Dog Sled Tours

5% GST tax is extra on all prices quoted

JUDI'S POPULAR PHOTO PACKAGE is available as an add-on to any of the following day tours. For safety reasons our guest mushers are not allowed to take pictures during the run but we do have one place that we stop along the way where you can take some shots with your own camera if you wish. Judi will get some great action shots of you mushing your Arctic dog team up and down hills, through the forest and out on the open lakes. The charge is $20 per person photographed and after the tour the best pictures of the run will be put onto one CD for your group to share. Persons opting not to get photos will not appear in any pictures. The first CD is free. There is a $5 charge for each additional CD requested.

The Fabulous Fun Run $125 per person

This is a great introduction to dog sledding, a suitable tour for almost anyone in reasonably good health between the age of 8 and 80! A description of the run is on the first page of this web site. This is our most popular tour and is a must for anyone visiting Inuvik and looking for an exciting experience in the north. The actual run is about an hour but you should allow about 2 ½ to 3 hours of time for the entire session.

* These prices are based on a minimum of two people going on any one of our shorter day trips.
If a single person wants to book alone please add $25 to the tour price.

The Scenic Delta Tour $200 per person

Enjoy exploring the Mackenzie Delta by dog team in the traditional traveling style. Compared to the Fun Run this is a longer, quieter and more relaxing tour where you can enjoy the scenery to its fullest. You will be following your guide's team down a beautiful creek to a little lake where you will have a light lunch before heading back on a different trail through the Boreal forest. If you have already experienced the Fabulous Fun Run and want to try a different route you will enjoy this one. Once you hit the trail the tour is about 1.5 to 2 hours long. If you like you can bring a snack and a thermos with a hot drink to enjoy along the way.

* These prices are based on a minimum of two people going on any one of our shorter day trips.
If a single person wants to book alone please add $25 to the tour price.

The Combination Run $300 per person

This tour allows you to experience two tours in one. If your time in Inuvik is limited and you can’t do more than one dog sledding tour this is the tour for you! This combination run combines the Fabulous Fun Run with the Scenic Delta Tour. It is the best value for your money and is a delightful tour that includes lunch around a campfire along the way. After the briefing session which usually takes about 45 minutes, your actual dog sledding time is about 3 to 3.5 hours.

* These prices are based on a minimum of two people going on any one of our shorter day trips.
If a single person wants to book alone please add $25 to the tour price.

Overnight Dog Sled Trip to the Arctic Loon Cabin
$450 per person GST extra

Overnight Dog Sled Trip to the Outpost Cabin

We are now offering a tour by dog team to our outpost cabin located about 20 kilometers from Inuvik. This guided tour starts at 2PM from the Arctic Chalet husky kennels. We travel for about 3 hours on a scenic trail that ends at the Outpost Cabin nestled up in some beautiful hills overlooking a tranquil lake. At this wonderfully secluded retreat you can totally unwind and connect with nature.

The cabin is spacious and comfortable and has a loft that can sleep 4-5 people and it also has two small bedrooms with a bunk bed in each. In addition there is a large bedroom with a double bed and two singles and there is a separate room for the guides. Warm bedding is provided and the two wood stoves keep the cabin cozy. The cabin is equipped with a nice kitchen and an indoor toilet.

When you arrive at the cabin you can enjoy a hot evening meal and then relax in our cedar outdoor hot tub out on the porch where you can enjoy a great view of the lake and surrounding hills and hopefully see the spectacular lights of the Aurora Borealis. After breakfast the next morning your guide will take you snowshoeing through a "winter wonderland". Then itʼs back to the cabin for lunch and preparing for the return trip with the dogs.

On this tour we can accommodate 4 people with one dog team each, or for larger groups of 5-10 people we can combine dog sledding with snowmobiling. In this case half of the group would snowmobile one way and the other half would go out by dog team and then switch for the return trip. (For the quiet enjoyment of those driving dogs the two groups would not travel together.)

We have a good supply of warm winter gear that includes snowmobile boots, mukluks, parkas and anoraks, insulated snow pants and fur mitts available for our clients to use during our tours including this one. We usually run this trip from February to the middle of April, Sunday-Friday. Saturday is not an option as it is our rest day.

*Please note that the overnight tour price includes a guided snowshoe tour from the cabin, 3 meals,
overnight lodging with bedding and two half-days of dog sledding.

 

Travelling with white Husky Dogs Scenic Lake

SIX-DAY DOGSLED EXPEDITION
INUVIK TO TUK BY DOG TEAM

 If you are healthy and physically fit and want to experience a great Arctic adventure in the Northwest Territories of Canada we have a trip for you! Arctic Adventure Tours is offering a dog sledding tour that will take you from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk and beyond. Tuk is an Inuvialuit community located up on the Beaufort Sea. Each person will be driving his or her own dog team on this fabulous journey to the Arctic Ocean.

