Starting with a shuttle from your cruise ship to the scenic basic camp in Dyea, a pleasant 11-mile ride is marked by great scenery and a surprising amount of information. As you arrive, the tour begins with a ride in the Unimog up to the husky teams. Even this ride is worth the price of admission, as you climb up about 800 feet through temperature rainforest with rushing glacial streams on either side. Arrive as your furry, four-legged guides are ready to get going for a 1-mile ride!
Mushers begin issuing commands and instantly you're being pulled by a team of 14 huskies. As you're seated between the musher and his team, you can feel the bond and the relationship they share which is cemented as the musher may recount stories of their training or racing efforts. It quickly sets in that this just isn't a staged tour, but a way of life for these mushers. The 'kennel talk' after the ride answers any lingering questions before you have time to visit with the husky puppies. You can hold them if you're feeling up for it!
Looking for more animal adventures during your time in Alaska? Check out the Eagles, Raptors & Rainforest Experience in Ketchikan!
SKAGWAY TOURS DETAILS:
We HIGHLY recommend this tour! We had a blast at the Dog Sled Camp AND enjoyed the commentary from our bus driver Raoul on the way up! This was a highlight from our trip to Alaska!
I did this excursion with my mother and 11 year old daughter. We all really enjoyed it! Our driver/tour guide Raul was really personable and presented us with a lot of interesting information on the ride up to the mushers camp. The sled dog run was fun & playing with the dogs after was a treat. I would recommend to other families with children.
I would highly recommend this tour. The drive to the the camp was beautiful and informative. It was so great being pulled around by the dogs and learning about the Iditarod. The best part....holding the puppies! All of the staff is friendly and knowledgeable.
I would highly recommend this tour. It was a beautiful drive to the base camp and an exciting trip up the mountain. Our guides were excellent, friendly, well informed and entertaining. Meeting the dogs was a treat and riding behind them was amazing. We learned so much about the Iditarod race and met the puppies before heading back to town. I would do this again.
We were picked up dockside by Raul on a very windy Skagway morning. As we drove over to the other cruiseship dock to pick up a few more passengers, Raul introduced himself and gave us little background information. Once enroute with all aboard, Raul gave us the full tour. Not only history, but also a lot of fun info on the daily lives of the guides and those that work for the company. On arrival at the site, we boarded the unimog for our ride up to the camp. That was a fun ride. Up arrival it was exciting to see the dogs so worked up to go for a run! We are very much dog people and that was the main reason for our visit. Ross was the musher and we took off. Volt was a lot of fun to watch. Ross explained the dynamics of the team as we wheeled around. We stopped once for photos. Back at the camp we were allowed to interact with the sled dogs. My wife only got through 10 of the 16 prior to having to leave for the camp dwelling itself. She wished she had more time to Thank each dog personally. Ross gave a very informational talk about the history of the Itidarod and dog mushing in general. We were then free to pet the puppy and the other pups. Great day, Great People. Wish Ross all the best in his quest at dog mushing.