Heritage Ranch is saddling up to be the perfect place for date night.
Manager Joel Martens said he has acquired five carriages that will take couples, double dates or groups of eight to 12 through the ranch area on the city’s west side.
Martens said they are now taking bookings for “the carriage date package,” a ride down to the lower pasture, which also comes with a picnic basket. Couples can take a ride or go out on a double date.
“We want to bring people in and let them know it’s a really nice place to go for an evening out — to go out as a couple.”
The carriage rides will begin on June 10, with prices ranging from $65 to $125. The rustic wagonette and royal four-seat carriages come with steak dinner for guests numbering eight or more.
“We have a couple of double-decker carriages . . . they are quite a spectacle,” said Martens.
Primarily, those ones will be used to bring people from Tourism Red Deer/Alberta Sport Hall of Fame centre along Hwy 2 and into the recreational and equestrian area, just on the east side of the sports facility.
The objective is to allure people off Hwy 2 to come and see what Heritage Ranch and the surrounding natural area is all about. The underused attraction is owned by the City of Red Deer.
Each double-decker carriage will hold up to 22 people. These are new replicas of those that would have been used in England in the late 1800s, Martens said.
Martens, an experienced horseman, took over the managerial post of Heritage Ranch on April 1. As part of his role, he’ll help the city embark on $4.4 million of capital improvements earmarked with the Heritage Ranch 2009 Concept Plan. The plan for the 215-acre parcel includes adding camping and upgrading the ranch’s visitor centre.
The restaurant hours have expanded. It runs 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
“We’ve got really good meals coming out of there, especially at lunch time,” Martens said. “Right now, that’s where we’re focused.”
As before, the ranch will provide pony rides for the children and summer day camps. Birthday parties continue to be popular.
Also new this season will be kayak rentals. People will be able to use them in the fish pond in the lower pasture.
Martens said he’s also looking at allowing individuals to take them on the Red Deer River, and then Heritage Ranch would pick the customers up at a point down the river.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com