Rhapsody of the Seas...Dog sledding in Alaska

[B'smeme]

I'll be cruising to Alaska on the Rhapsody of the Seas leaving June 27. :)

I want to go Dog sledding with my daughter and 5 1/2 yr old granddaughter. There's Musher's Camp in Skagway, and there's a Musher's Camp in Juneau, and Sheep Creek Dog Camp in Juneau. I'm not sure which one is the best to do. Has anyone done any of these or know anything about them. I do know the ride is on a wooded trail and not snow....:( ....but I would think it should still be fun. Thanks for any help!

[MsYukon]

Here is the website of the Skagway tour - http://www.alaskasleddog.com/

[Host Karen]

I can't speak to the other two, but the Sheep Creek Dog Camp in Juneau does not include dog sledding on snow. The dogs are hooked up to a metal cart on wheels (that weighs about 750 lbs. BTW), and you take about a 3-minute ride on a 3/4-mile dirt track. The dogs move the sled along pretty quickly (at least they did on our excursion with only four passengers plus the driver).

 

Most of the excursion was spent with the owner of the dogs introducing us to the sled team and telling us something about each dog, followed by the sled ride, and finally a history of dog sledding and the equipment used. Before we left, we were introduced to the latest batch of puppies and were able to hold them. Those Alaskan huskies grow quickly!

 

This was an expensive excursion but we really enjoyed it. Have a great cruise whichever excursion you choose!

[RetireeWannabee]

We did the one in Skagway with the wheeled cart and it was pretty much the same as was already mentioned. there is the ride, a chat with a real musher, and fun time with puppies!!!

 

We had a blast. Also did the glacier trip with an actual sled. WOW, that was Beyond Cool.

[rclcruzer]

We did the one in Skagway with the wheeled cart and it was pretty much the same as was already mentioned. there is the ride, a chat with a real musher, and fun time with puppies!!!

 

We had a blast. Also did the glacier trip with an actual sled. WOW, that was Beyond Cool.

ditto....me and my 3 teens did this one in Skagway. It was fun, but we were a bit disappointed that the "ride" did not last a little longer. It seemed like we went in a giant circle for about 5 minutes and then it was over. But the dogs were awesome and our musher had some great stories to tell on some of their backgrounds. Playing with the new puppies was the highlight for my daughter.

Good luck OP in your decision ;)

[stompy]

I'll be cruising to Alaska on the Rhapsody of the Seas leaving June 27. :)

I want to go Dog sledding with my daughter and 5 1/2 yr old granddaughter. There's Musher's Camp in Skagway' date=' and there's a Musher's Camp in Juneau, and Sheep Creek Dog Camp in Juneau. I'm not sure which one is the best to do. Has anyone done any of these or know anything about them. I do know the ride is on a wooded trail and not snow....:( ....but I would think it should still be fun. Thanks for any help![/quote']

 

Skagway was a lot of fun. Here's a video of the sledding

http://thehollo.com/alaska/DSCF2148.wmv

 

Your kids will get to play with the puppies after the ride

 

 

I always thought there were 16 maybe 20 dogs to a team but my gosh, they must have had 100 dogs there EASY!

 

The snow sleds are funner but most of the tours are via helicopter and who has $400 to ride a sled for 15 minutes?

 

Was the musher's camp the greatest thing I've ever done in my life? Probably not... Did I have fun, get licked to death by puppies, and see a bald eagle 2 feet away from me just sitting in a tree? You bet!

[springtxbill]

B'smeme, we are on the same cruise with you. Join us over on the roll call board.:)

[Ladean]

I have been to 4 different sled dog adventures, 2 in Juneau, 2 in Skagway. My opinion is if you can afford to go to the glacier and dog sled on the snow, that is the coolest but very expensive (approx $500.00 per person). What makes the glacier dog sled experience is the helicopter flightseeing tour on the way there and the beautiful view. From the time you land on the glacier you have 1 hour before you fly away again. about 20 minutes of that time is on the trail with the dogs but because it's summer and hot for them, they stop many times along the way so the dogs can eat snow and cool down and you can jump off the sled and take pictures. The dogs running on the ground with wheeled carts are just as legitiment, unfortunately because there is no snow, they can't run very far. Dogs can overheat and die if it's above 50 degrees F. The dogs get just as excited on the dirt as they do in the snow, they don't care what they're pulling, as long as they get to run, run run!

 

As far as which camp was "best". I'd say the Juneau glacier would be my first choice, followed by Sheep Creek Dog camp in Juneau. The Skagway glacier is pretty but it's a short helicopter flight ( much shorter than Juneau) but a unbelievable view from up there on a clear day.

 

The Skagway ground tour I wouldn't recommend. I felt like the people working there didn't seem genuine. Most of them were just summer employees working with someone elses dogs. The other 3 camps were primarily full time mushers and racers with their own dogs. I felt that the people working with their own dogs were more knowlegable, have better chemistry and just came off as happier.

 

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

[stompy]

Sheep Creek looks a little muddy from what I've seen. Has anyone been to that?

 

 

We're going back to Alaska next May and would like to try one out.

 

The Musher's camp in Juneau was in 2008

http://www.chaseclub.com/cruise/Alaska2008/import/MMERGE1.wmv

 

Skagway was in 2006

http://thehollo.com/alaska/DSCF2148.wmv

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi,

If you've not already done so the Alaska board is full of useful advice. You can find it here