Canada Yukon Dog Sled Winter

Overview

Within an hour of the briefing at a mushing kennel outside Whitehorse you are standing on the runners of your own sled behind a team of shrieking huskies - and the instant the snow hook lifts, the noise stops dead and there is only the hiss of runners and dog breath smoking in air at minus 30. Multi-day expeditions run the frozen rivers and black-spruce forest on the old trails of the Yukon Quest, overnighting in wall tents heated by wood stoves or in trappers' cabins, with the aurora as a regular bonus overhead. The dogs come first, always: you learn to harness, feed and check paws at every stop, and feeding your team at minus 40 before you eat is part of the contract - it is also, unexpectedly, the part people remember most fondly. Cold management is the variable that catches novices: operators lend expedition parkas and boots, but bring your own base layers, a balaclava for wind chill on the runners, and hand warmers taped to camera batteries, which die fast. January to March gives reliable trails and lengthening daylight; late February is prime. A guided five-day expedition costs around £3,500 from Whitehorse, tuition included - no experience needed beyond the fitness to jog uphill beside the sled.

Book This Trip

Plan Your Dates

Prefilled for 1 January 2027 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.