Chena Hot Springs Resort has a very nice kennel facility where guest can visit to see sled dogs, young and old. There are some 100 dogs housed here, including around 70 that belong to the resort. The rest are owned by the musher who provides lessons on dog sledding at the resort. It was also fun to see the young puppies, ranging in age from three days to three months. The three month old puppies were housed in an outdoor pen, while the very young litters were inside with their momma dogs.
Here at Chena Hot Springs Resort, winter guests have a number of outdoor options including taking a sled dog ride, with someone else driving the sled... or they can mush the two-mile trail on their own. Mushing lessons are available, which I was lucky to observe during my visit out to the kennel facilities. On the first run through the course, the trainer is on the lead sled, with the student being pulled behind in another. This allows the guest to learn how to control the speed of the sled while keeping the leads tight throughout the course. After successful completion of the first circuit of the course, the student is place in the front sled and the trainer is in the read sled. Once the student is comfortable and successful in making the loop, the back sled can be removed and the student mushes without the benefit of the trainer onboard.
I enjoyed watching a man and his daughter taking turns with their lessons. The dogs seemed to really enjoy their run and were always ready to go again for the next lap. When they returned after each trip out, the dogs would roll around on their backs and eat snow to quench their thirst. It was funny to watch the other dogs bark every time the sled pulled out, as though to say “take me too!”
The young man working the kennel told me that the mushing lesson experience is a full day adventure. He said that he often was the one who took folks out on the dog sled ride, but that the trainer was a professional sled dog racer who had a lot of experience in racing and teaching. He mentioned that the trainer had just recently competed in the Yukon Quest, one of the more famous sled dog races in Alaska.
While there was nobody taking the dog sled ride during my visit, the sled was out on the yard because they had been some folks out earlier in the morning on a dog pulled sled. The sled used for this type of experience is larger and has a nice cushion like bench for the riders to sit. They are also given moose hyde blankets to cover up with in order to keep warm during their ride.
If you are spending time in Alaska during the winter, I strongly encourage you to take a sled dog ride or mush a team yourself. I did it at another kennel outside of Fairbanks earlier in my week, so I didn’t do it here at Chena Hot Springs Resort. If you happen to be at Chena Hot Springs Resort during a time of the year that does not have snow, you can still enjoy the thrill of a dog sled ride in a “cart” pulled by dogs.