Dog sledding in Juneau

Husband and I just booked our Alaska cruise last minute and we will be set sailing from Sep 10-17 on Princess Crown. I've always wanted to experience dog sledding in Alaska but after researching around and asking a few companies, it turns that most of their glacier dog sledding tour end their season late Aug- early Sep. My only option for dog sledding will be to join the cruise's excursion for Summer musher camp which the sledding will be done on dirt/muddy road. Has anyone done summer dog sledding excursions?? Is it worth the price??

We did the Musher's Camp and Sled Dog Experience last year in Skagway, and had a fantastic time. If you love dogs and have an interest in the sport (for us at least) it was an afternoon very well spent. We booked on our own through https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/ who operate this tour, and the Sled Dog Discovery and Musher Camp in Juneau. We loved it so much we are planning to go again in Juneau this year, we booked again directly the operator and saved about $20 a person. There is a second operator in Juneau http://goldrushdogs.com/summer-cart-mushing-juneau-alaska, who I believe run the Dog Sled Summer Summer Camp offered by Princess. I can only vouch for the first, but they both appear to be highly rated.

Has anyone done summer dog sledding excursions?? Is it worth the price??

We did this excursion. Although it was pleasant, I thought it was waaaaay overpriced. I would find some other way to spend your money, if I were you.

We did the summer musher's camp in Skagway through Alaska Excursions (but booked through the ship due to time constraints). It was myself, my DD10 and a friend. We had a fabulous time. Dog sledding was a bucket list item of mine, something I have wanted to do since I was my DD's age. I would have loved to do the glacier sledding, but it wasn't in the budget since I wanted to bring my DD along too, I wanted it to be a guaranteed thing, not canceled at the last minute and flying in a helicopter is definitely NOT on my bucket list!

Our driver was fabulous, he's a musher who plans to be in the Iditarod in 2018, on the way out of town he stopped by his house and called his personal lead dogs out in his yard for us to see. The ride out to Dyea (30 mins) is gorgeous. We got to ride in the front seat of the mountain buggy (bathroom stop and ride up is about another 30 mins) up the hill which was neat and then the dogsledding itself was awesome. The dogs are so strong and so excited to run! You go around about 3 times on a loop lasting about 15-20 mins and then you get about 10 minutes after to pet and interact with the dogs. On the way back down the mountain they stop at an overlook they have built and you can see your ship from and then they do a presentation on the race gear (30 min ride down and then 10-15 min presentation.) Then you get to watch the older puppies play for a bit in the "shark tank" and run on a giant hamster wheel (5-10 mins). Finally is puppy playtime, we got to hold and pet 2 week old puppies for about 15 mins. They also have a store on site, they take lots of photos of you that are available to purchase along with t-shirts, stuffed animals, magnets, etc. Then a 30 min ride back to town.

Was it expensive? Yes, but so is everything in Alaska. We also did whale watching in Juneau and these two things were the highlights of our trip.

They usually end mid-August. It all depends on the temps. I believe Alaska had a mild spring.

I did do the dog sledding in Skagway that was not on a glacier. It was ok. I wouldn't do it again and I think it was overpriced. It would be fun for kids.

We did the summer musher's camp in Skagway through Alaska Excursions (but booked through the ship due to time constraints). It was myself, my DD10 and a friend. We had a fabulous time. Dog sledding was a bucket list item of mine, something I have wanted to do since I was my DD's age. I would have loved to do the glacier sledding, but it wasn't in the budget since I wanted to bring my DD along too, I wanted it to be a guaranteed thing, not canceled at the last minute and flying in a helicopter is definitely NOT on my bucket list!

 

Our driver was fabulous, he's a musher who plans to be in the Iditarod in 2018, on the way out of town he stopped by his house and called his personal lead dogs out in his yard for us to see. The ride out to Dyea (30 mins) is gorgeous. We got to ride in the front seat of the mountain buggy (bathroom stop and ride up is about another 30 mins) up the hill which was neat and then the dogsledding itself was awesome. The dogs are so strong and so excited to run! You go around about 3 times on a loop lasting about 15-20 mins and then you get about 10 minutes after to pet and interact with the dogs. On the way back down the mountain they stop at an overlook they have built and you can see your ship from and then they do a presentation on the race gear (30 min ride down and then 10-15 min presentation.) Then you get to watch the older puppies play for a bit in the "shark tank" and run on a giant hamster wheel (5-10 mins). Finally is puppy playtime, we got to hold and pet 2 week old puppies for about 15 mins. They also have a store on site, they take lots of photos of you that are available to purchase along with t-shirts, stuffed animals, magnets, etc. Then a 30 min ride back to town.

 

Was it expensive? Yes, but so is everything in Alaska. We also did whale watching in Juneau and these two things were the highlights of our trip.

we are looking for a dog sledding tour thanks-which whale watching tour did you do in Juneau?

Dog sledding on gravel is not the best, but better than nothing.

I included pictures of our dog sled excursion in my review from last summer. The link takes you to the Juneau day, which is where we did the mushers camp and sled dog experience.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2376089&page=15

We had a blast on this excursion.