kai signed up for Accrobranche, for example!) In my limited experience, I’ve noticed ponies can be a bit naughty and swerve off the path to eat grass or just suddenly stop, but you have to be a steady leader!

Kai had taken a few pony riding courses and pointed out to Miya that if she kicked the pony with her feet then it would make them go. Which worked! This actually really helped me out because it’s quite tiring to pull a pony who doesn’t want to walk.

Miya was very stable in the saddle despite a few sudden stops and downhill sections where Folie would go much faster. If it’s the first time for your child to do a pony ride, I would recommend having two adults to accompany the child and pony; one to lead the pony and one to ensure the child is stable in the saddle.

I very much like this laisser-faire set up though, because Luka can just be off the lead and mind his own business, sniffing the grass and walking alongside us, while we take the pony for a stroll. Some stables can be funny about the dogs being around, which is a major inconvenience for a family like us with a dog!

Watch out though, poor Luka got electrocuted on the fence as he was sniffing the grass right next to the horse fields. Luckily he was a bit shaken but didn’t run away and managed to regain his composure after a couple of minutes. Many dogs will get such a fright that they run off and can go missing for days after getting electrocuted on the field lines. So keep your dogs safe and keep them on a lead if required, especially given that the horse stables is situated fairly close to the main road leading into Les Carroz!

Accrobranche at Les Carroz

Once we set off from base, we took Folie the pony and walked along to the Accrobranche reception where I signed Kai up for the Green route, which involves an intermediate course including some short ziplines for €15. The junior route is much closer to the ground, meaning that parents can accompany and help the child where needed. This costs €10 and they get a different harness and buckles. The junior route is pitched at 2/3 year-olds to 5 year-olds.

There seems to be an unlimited time period for each entry. As long as your child is happy to go, you can stay as long as you want. Kai did the green course 3 times today, which took around one hour under the supervision of his visiting grandmother.

The junior course is about 1 metre off the ground and works on a system of two leads which are attached to the harness with carabiners on the end. You unbuckle one and hook it onto the next safety point before unbuckling the other to chase yourself along the route. Miya was getting a bit impatient with it, so it did require an adult to stay alongside her to ensure she was always attached to the safety line because she kept wanting to take both carabiners off the line at the same time!

The Green route was well within Kai’s comfort zone and he didn’t require any assistance however the every route beyond the Green route requires a pulley system that needs to be chased along the line so the child needs to be able to manage the pulley going from point to point.

The staff at the Accrobranche are very approachable and friendly. They will guide you and your child as required to make sure everyone is safe and having a great time!

You will need to make sure your child is wearing trainers as the course will be difficult to handle with sandals.

There is a small cafe at the reception here, however it has a very limited offering of a few different soft drinks and bottled water. They don’t sell any snacks. You can make your way to the Tennis Club reception which is a little hut by the tennis courts 200 metres or so away from the accorbranche which sells a slightly wider array of soft drinks and also ice cream.

It is pretty relaxed here and one of the staff even has a Weimeraner which is the cousin breed of a Vizsla, which Luka is. They didn’t seem to have any problems with Luka sitting by the fence off the lead while the kids were inside doing accrobranche. I just found that I needed to move Luka regularly to keep him out of the sun.

One of the staff even came to Luka with a bowl of water, which I thought was very sweet!

You will find here that there are often groups of summer camp or school children coming here. Also, the police on horse back can come through here as well as of course the aforementioned pony rides, so be aware that if you have a nervous dog, s/he will not enjoy being here on a busy day.

All in all, one or both of these activities together is turning out to be one of our regular rotations of things to do with the kids. A definite bonus that both of these establishments are dog-friendly.

Fun factor for child: 5/5 -Pony ride and accrobranche, with an option not too far away to get ice cream. What’s not to love!

Fun factor for dog: 2/5 - It’s a bit of a trick of a walk, because it’s not really a walk in the woods, however it is in the wood!! Least favourite part for Luka is the area around the horse stables and having to wait for the kids outside the Accrobranche.

Pram-friendly: Yes. Though the part up from the horse stables to the Accrobranche area is very challenging.

Water Access for dogs: No

Potable water: No

Baby changing facilities: No

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