Mush Your Own Sled Dog Team (Wintertour) in Talkeetna, Alaska

We booked this tour as it stated that the kennel was run by a 5 time Iditarod race winner so we thought it would be good. We weren't wrong. In the booking, we opted for the pick up which was located at a local restaurant. This was good as we had breakfast there prior to the pick up. The van for the pick up came right on time and there was just ourselves and one other couple. The trip was about 15 minutes out of Talkeetna. It was on very snowy and icy roads so I was glad I wasn't driving. You arrive into a large yard and are greeted by a huge kennel site with over a hundred dogs. You go and get sorted out inside a building, get any gear you need and get a run down on what is going to happen. They have some retired sled dogs in there so you get your first taste of sled dogs. These dogs were amazingly friendly but were more interested in staying in front of the heater. You go outside and get a run down on the sleds you are going to drive and get a quick lesson on how to control it. They then load the dogs onto the lines. The dogs are so keen to go, they are raring to be put onto the line to get running. They use the tour dogs, these are the ones they use as they have the champion Iditarod dogs in another section You then put the passenger on the sled and the driver jumps on and onto the sled brake, and the team take the rope brake off so you are ready to go. The tour leader rides out front on a snow machine and leads the way and dogs race off after this. You are followed by another tour guide behind to help if you have any issue. You are then off actually driving a team. What an amazing experience. It was a dream to do this. What an amazing life to live. The dogs are purebred champions. It was amazing to feel just how hard the team of six dogs pulled. You drive for about half an hour and then pull over to swap drivers. The tour guides also give you some tips about how to drive the dogs if they see anything that can help you do better. I got some tips and this helped immensely. You get to interact with the dogs and grab some photos as well at the mid point. After you finish driving the sleds, you pull back into the yard and park up. Once completed, you then get a tour through the kennel and have more interaction with the dogs. You get to meet champion Iditarod winning race dogs. You also meet the new pups as well. It was excellent. The dogs are very friendly. You also learn about how they care for the dogs and they are treated with love and respect and are greatly cared for. These dogs are loved and adored and have an amazing life with only the best care taken of them. Dallas Seavey wasn't there as he had just won his sixth straight Iditarod and was about to return with them. We thank the team for giving us an utterly amazing time and helped us tick this off our bucket list. I can't recommend this tour enough. It was truly an amazing and unforgettable experience.

Sarah, Chloe and Amelia did a fantastic job! We were so impressed by the the dogs. There were almost 100 of them. Any that we interacted with were friendly and well socialized. We took cart rides (no snow) and enjoyed driving them ourselves. Then Chloe gave us a tour of the kennels and the equipment used. GREAT, authentic Alaskan experience.

Awesome experience! We were too late for snow mushing and too early for dry mushing, but they improvised with a side by side and gave us the same full experience. Samantha was extremely knowledgeable and we learned so much about mushing and the running of the Iditarod. Her passion for the dogs and the sport were evident. We interacted with the dogs and their pups also. First class operation all the way around. I highly recommend them!