Alaska Dog Sledding
NEW YEAR’S DOG SLEDDING SPECIAL!

How are you ringing in your New Year? On the beach somewhere, Times Square, another loud crowded party? Do something unique for this special day, and ring in the New Year in a backcountry cabin with sled dogs, in the wilderness of Alaska. Denali Dog Sled Expeditions is offering one special New Years package, at a discounted rate. Book this trip for four people for three days. You will go through a day trip/training day on December 30, learning to drive a sled with our excellent guides and happy dogs. Then we’ll mush you to a cabin on Sushana River Cabin, to spend New Years Eve and ring in 2020. Food and gear is included (alcohol is not, but we will carry it for you!). Some additional costs for lodging and transportation at the beginning and end of the trip. We can add more people for an additional rate. Do something you will remember for the rest of your life! Contact Jon now to reserve. If this trip isn’t exactly right for you, we can set something else up, just let us know.

Cabin to Cabin Dog Sled Trips!

Denali Dog Sled Expeditions and EarthSong Lodge are now authorized to use all the backcountry hut system and some other cabins exclusively. This change allows us to offer trips up to ten days where every night is spend in a warm, comfortable backcountry cabin instead of camping. More space and comfort allows for a more enjoyable and safer trip, and each cabin is in a unique location. Cabins are available for dog sled passenger trips and cross-country ski-support trips.

Sushana River Trip – 3 Days

This is the perfect introduction to dog sledding in the Denali Wilderness area. The first day is spent at EarthSong Lodge, as an orientation and training day, with a short day trip on the sleds. The next two days you drive your own dog team to a backcountry cabin on the Sushana River, traveling along the historic Stampede Trail on the park’s northern boundary. The trip is for those who want a short adventure, driving their own sled and learning the art of dog mushing.
(discount for early season trips – December and January)Alaska Dogsled Tour Rates

Sushana River Cabin trip-4 Days

AK Dog Sled ToursOur Dog sled trips can take you in the shadow of Mt. McKinley (Denali)
This trip is similar to the Sushana River trip, but adds an extra night at the cabin. On the second day, we will take a day trip west into the Park. (discounted in December and January)

Stampede Trail 5 Cabin Trip – 5 Days

For the guests who are uncertain about winter camping, but want a more in-depth experience than the Sushana River trip, we offer a trip out the park north boundary along the historic Stampede Mining Trail. This trip is similar to the Sushana River trip, but goes another 20 miles further west into the Denali Wilderness, where we stay at a heated tent camp near the Toklat River. These two extra days afford guests closer views of Mt. McKinley, along with entering into an area of high wolf concentration. This trip is offered January through early April.

Toklat River Loop – 7 Days

The Toklat River Loop has been one of the most popular trips in our guiding history. After an orientation day at the lodge, we travel west along the Stampede Trail and the park north boundary taking the same route as the 5 Day Stampede trip to the Lower Toklat River. . The middle of the trip route is up the Toklat River, into the Denali Wilderness, to the park interior. The return follows the Park Road Corridor east to Denali National Park headquarters, where the trip ends. This adventure gives an excellent mix of open tundra, river bars, mountains, and passes. It also poses some exciting sledding challenges. The Toklat Loop is for people in good to excellent condition, as it has some moderately difficult sledding situations, and elevation gains that require physical activity. It also offers two days of day trips off the main route. The usual day excursions are to the summit of Stony Hill, for an exceptional view of Denali, and a trip up a glacier valley to one of the smaller glaciers descending from the Alaska Range. The flexibility allows us to go where the sledding is best. All nights except one in backcountry cabins/huts. (This trip offered February – early April).

Denali Wilderness Expedition – 10 Days

This 10 day trip is the longest we usually offer, and will take you on a grand tour through Denali National Park.  The specific route varies from year to year, depending upon the snow and trail conditions.  Some areas we usually visit are the Clearwater Fork that takes you the back way to Wonder Lake, Wonder Lake itself, McGonnagal Pass and the Muldrow Glacier, the Kantishna Mining District, and sometimes the South Side of the Alaska Range.  We feel this trip, no matter the itinerary, is the finest dog sledding expedition adventure offered anywhere.  Usually only one 10-day trip is offered each season.  The trip may also include flying one way to or from the Kantishna Airstrip, which includes a scenic flight over the park.

Wonder Lake Fly-out Expedition – 7 Days

Our newest popular trip, this is a one-way seven day trip through the park to Wonder Lake with a flight out by bush plane from the Kantishna Airstrip to Healy. Some trips go the opposite direction, flying in and mushing out.” Put this in as an alternate for the first sentence.   This trip allows for guests to get farther into the heart of the park, spend more time at Wonder Lake near Mt. McKinley, and not spend the usual 10 days.  The price of the trip varies, and the basic rate plus airfare applies if another trip can be set up going the opposite direction.  This trip option is popular with returning guests who are looking to see more of the park, but don’t have 10 or more days to do it.  (Trip offered March to early April)

Custom Trips

The trips listed above are our most popular trips over the years, but we are able to customize trips for your expedition. We can easily add a day or two for guests wishing to spend more time around a cabin for exploring and photography, and adding a day can slow the trip down for people who don’t want to go straight from cabin to cabin. We can also mix mushing with a day or so of skiing or snowshoeing. For returning guests, some trips can go into wilderness outside the park (Yanert River Valley) or on the South Side of Denali National Park.