Trip Dates
April 15-21

Package Price
$3000 per person plus GST (5%)

TravellingSunsetCamp on the Husky Lakes
Wind Storm Following the Leader Pressure Ridge on the Beaufort Sea

Package Description & Itinerary

Sunday
Today we start our journey from the Arctic Chalet in Inuvik and will follow the Mackenzie River until we reach the overland trail head where we will take the route that will lead up into the barrens and across some beautiful, wild tundra to our first camping spot on Jimmy Lake where we will set up camp and spend the night.

Monday
After tending to the dogs, breaking camp and repacking the trailers, we will travel through some spectacular scenery to the Husky Lakes where you will have the opportunity to do some ice fishing for lake trout. We will camp on these lakes tonight.

Tuesday
Today we will continue on across the wide open spaces of the lakes and end the day traveling over land to a much smaller lake. In this area we will see our first little pingos. This is the last place we will camp before reaching the village of Tuktoyaktuk up on the Beaufort Sea.

Wednesday
From here it is a short distance to Tuk which will take us only 2-3 hours. Upon arriving in Tuk we will stake out the dog teams on the outskirts of town and then go into town by snowmobile. You will be taken on a short tour of the village which includes a visit to the fascinating underground community ice house buried deep in the permafrost. We will then continue on with the dogs to the base of Ibyuk, the Pingo Canadian Landmark, which is the largest pingo in the world. After traveling past some smaller pingos we will set up camp on a little lake where we will spend the night.

Thursday
Following the morning routine of camp pack up and dog care, we will go out to the Arctic Ocean to look at the spectacular ocean ice and pressure ridges. We will then go back to the shoreline to visit an old whaling camp before heading in through some long narrow lakes to our last camping spot.

Friday
We will be traveling to the Mackenzie Delta today and down the river where we will all be picked up, and our journey by dog team will end. But the fun is not over! We will then drive back to Inuvik in our tour van on the longest ice road in the world, featured in the TV series "Ice Road Truckers." On the way back we will do a short side trip to visit the Canadian Reindeer Herd, a herd of about 3000 animals. The Sami reindeer herder will meet us near his cabin and then escort us by snowmobile to where the reindeer are calving. We will arrive back in Inuvik that evening.

Food & Cooking

Breakfast and supper will be eaten in the cook tent every day and we will eat lunch during our mid-day rest stop with the dogs resting in harness. Each person will have a thermos with a hot drink and another thermos with soup. Sandwiches, dried fruit and nut mixes will be included in the lunch bag.

Camping Gear

We supply top quality tents, sleeping bags with liners, sleeping mats and cots, a toilet and an oil heater in each tent. There will be two or three people sharing a tent.

First Aid & Licensing

Arctic Adventure Tours meets all of the tour licensing requirements and our guides are well trained to look after our clients. For the safety of those participating in our tours we carry emergency gear with us, a cell phone and sat phone. Guides maintain current certification in Wilderness and Remote First Aid.

Winter Clothing

We supply boots, anoraks, windbreakers, fur mitts and insulated snow pants. Here is what you need to bring: heavy wool socks, lighter socks for layering, long underwear, fleece or wool shirts & pants, hats, face masks, neck warmers, work gloves for feeding dogs, other gloves to use as liners inside fur mitts, goggles, packets of hand and toe warmers (e.g. Grabber Warmers). Donʼt forget your sun screen and sun glasses. Contacts are recommended if you are near- sighted. Eye glasses tend to fog up when the face is covered and this can be very frustrating while traveling in the cold.

Setting up Camp

Olav, who will be traveling ahead of the dog teams on his snowmobile, will choose the camping spots and start to set up camp. When the dog teams arrive he will have the stake-out chains screwed into the ice and ready for the dogs. Everyone who participates in the trip will be expected to work together to get the dogs sorted and the tents set up. This is a team effort and difficult for one person to do alone. Olav will then drill a hole in the ice to draw water for the dogs and for the rest of us. This is much quicker and more energy efficient than melting snow.

Caring for the dogs

You will learn the names of your dogs and get to know each one individually. Morning and evening you will help with the dog chores and feeding. Our dogs are very well socialized and affectionate and are a joy to handle for the most part. The guides will provide help and support in everything you do.

Weather

Basically the weather rules up here in the Arctic. As long as the weather is reasonably good we can travel. It is possible that we might encounter blizzard conditions with very high winds and blowing snow but it is unlikely. In that case we would remain in our tents until the storm subsided. This could put us off schedule by a day or half a day so the itinerary is subject to change. On trips like this it is very important to be flexible and patient. Remember, the weather rules!

In the past we have had some windy days and nights but nothing too drastic. We all ended up really enjoying the wind and found that it added to the Arctic experience! When you are prepared and have all the right gear it surely does make a difference.

The Schedule

The daily schedule could vary a bit so we all need to be flexible about that in general. There could be a break-down in equipment or we could end up with an injured dog. Although we have planned for these possible scenarios they could cause delays and a change in schedule. The total distance that we will travel by dog team is about 200 kilometers. Our traveling time each day will be 5-6 hours or less depending on conditions and weather. It usually takes about 2 hours to break camp in the morning, the dogs are fed first to allow time for them to digest fully before running. Lunch break is usually later in the day and about an hour, to allow the dogs sufficient rest time.