Anchorage Area: Helicopter and Glacier Dogsled Tour

About This Experience

Dogsledding on real snow in the middle of an Alaskan summer only works if you get above the snowline, which is why this tour begins in a helicopter. Thirty minutes of flying takes you from the Knik River valley over the Chugach Range, past Knik Glacier and Lake George, to a snowfield camp that stays frozen all season.

On the ice you get a full hour with the dogs — long by the standards of glacier dogsled tours, most of which give you fifteen or twenty minutes. That is enough time to take the team out for a genuine run rather than a lap, meet the mushers who live at the camp through the summer, and spend time with the dogs off the line.

The operator makes a point of its weather record: flying out of the Knik River valley, it claims a better dispatch rate than glacier dogsled operations working out of Girdwood, Seward, Juneau, Haines or Skagway. It is an operator claim rather than a published statistic, but the inland valley genuinely sees less coastal cloud than Turnagain Arm does.

Overboots for the snow are handed out before you fly. Everything else — warm layers, hat, sunglasses — is on you.

Highlights

• A full hour with the dog team on the snow, not the fifteen minutes most glacier sled tours give you
• Thirty minutes of flightseeing over the Chugach Range, Knik Glacier and Lake George
• Mushing with a team trained by Iditarod competitors, on snow that lasts all summer
• Time with the dogs off the line, and with the mushers who camp there through the season
• An inland departure that dodges much of the coastal cloud that grounds Turnagain Arm flights

What's Included

• ✓ 30-minute helicopter flight
• ✓ 60-minute dog-sled tour on the snowfield
• ✓ Permit and facility fees
• ✓ Overboots for walking in snow

Not Included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off from Anchorage
• Food and drinks
• Gratuities

What to Bring

• Warm clothing — the camp is above the snowline
• A hat and gloves
• Sunglasses
• Hiking shoes or boots

Good to Know & Caveats

• The meeting point varies with the option you book — check your confirmation, as some options add a second landing.
• Departure is from the Knik River valley near Palmer, roughly an hour's drive north of Anchorage. Hotel pickup is not included.
• The hour on the snow is the longest dogsled time of any helicopter tour on this site.
• Weapons, sharp objects, drones and backpacks are not permitted on the aircraft.
• Weather can affect operations. Flights are weight-and-balance planned, so a party may be split across two departures.

Meeting Point

Knik River valley base, Palmer (exact point varies by option booked)