What a blast! We came with our four children (ages 11-17) and had a fantastic time. This is one of the few places that will let you mush your own dogs. They put two of us on each sled, one “driving” and the other riding. We got to switch halfway through and they took us out on a pretty clear trail, following a snowmobile.
Before departure, Ben gave us a pretty easy to follow tutorial about how to operate, (slow, stop, lean, etc) the sled, and gave us some great insight into the specific dogs that will be pulling us. The dogs are so happy to be out running and were just excited and exciting to be pulling a sled. Josiah led us on the Snowmobile and was conscientious about making sure we didn’t get left behind, and didn’t crowd one another. Holly rode a snowmobile behind us to make sure nobody had any problems. We stopped twice and they both helped us take photos, switch places, and talk us through upcoming turns.
After the sledding, Hannah took us around to hug and love as many of the dogs as we wanted, and we even got to spend some time with some of the puppies. All of the dogs were super friendly, completely not aggressive, and just wanted to be hugged and petted. Hannah knew all of their names, which had been champions of the Iditarod, which were born in the same litter, etc. They let our kids play with the dogs as long as they wanted.
This place is owned by Dallas Seavey, who has won the Iditarod 5 times, and there are trophies and memorabilia at the office where you start the orientation that was really neat to see.
Also, it was just beautiful out there. We had a wonderful time and can’t recommend it more highly.