We start this genuine Alaska dog sledding tour by introducing you to Alaskan Huskies and the sport of long distance racing. The owners of Black Spruce Dog Sledding are multi-time finishers of the 1,000 mile Iditarod! Please walk around our dog yard and interact with our friendly dogs.
After socializing with the pack, we’ll show you how to harness and hook them up for the ride! Our comfortable, 5-passenger wheeled vehicle is safe for the whole family, and is equipped with an engine so we can assist our dogs uphill, and over tough terrain.
The sled dog ride is 0.5 to 5 miles in length, depending on the weather conditions. (In summer, runs must be kept shorter to keep our dogs from overheating.) We’ll stop multiple times on the trail so you can take pictures with the dogs and change positions in the vehicle.
Once back from the sled dog ride, your guides will turn the dogs loose for some free time in the yard. Meanwhile, you can check out some of our most important winter mushing gear. See what humans and dogs wear to stay warm in a Fairbanks, Alaska winter, and how we pack our racing sled.
We finish up this unique tour experience by showing off this year’s puppies!
Duration between 2 – 3 hours, depending your level of interest and participation. If you ask lots of questions, take lots of pictures and want to pet all of the dogs, you’ll probably be here for closer to three hours. If you have scheduling restraints, just let us know.
Did you know Fairbanks has some of the largest temperature swings in the world? In summer, daytime temps are frequently in the mid-70’s or even 80’s! That may not be too hot for you, but to keep our dogs safe and comfortable, we run our summer mushing tours in the morning and in the evening.
Worried about daylight come fall? Don’t be! We schedule our tours to operate during daylight hours only. To get some idea of the daylight you’ll receive in Fairbanks during your visit, check out this Sun Calculator
We can accommodate as few as two (2) people, or as many as five (5) people on this tour from June – early September. By late September we can usually increase this number to 10 people, and can take out two groups of 5 people on back-to-back runs.
Some exceptions to the 5 person maximum can be made for children who are small enough to fit on an adult’s lap. Contact us at blacksprucedogsledding@gmail.com about special arrangements.
There is no charge for non-ambulatory children (ie infants in carriers/backpacks). There are no discounts for military, first responders or large groups.
Solo Travelers: Please contact us via email or phone to book.
We are located approximately 15 miles / 45 minutes northwest of Fairbanks. Drive times are longer if coming from Chena Hot Springs (2.5 hours), North Pole (1.5 hours) or Cleary Summit (1.25 hours).
We do not provide transportation to/from our location. Most of our visitors have their own personal or rental vehicle. Most of the time a small, compact car can make the trip up here just fine. However, in winter, snow storms may force us to temporarily restrict our tours to only those visitors with all-wheel drive (AWD) or (4WD).
Looking for a ride?
Check out our Tour FAQ page!