Southern Cross Guest Ranch

Our entire guest experience could not have been better! At checkin Karen gave us a thorough tour of the lovely common, recreation and dining areas and escorted us to our spacious room! The attention to all details was outstanding…beautiful decor, 24 hour snacks, delicious food, friendly staff and, of course, the opportunity to interact with the horses and ride. We will definitely return to this outstanding lodging!!

I’ve been fortunate to travel widely staying at many properties. This was an exceptional experience in every respect. No negatives!!!!

The ranch location is very good. Only an hour from Atlanta, yet a world away. A peaceful charming location, with Madison only a short drive away offering small town Southern charm. Lovely room, very clean, comfortable & stylishly decorated. With great view overlooking horse paddock. The pool area was nice, and the games room offered a good selection of activities. It was lovely to have access to the horses in the paddock & to also see them in the stables area.

Having previously stayed on a number of wonderful guest ranches in Arizona & Texas, this was our first time on a Southern ranch. We were looking forward to experiencing some typical Southern hospitality. Sadly this wasn’t the case. We found the overall atmosphere to be cold & not particularly genuine or welcoming. We were on the bed & breakfast plan, and the bell rang for breakfast at 8am sharp. And guests were expected down at that time. On our first morning we didn’t make it down until 8.20, and the hot food offerings were cold by then. So the next morning we made it down dead on 8am hopeful for a hotter breakfast. But even then the hot food was already cooling. Fine if you like cold food. We didn’t ride because we’d ridden a lot a few weeks prior on a ranch in Arizona, but we did enjoy watching the other guests get ready for a ride & saw them start off for the ride. It all looked very suitable for beginner riders. But intermediate or experienced riders might find the slow pace of everything frustrating.

My friend and I just spent 3 wonderful days at Southern Cross ranch and I can’t say enough about the place, the staff and the food. We are both novice riders and the stable crew and trail guides were all so friendly and patient with us. We went on 4 great trail rides, visited with and fed the many horses in the pastures, took a dip in the pool and enjoyed some wonderful meals. The accommodations were great… you really felt like you were part of the ranch family. I highly recommend.

Wonderful to wonderful place. Relaxing and so nice! Have already recommend it to my office and all my friend

My daughter and I had a wonderful time at the Ranch. We're pet the horses, played with the cats and dogs who live there, she saw the most incredible stars at night. Breakfast was excellent and if you tell them you're diet restrictions they'll work with them. The rooms are beautiful and have character. There are tons of places to sit and relax. The only negative thing I would say is they had terrible 1-ply toilet paper. So we're definitely going back, but maybe I'll bring a roll or two.

We just spent two nights (one day, as we arrived late) at Southern Cross. The ranch is beautiful, the drive in with horses each side is superb. The rooms are nice and spacious. The rides are basic - if you’re an experienced rider and want something more challenging than trail rides/trotting then this probably isn’t the place for you. But they are very generous with the ride time and it’s two two hour rides per day on lovely forest trails. They also let you go off and explore on your own on the horses which is very cool and unusual. If you like buffet-style food it’s good, but we were a little disappointed that no alcohol was included and there was also no option to buy it - best to go well-stocked if you like a drink with your dinner. It’s a shame as there’s a lovely bar area although a defunct massage machine rather ruins it! There’s also no entertainment and very little to do after about 7pm. That makes it very relaxing but just worth bearing in mind. Overall, a lovely stay but a bit more variety of things to do would improve it.

Likes the uniqueness of the experience and the closeness to nature.

It's EXTREMELY rural, which is technically a positive attribute, but it created a bit of uncertainty.

The food was excellent. The staff very friendly. A very relaxing place to be. It all was wonderful.

Nothing. It was all excellent

My family and I loved this place! We will definitely be back.

Southern Cross is a nice ranch for beginner riders, those with kids, folks desiring a calm riding adventure, or to get a way for a couple of days. This is not a ranch for experienced riders. Grounds are beautiful, comfortable lodgings, delicious food, refreshing pool, and pleasant folks. Also, price is two to four times less than ranches out west. An experienced rider, this was my 7th ranch trip, all the others west of the big river. Was able to drive to Southern Cross, had read of it for years, and I decided to give a try, tying this into visiting other cities. Southern Cross does something unique and cool. It allows riders to fetch the horse from the pasture, bring it in to brush and tack (wranglers helping); and after the ride, reversing the process. Kids will luv that. Also, guests are permitted to walk into the pasture to chill with the horses. The nose to butt trail rides are quite tame. Mostly walking through dense woods, routes largely flat, and maybe a short canter or trot. Will see lots of deer that get very close and don’t run away. Afternoons hot my summer visit, only one canter up “canter hill.” I’ll emphasize this is great for newbies and inexperienced kids. Those with riding experience will be quite bored. Contrasting this with other ranches I’ve visited here are some of the differences. For some the views are breathtaking. The terrain incredibly challenging, riders are surprised how crazy steep the hills they are climbing up and down. At times a 100’ to 500’ drop to the right or left. More open land, there is much more trotting and cantering, and for the latter will easily canter a good distance, dodging brush, before slowing down. Even have cantered down hills. Some other ranches also have real cattle work where moving cows from pasture to pasture. That is a treat, and memorable. Southern Cross has around 6 miles of wooded trails, which during my 3 day stay I had done the same trails often. Out west some ranches trailer the horses and guests to other areas including national parks or other federal land, one ranch having I think close to 20 different trails. Even if new to horses, if desire significantly more challenging rides there are cattle ranches that can accomplish that such as The Hideout and Zapata. Southern Cross is excellent for whom it caters: kids and beginners. Saw lots there, including one parent/one child. I’d also suggest kid-friendly White Stallion in Arizona, which adds rock climbing, e-Bikes, shooting, archery, etc., and even a family rodeo. Other ranches also have stuff such as how to lasso, crafts such as making leather belts, country singers during the evening, etc. Overall, especially for the price, Southern Cross is a strong choice, including for those who want to sample riding for a few days to see if it’s something they enjoy, before heading to a ranch out West.