"The Call of the Wild." "White Fang." The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. You've read the books, you've seen the movie, you know about the 1,100-mile across Alaska's bush country.
Now you want to do it for yourself.
Dog-sled rides give visitors a taste of Last Frontier life and legend. And even in the snowless months of summer, dog-sled rides are available -- on glaciers.
Helicopters ferry visitors into the mountains, where glaciers provide year-round ice and snow. Teams of huskies and their handlers already on the glacier demonstrate the features of the sleds and escort the visitors on a safe trail.
Don't worry about lugging your winter coat -- the tour company provides warm parkas and boots.
Riding where it's warm
Mushers keep their teams in good shape all summer by having them pull four-wheel all-terrain vehicles or wheel-mounted sleds. Some mushers -- including Iditarod mushers -- offer rides to the public.
These rides are located along the road system.
Where to find rides
Glacier dog-sled tours are available in the summer at Juneau, Skagway and Seward. Look for helicopter traffic.
Maybe I don't want to ride but I want to see the dogs anyway
Many mushers living in the Susitna Valley and on the Kenai Peninsula open their dog lots to visitors in the summer. Watch for signs along the Sterling (1) and Seward (9) highways on the peninsula and along the Parks Highway (3) between Wasilla and Fairbanks.
A popular sled-dog demonstration is given each day at the Denali Park headquarters. There's no charge.
Another demonstration is part of the Discovery riverboat tour in Fairbanks.
Winter mushing
Winter dog-sled excursions are also available at lodges in the Susitna River Valley, north of Anchorage, and around Denali National Park and the Alaska Range.
