Dog sledding
Alaska helicopter and glacier dogsled tour: sledding in July
Dog sledding is a winter activity everywhere except on a glacier, where the snow never goes. Kennels move teams up onto the ice for the summer and the only way in is by air. This is what the camp is, what the run is like, and which of the two versions to book.
Quick answer
An Alaska helicopter and glacier dogsled tour costs from $724, and the best-reviewed version is $769 with 64 ratings at 4.9. A helicopter takes you up to a summer camp on the snow, a musher takes you out behind a working team, and you get time with the dogs. It runs in July because the glacier keeps its snow when the valleys have none.
Helicopter dog sledding, at a glance
- Two versions here
- $724 and $769different operators and camps
- Best reviewed
- $76964 ratings at 4.9
- Length
- 1.5–2 hoursincluding the flight both ways
- Why it works in summer
- Glacier snowthe ice keeps its snow all year
- How you get there
- Helicopter onlythe camps have no road or trail
- The dogs
- Working teamskennels run them on the ice through the season
- Time with the dogs
- Includedand it is often the part people remember
- Warm clothing
- Yours to bringyou are on snow, in wind, at altitude
- Season
- Summer campsand winter runs at valley level
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 hon both versions
Why a glacier
It is the only place in Alaska with snow in July
Kennels move onto the ice because the glacier keeps its snow. There is no road in.
Sled dogs need snow, and Alaska in July does not have any at valley level. What it does have is glaciers, whose accumulation zones sit high enough that the snow that falls in winter never entirely melts.
So kennels move a working operation up onto the ice for the summer: teams, sleds, handlers, tents and a supply chain, all of it flown in, all of it sitting on a moving glacier for a season. There is no road, no trail and no way to walk in. The helicopter is not atmosphere; it is the only door.
That explains the price, and it explains why this is one of the few things on this page where the flight genuinely is a means rather than the point. You are paying for access to a camp that cannot exist anywhere else.
It also explains why people fly up for it in midsummer. The glacier camps are the answer to a question nothing else in Alaska can answer: can I run a dog team in July? On the ice, yes — and only there.
What the visit contains
Six parts of a ninety-minute trip
Roughly in order, though operators vary.
- The flight up
Fifteen to twenty minutes over the river valley and onto the icefield. The camp appears as a line of small tents and staked-out dogs on an enormous white surface, which is the moment the scale registers.
- Meeting the musher
A short briefing at the camp: how to stand on a sled, where to hold, what not to do. These are people who live on a glacier for the summer and they are generally very good company.
- The run
Out behind a working team on packed snow. It is faster and much quieter than people expect — the noise is the runners on snow and the dogs breathing, and almost nothing else.
- Time with the dogs
Usually the part people describe afterwards. Working huskies are sociable, extremely fit, and entirely uninterested in being photographed. Puppies are sometimes at the camp depending on the season.
- The kennel’s own story
Most of these operations are run by racing mushers, and they will talk about training, lines and distance racing if you ask. It is the most interesting conversation available on a glacier.
- The flight back
A different line home, usually. After an hour on a white surface, the greens and greys of the valley look startling.
The flight and the landing on their own, without a programme, start at $492 for an hour on Knik.
The one-hour Knik flight→Which of the two to book
They are not the same trip, and one has far more evidence behind it
Sixty-four reviews against seven. Both reach the camp; one of them has more evidence behind it.
The $769 version operates from the Palmer side and carries 64 reviews at 4.9, which makes it the best-evidenced programme on this page. If you are choosing on weight of evidence, this is the one.
The $724 version is cheaper and carries 7 reviews at 5.0. Seven is not many, and a perfect score from seven people tells you much less than a 4.9 from sixty-four. It is not a reason to avoid it; it is a reason to know what you are reading.
Both include the flight, the camp and a run. Neither is long: an hour and a half to two hours door to door, of which a meaningful share is flying.
One thing worth saying plainly: this is the only dog sledding in Alaska that runs in July. The teams are up there because the glacier is the one place in the state that still has snow in midsummer, and the camp has no road, no trail and no way in on foot. What you are buying is a working kennel in a place nobody else can reach.
Common questions
Helicopter dog sledding, answered
How much is an Alaska helicopter and glacier dogsled tour?
From $724. The best-reviewed version is $769 with 64 ratings at 4.9, running from the Palmer side.
Can you go dog sledding in Alaska in summer?
On a glacier, yes. Kennels move teams up onto the ice for the season because the snow there never goes. The camps have no road or trail and are reached only by helicopter.
How long does it take?
An hour and a half to two hours door to door, including the flight each way. The time at the camp itself is shorter than that sounds, so it is worth being ready when you land.
Do you drive the sled yourself?
That varies by operator. On most of these a musher drives and you ride, with some opportunity to stand on the runners. Check the listing if driving is the point for you.
Is it worth it just for the dogs?
People consistently say the time with the team is the part they remember, ahead of the run and ahead of the flight. Working huskies are sociable and the mushers are good company.
Why is the camp on a glacier?
Because it is the only place in Alaska with snow in July. The teams, the sleds and the handlers are flown up for the season and live on moving ice, and the camp has no road, no trail and no way in on foot.
Go deeper
More on Alaska helicopter tours and glacier landings
What an Alaska helicopter tour costs
Fourteen trips priced per person and per hour, from $310 to $1,385.
Knik GlacierThe Knik Glacier flight
The one-hour flight with a landing: what the hour contains and why it costs what it does.
VerdictThe best Alaska helicopter tour
Fourteen trips ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
The landingWhat a glacier landing is like
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes on the ice, and why that is the whole purchase.
AnchorageHelicopter tours from Anchorage
Everything that flies within an hour of the city, and where each one departs.
Grand KnikThe Grand Knik tour
Two hours and more than one landing - what the extra hour actually buys.
