Should You go on a Dog Sledding Tour in Alaska?
Yes, you should do a Dog Sledding Tour!
These Tours during an Alaskan Cruise is Top-Notch for a family friendly, dog filled adventure.
We are a dog family, a pet family, so my kids were most excited about this excursion above all others. You can read more about our family here.
Learning about the Mushers and the equipment is fun, and getting pulled by the working dogs is amazing, but the best part are the puppies.
Be ready for some tears when your kids need to let the puppies go, which is BY FAR the most popular part for most families: holding the puppies.
These dog sledding tours are available at most ports in Alaska, but we have only done them in Skagway.
Book Dog Sledding Tour Early
As with any Cruise Tour, book early.
The good ones will fill up quickly.
I recommend booking more than one tour until you solidify your plans so that you don’t miss the opportunity.
Just be sure to cancel so you don’t pay for a tour your don’t show up for, but most importantly, so that another family can take your spots.
That is exactly what happened to us: we finally were able to confirm reservations because another family decided to go somewhere else.
We had to completely change our itinerary in 2018, and we were able to move to a different company and different time of day 2 WEEKS BEFORE, and STILL were able to BOOK FOR 10 PEOPLE!!
This was possible because a group of 12 had to cancel last minute, and we were able to slip into their spot. So, keep calling if you aren’t first able to find a time you need.
Book Through Cruise Ship or Locally
You can set up one of these tours and excursions through your Cruise Ship or on your own, with a local vendor like we did.
The reason I chose to set up our excursions NOT through Disney Cruise Line’s Port Adventures or Holland America’s Land Adventures, is because we wanted a bit more freedom.
And we wanted to be around less people.
That said, the Cruise Line port adventures and land adventures, including Dog Sledding Tours are also very reliable and offer many advantages over booking on your own with a local company.
3 Cruises and 11 shore tours and excursions later, and I still book with locals and have not had 1 glitch yet. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. There are thousands of tourists doing these excursions, and these companies have created very smooth experiences.
These are the 2 companies we used in Skagway, and we highly recommend both.
Here Are The Tours We Did:
Beyond Skagway Tours: Pet the Pups Tour
(907)-612-0499 (double checked July 5, 2022)
This is the tour we chose, to drive up into the Yukon, in a 12 passenger van, with the Emerald Lake as our other “must see”.
When you book your trip, you can choose several “Must Sees” for your personalized tour.
These guys were great. The dogs were great. (remember to tip your driver!)
NOTE: We traveled in June, 2013. These links are all the updated (as of Juuly 5, 2022) and they still offer this same tour.
Beyond Skagway Tour: Pet The Pups Tour Pros:
- Private Tour, No Rush, No Other People
- See Miles of Mountainous Views Along the Klondike Highway (Amazing!)
- Get to see Emerald Lake!
- Miss the Crowds at the Dog Sledding Camp
- Spend AS MUCH TIME with the puppies as you wish!
- Time to Eat, relax, have a picnic
- See Bears on the Roadside!!
- Watch the Bridal Veil Falls
Our favorite part was loving on the puppies & dogs, and The Emerald Lake was worth the drive. But, our NUMBER 1 Favorite of this excursion was the privacy!
As we were driving in to Michelle Phillips’ Musher’s Camp, for our private Dog Sledding Excursion, one of the big tour buses was loading everyone back on their bus.
No more line for the bathrooms, for the snack bar, and most importantly, to hold the puppies!!
We were able to spend an hour with the puppies without any pressure to leave or share.
Beyond Skagway Tour: Pet the Pups Tour Pro’s:
- Private Tour, No Rush, No Other People
- See Miles of Mountainous Views Along the Klondike Highway (Amazing!)
- Get to see Emerald Lake!
- Miss the Crowds at the Dog Sledding Camp
- Spend AS MUCH TIME with the puppies as you wish!
- Time to Eat, relax, have a picnic
- See Bears on the Roadside!!
- Watch the Bridal Veil Falls
Our favorite part was loving on the puppies & dogs, and The Emerald Lake was worth the drive. But, our NUMBER 1 Favorite of this excursion was the privacy!
As we were driving in to Michelle Phillips’ Musher’s Camp, for our private Dog Sledding Excursion, one of the big tour buses was loading everyone back on their bus.
No more line for the bathrooms, for the snack bar, and most importantly, to hold the puppies!!
We were able to spend an hour with the puppies without any pressure to leave or share.
Beyond Skagway Tour: Pet the Pups Tour Con’s:
We would do this tour again, but there were a few con’s that we should share.
- You need your passport & will go into Canada (we felt vulnerable…needlessly, but still)
- Car Ride length is significant (~6 hours of driving)
- The Musher’s Camp is not as clean as we would have liked, at least at the time of our trip
- Where the dogs & puppies are kept is just dirt with no dedicated place for the puppies
- The “Cart Ride” where the adult working dogs pull the cart, or the “Dog Sledding”, is an extra cost, not included in the price & we did not do it. It didn’t look like many people if any did
Bottom Line: Beyond Skagway Tours: Pet the Pups Tour
You get a good experience of the Yukon while also getting some quality time with the puppies and the scenery. Even with the long drive, it made the wildlife and spectacular views up close and personal, where you could smell the flowers and mountain air, and hear the bears when they cross the road in front of you. (literally)
We think this tour is worth it, and would do it again. Especially with someone who has a hard time moving around or walking long distances. You can get right up close to things without needing to move very far.
The dogs are wonderful, but not as clean as the Skagway Shore Tours version of the Dog Sledding Tour.
As dog people, we didn’t mind this as much, even though our kids were quite dusty after holding the puppies. If this bothers you, keep that in mind.
