Funny Husky Sledding in the City

Photo Credit: Alpine Air Alaska Dogsledding

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Dog Sledding in Alaska  (:54)

You're speeding through Alaskan forest, sitting on a sled that's being pulled by some of Alaska's most powerful creatures. This is dog sledding—and it's not only an Alaskan tradition, but also a state obsession, one that's celebrated every March with the running of the 1,150-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. Taking a dogsledding excursion is a chance to see what the fuss is all about. You'll meet Iditarod racers and their dogs and hear what it's like to run this brutal race. And often, you'll experience the thrill of dogsledding first-hand.

This is an outing you can do from Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks, Girdwood, and Juneau. Options vary, but usually include touring the kennels of these champion dogs, seeing how they're trained, and cuddling their puppies. Many Iditarod racers and champions have tours, so you'll hear a first-person account of what it's like to travel through some of Alaska's harshest terrain. Most of these tours are great for kids, but they're geared for all ages.

Three Different Kinds of Tours

• Party on wheels (summer). You'll visit a kennel and be surrounded by the cacophony of dogs, meet team members and cuddle some of the puppies. You typically get to ride on one of the wheeled carts (on the ground, not snow) that the dogs use for training
• Flying to, and riding on the snow (summer). You'll combine about 20 minutes of dog sledding on a glacier with either a fixed-wing plane or helicopter flightseeing trip. These trips are pricier: $250 and up.
• Dog Mushing (winter). These trips are typically November - March, depending on snow conditions. You'll be given the option to ride in the sled or take your turn behind the sled and mush through the winter wonderland.

Price Range

$70+ summer kennel tours, $140+ winter dog mushing, $499+ summer glacier dog sledding

Where to Go

Here are the most common spots and a popular tours:

Fairbanks View All

Year-round tours in Fairbanks and near the North Pole; in winter take an exclusive aurora dog sledding trip

1

Season: Year Round $80+ per person 30+ min - Multi-Day

Take part in the thrill of win­ter and fall dog sled­ding out of Fair­banks. You'll expe­ri­ence the sport with one of Alaska's longest-run­ning dog tour com­pa­nies. Go for a ride, attend mush­ing school, or go on a mul­ti-day adven­ture to the his­toric Tolo­vana Roadhouse.

2

Season: November–March (depending on snow conditions) $79+ per person 1/2 - 8 hrs

Glide over the snow on a sled that's being pulled by a team of dogs — many of whom have run the Idi­tar­od, Yukon Quest, or oth­er races. Go with Rod's Alaskan Guide Ser­vice and expe­ri­ence the thrill of dog sled­ding with dogs that love to run and pas­sion­ate mush­ers who will offer a deep­er under­stand­ing of this unique sport.

3

Season: Year Round $75+ Dogsled Tours 1-3 hrs

Plen­ty of peo­ple come to Fair­banks to look at the sky — for north­ern lights, or to bask in the mid­night sun. But this dog-mush­ing expe­ri­ence out­side of Fair­banks is proof that there's plen­ty more of Fair­banks to be seen at eye — or even paw — lev­el. May through Octo­ber, take a a trail ride with 16 dogs hitched up to an ATV. Novem­ber through April, take a mush­ing tour through the snow!

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Skagway View All

Glacier dog sledding in summer

4

Season: May 09 to Aug 18 $549+ 2 hrs

Dog sled­ding on a glac­i­er is the ulti­mate blend of Alaskan adven­ture, as you also get there by heli­copter! Board aTEM­SCO flight that whisks you thou­sands of feet above sea lev­el to the Den­ver glac­i­er and a dog mush­ing camp hid­den away on a snow field, where Alaskan sled dogs will greet you ener­get­i­cal­ly, ready to take you on the ride of your life.

5

Season: Apr 26 to Sep 30 3 ¼ hrs

Expe­ri­ence the thrill of sum­mer­time dog mush­ing — on a wheeled sled — out of Skag­way, and meet the amaz­ing dogs and pas­sion­ate mush­ers behind this icon­ic Alaskan sport. After the ride you'll get chance to absorb the knowl­edge and pas­sion of the mush­ers, as one of them presents on their unique expe­ri­ences and answers any ques­tions you have. After that, it's time to cud­dle some puppies!

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Seward View All

Meet with sled dogs in their kennel and take a wheeled cart ride through forested Resurrection River Valley or take a fly-in glacier tour

6

Season: May 01 to Aug 31 $519 per person 1.5 hrs

Expe­ri­ence the unique thrill of sum­mer dog sled­ding on a glac­i­er! Lift off in a heli­copter and enjoy incred­i­ble views on your way to this amaz­ing adven­ture. Want more time in the air? Add a flight­see­ing excur­sion before or after your dog sled­ding experience!

7

Season: Year Round $79+ summer, $199+ winter 1 hr+

Go behind the scenes with Idi­tar­od mush­ers and get your own thrilling ride with the dogs at Turn­ing Heads Ken­nel. Choose a sum­mer dog demon­stra­tion and cart ride, or whisk off by heli­copter for glac­i­er dog sled­ding. Win­ter brings its own vari­ety of tours, which range from an hour long to mul­ti-day expe­di­tions near Wil­low, Alaska.

8

Season: Mid-May to Mid-September $99+ 1.5 to 6 hrs

Vis­it Idi­tar­od cham­pi­on Mitch Seavey's home­stead, home to three gen­er­a­tions of Idi­tar­od mush­ers. Expe­ri­ence an excit­ing two-mile dog sled ride, tour the rac­ing ken­nel, meet the dogs, cud­dle adorable husky pup­pies, and lis­ten to sto­ries from the Idi­tar­od trail. Then climb aboard a cus­tom-designed sled; an Idi­tar­od race fin­ish­er dri­ves you through rain­for­est to a riv­er-cut canyon sur­round­ed by mountains.

9

Season: May - Mid September $219+ Glacier Landing, $549 Glacier Dog Sledding 30 - 90 mins

The port city of Seward is a clas­sic stop on any Alas­ka itin­er­ary, thanks to its prox­im­i­ty to Chugach Nation­al For­est and Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park. But it's also one of the more diverse places to fly. This tour oper­a­tor offers stun­ning birds-eye views of the area's alpine mead­ows, glac­i­ers and fjords, as well as the chance to touch down, explore the ter­rain and even meet sled dogs.

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Anchorage (Tours depart from nearby Girdwood and Willow) View All

Tours depart from nearby Girdwood (45 min drive) or Willow (1.5 hr drive). Several companies provide a shuttle from Anchorage.

10

Season: May 23 to Sep 01 $162 per person 3 hrs

Vis­it and snug­gle real Idi­tar­od sled dogs with their mush­er on this unique sum­mer­time tour. After tour­ing their ken­nel, you'll har­ness up and explore trails along Gird­wood's moun­tains which offer spec­tac­u­lar views while your guide offers fas­ci­nat­ing gold min­ing his­to­ry in the area.

11

Season: Year Round Summer: $75+ | Winter: $150+ 2+ hrs

Win­ter or sum­mer, expe­ri­ence the thrill of run­ning Idi­tar­od sled dogs and even have a chance to dri­ve! Meet the sled dogs and hear first-hand just what it's like to run the Iditarod.

12

Season: November - March $299+ 8 - 9 hrs

Every­body loves sled dogs, and Salmon Berry Tours offers you the chance to get behind the sled year-round. In sum­mer and win­ter, you'll head to the ken­nel of Idi­tar­od Cham­pi­on Dal­las Seavey, where you'll see a gear demon­stra­tion, meet the dogs, and ride on the sled behind them. They also have a mul­ti-day adven­ture for Idi­tar­od enthusiasts.

13

Season: Winter $169+ 1 - 8 hours

Expe­ri­ence the excite­ment of rac­ing cham­pi­on sled dogs at the Alas­ka Mush­ing School, just 75 min­utes from Anchor­age. Get a professional's insight into the mush­ing lifestyle as you ride behind a team of ener­getic sled dogs on trails con­nect­ed to the famous Idi­tar­od route. Bun­dle up and ride in com­fort, or brave the cold and dri­ve the team yourself!

14

Season: May 01 to Aug 31 $549 2 hrs

Ratch­et up the adven­ture fac­tor and try your hand at dogsled­ding. Alpine Air Alas­ka flies to a dog camp run by the old­est estab­lished dog-sled tour busi­ness in Alas­ka. With a shut­tle option avail­able from Anchor­age, you'll trav­el by heli­copter from Girdwood's green forests up over a small sad­dle to land on a glac­i­er and be intro­duced to the dog team. ​"Dri­ve" the dogs your­self, or sit in the sled and enjoy hang­ing glac­i­ers that sur­round you.  ...more

15

Season: Year Round $59+ 1-3.5 hrs

Sum­mer or win­ter, vis­it a fam­i­ly-run cham­pi­on ken­nel, meet friend­ly dogs and an expe­ri­enced mush­er for a ride along pri­vate trails with views of Denali. Opt to ride in the sled or mush your own. Or, for a tru­ly authen­tic adven­ture, go on a train­ing run for the Idi­tar­od! Large groups and spe­cial events wel­come when orga­nized in advance.

16

Season: May 01 to Sep 30 $569+ 1.5 hrs

Stun­ning scenery, a thrilling ride and hap­py pup­pies: this tour out of the Anchor­age area offers an unbeat­able com­bi­na­tion of clas­sic Alas­ka expe­ri­ences that will delight fam­i­lies or — real­ly, any­body. Tak­ing a total of about 90 min­utes, and run­ning from mid-May to ear­ly Sep­tem­ber, this tour includes a Flight­see­ing round trip, a small friend­ly group envi­ron­ment, and plen­ty of one-on-one time with the dogs and their mushers.

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Juneau View All

Take a glacier dog sled across a glacier

17

Season: May 02 to Aug 31

Get great views with some hands-on fun — com­bine a scenic flight­see­ing heli­copter tour with the exhil­a­ra­tion of dog mush­ing on a glac­i­er with a team of huskies! It's easy to do — just go with North­Star Trekking on their Juneau Glac­i­er Dog Sled Adven­ture. You'll fly over the Juneau Ice­field for about 35 min­utes and land in a sled camp on the snow-cov­ered mid­dle branch of the Nor­ris Glacier

18

Season: May 02 to Sep 30 $329+ 2-3 hrs

A tour aboard aTEM­SCO heli­copter offers beau­ti­ful views of Alaska's Cap­i­tal City, and up-close explo­ration of Menden­hall, one of the state's most acces­si­ble glac­i­ers. Look out on alpine lakes, moraines, and crevass­es before you land and check out the Juneau Ice­field for yourself.

19

Season: May 06 to Sep 09 $549+ 1.5 hrs

Hop on aTEM­SCO heli­copter for an Alaskan adven­ture com­bin­ing avi­a­tion, sled dogs and mas­sive glac­i­ers. Get an amaz­ing view of the gor­geous land­scape sur­round­ing Juneau, and then ride along as an ener­getic team of huskies tours you around the ancient, snow-packed Menden­hall glacier.

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Source: https://www.alaska.org/things-to-do/dog-sledding

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