Skagway Shore Tours: Sled Dog and Musher’s Camp
(844) 626-9600
They have tours and excursions in each port, and there is a lot to choose from in each area.
They are smoothh running company and we would book with them again.
Each link of their tour, from the person on the phone, to the driver of the bus, driver of the Mog, etc, were happy, engaged, knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant.
First, A Bus Ride
When you get off your ship in Skagway, it is not a big port and you will be able to find your guide and bus easily.
You will get directions & instructions from them on the phone, and on your confirmation email, which you should print before you leave home incase you won’t have internet access as you travel.
This excursion is quite close to the port in Skagway, maybe only a 30-40 minute drive. Once your guide picks you up in a smaller bus, they take you to another parking lot about 30-40 minutes away.
From this parking lot, there are other options, like horseback riding and some hikes and other adventures which you would pre-book with this same company.
OR, if you choose to wing it and find what you can without planning, there are plenty of options, plus you could go shopping in thhe cute little town and you can take walks RIGHT there by the port.
Mercedes Mog Next
You stay with your “small bus group” and load a Mercedes Mog in which you take a 4-wheel drive type experience to get to the dogs.
These are tall, massaive vehicles to be able to get through the Alaskan back country.
The loop you drive on is well cleared and safe. The Mogs are very versatile and get through these roads easily. The boys always love them.
It reminded me of being on the Indiana Jones Adventure Ride in Disneyland.
Dog Sled Ride!
Next is the dog sledding ride, once the Mercedes Mog truck reaches the “Track” where the dogs are waiting in teams to pull your cart in a 1/2 mile course, you get onto the “dog cart” and buckle up for the dogs to pull you!
Each cart, which is a modified golf cart, holds 6 passengers along with your Musher.
The Musher commands their dog team to go and they pull you around the course. This takes about 8-10 minutes.
After your ride, you are encouraged to say “hi” to the dogs on your team. All the dogs are very friendly and appreciate a little ear rub.
Dog Sled Ride Next!
Next is the dog sledding ride.
Once the Mercedes Mog truck reaches the “Track” where the dogs are waiting in teams to pull your cart in a 1/2 mile course, you get onto the “dog cart” and buckle up for the dogs to pull you!
Each cart, which is a modified golf cart, holds 6 passengers along with your Musher. (the person in charge of the dogs)
The Musher commands their dog team to go and they pull you around the course. This takes about 8-10 minutes.
After your ride, you are encouraged to say “hi” to the dogs on your team. All the dogs are very friendly and appreciate a little ear rub.
Learn About Dog Sledding & Mushers
The Mercedes Mog brings all of us back down to the gift shop and puppy area.
Some of the cleanest bathrooms I have EVER been in are here!!
There is a short lecture all about dog sledding, the Iditarod Race, the equipment, the Mushers and the dogs. It is very interesting and informative.
While our group is in the lecture area, the previous group of ~20 who just heard the same lecture have now been moved to the “puppy area” and are holding the puppies. For all of the guests, they only have roughly 20 minutes to hold the puppies before our group comes over.
Puppy Love
There is a “puppy protector” who gives and takes the puppies to and from each person. We didn’t get to sit down with the puppies or hold them for very long. Around 1 minute per person.
The puppies Mom is right there in a pen with the other puppies and is keeping a close eye on her babies. The area is quite clean and well maintained. It smells fresh which surprised all of us.
There is a “shark tank” area where the 3-6 month old puppies are kept out of reach with their shark sharp teeth. There are toys you can throw for them, but they are out of reach to be touched or picked up, behind a tall fence.
Despite the short time with the puppies, my kids and family really enjoyed this excursion and recommend it. It is ver well run, with new groups of 20 tourists coming and going like clockwork.
Skagway Shore Tours: Sled Dog and Musher’s Camp Pro’s:
- Close to the Port
- Well Organized
- Clean & Maintained Areas
- Great Scenery & Views During the Drive
- The Mercedes Mogs are Cool
- Very Nice Gift Shop with Snacks & Chai!!
- Unique Exposure to the Mushers & Dogs – up Close and Personal
- Clean Puppy Area
- Specific Time with the Puppies
- No One was Left Out, Each Person has time with the puppies
Skagway Shore Tours: Sled Dog & Musher’s Camp Con’s
There are only a few con’s for this tour.
- Less Time with the Puppies!
- Even though this is a well oiled machine of getting tourists in, around and out with hardly seeing any other guests, there is a slight push to move from area to area
- I’m not sure how to change this other than to have more puppies available so more people can hold them at one time?
Bottom Line – Skagway Shore Tours: Sled Dog & Musher’s Camp
This is an A+ Dog Sledding Tour that is very organized and smooth. Each team member has a specific job to do to help the guests move through, around and out.
The excursion is VERY CLEAN and WELL MAINTAINED! From the bus to the Mercedes Mogs to the bathrooms, puppy areas and the gift shope and small cafe.
There is a bit of a push after the Dog Cart Ride as other guests are arriving for the next ride. Then, again, a bit of a push when holding the puppies, as another group in waiting.
I’m not sure how to make this better than to have more puppies for the groups of 20 people to hold at a time.
This sure puts pressure on the Moms and puppies, so I’m not sure what the solution could be.
All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves, and would recommend this tour.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we would recommend the Dog Sledding Tours, whether you choose the summer camp style or the muusher camp style.
Soaking up the puppy time is great fun, and learning how these dogs train so hard and love what they do is also fun to see in action.
Please email me with any questions or concerns you may have about Skagway or these Dog Sledding Tours.
What excursions or tours have you done in Skagway?
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