World Traveller 73 
Review: Dog Sledding with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service, North Pole, USA
It wouldn’t be a trip to Alaska without getting a taste of the local outdoor activities. On our list to experience while we visited Alaska was dog sledding. After researching a few guides, we ended up booking with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service in North Pole, Alaska near Fairbanks. We were able to get out on the dog sled for a fun adventure in Alaska’s wilderness all while getting to know some entertaining animals. Read on to see how our dog sledding adventure was planned, researched and booked.
This post is one chapter on a winter trip to Alaska, United States. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Mileage Plan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
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✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Skiing Aleyska, Alaskan Railroad and Dog Sledding in Alaska
- Springhill Suites Bellingham, Washington, USA
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Bellingham – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Anchorage
- My Experience as a Hertz President’s Circle renter in Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- Aloft Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- A Cold War Secret: Visiting Whittier, Alaska
- The Alyeska Hotel, Girdwood, Alaska, USA
- Three Days at Alyeska Mountain Resort, USA
- Marriott Anchorage Downtown, Alaska, USA
- The Alaska Railroad Aurora Winter Train: Anchorage – Fairbanks
- Springhill Suites Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
- Dog Sledding in Fairbanks with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service, North Pole, USA
- Visiting the North Pole, Alaska
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Fairbanks – Anchorage
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Anchorage – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Bellingham
Review: Dog Sledding with Rod’s Alaska Guide Service, North Pole, Alaska, United States of America
This post isn’t exactly a review, as I don’t profess to be an expert in this particular area. Dog Sledding has been on my activities list for quite some time. While it is offered in Canada, it seemed to be more interesting to do this type of activity in Alaska. The state of Alaska has a great history with dog sledding, including the famous Itarod Dog Sled race that takes place over several days and 1,510 kilometers travelled.
About Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service:
When it came time to locating a dog sledding company, I ended up at the Alaska.org web page. Serving through the recommended providers, I ended up at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service.
Rod completed a career with the United States Air Force. In retirement, he’s decided to set up the hosting of an activities centre where you can do all sorts of things Alaskan; dog sledding, snowmobiling, fishing and hunting.
Booking Dog Sledding at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service:
Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service offers convenient booking online with live availability.
We were keen on getting a lengthy period of time with the dogs. As a result, we ended up booking a private 2 hour “I Want to be a Musher” session for $360 per person for two persons at $757 USD total with taxes.
During our spring visit, it started to get a bit warmer through the end of our travels on March 29, 2024. About a week in advance of the tour, we were contacted by Rod’s Alaskan Guide service and had our tour reduced to 1 hour due to the warmer temperatures. This was further reduced by thirty minutes about three days before our visit, as a result of warmer than expected spring temperatures.
Our credit card was adjusted accordingly and accurately. As a result, our experience ended up costing $95 per person for two persons costing a total of $190 for two.
As it turns out, we visited on the last weekend of winter seasonal operation as a result of warmer than expected temperatures that were still around the freezing mark.
Getting to Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service:
We departed the Springhill Suites Fairbanks by rental car provided by Hertz at the Fairbanks International Airport. I used the complimentary shuttle from the hotel to get to the airport on the morning of our activity.
It was a thirty minute drive out to Rod’s Alaskan Guide service in the outskirts of North Pole, Alaska. The drive was pleasant and on paved roads almost the entire way.
We had no issues locating the property with the help of google maps offline. The place was easy to locate and only about thirty minutes self drive from Fairbanks, Alaska.
Checking in at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service:
After arriving, we checked in for our activity. We were advised to arrive thirty minutes before the event. We arrived into a themed room hallmarked by Rod’s military decorations of his US Air Force service.
We were offered winter clothes in the form of winter pants, jackets as well as hats and gloves. Since we were on a ski trip to Alyeska, we had most of the outerwear with us anyway and didn’t have to borrow anything.
Dog Sledding with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service:
We stepped outside after getting suited up before our ride. It was a gorgeous winter day so we spent the most time outside that we could possibly manage.
We were introduced to our guide for the day. There were a few dog sledding tours getting ready near the same time. Despite this, it was a quiet preparation without much fuss.
After a safety briefing, we set off on our way.
We hopped on board our three person sled. There was a seat for one (taller one like myself) a floor seat without a chair and a standing space for our musher guide. The dogs were pretty keen to go. Under the strength of eight dogs pulling us, we headed out on the nearby trail.
The trails were flat, packed and set, making for minimal effort with the dogs. It was pleasant trails around Rod’s Alaskan Guiding Service, with very few people out and about in the area that we were sledding in.
After about fifteen minutes, we got into a few winding trails. We paused to allow the dogs a bit of a great, where we got to get up close to some of these creatures.
We had a full on introduction to each dog, along with some explanations on what it takes to raise, mentor and train guide dogs. It’s fair to say that MrsWT73 was overjoyed with the animals and the experience overall.
These dogs didn’t seem to mind being outside with us. They really appeared to enjoy the day. After a pause, we headed back the way we came. While we had originally booked a longer excursion, our thirty minute excursion went by pretty quickly.
We were back at the start fairly quickly on an “out and back” type of routing. We had a few more good byes before we departed.
We finished up at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service. After changing, we headed off to the North Pole, Alaska for a little Christmas shopping cheer.
My Thoughts on Dog Sledding in Alaska:
It was pretty neat to experience dog sledding in Alaska.
Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service offered a wonderful guiding experience with reception that was friendly, organized and efficient. Our guide was professional, entertaining and had a genuine love for mushing and dog sled guiding.
I’d highly recommend this activity for those looking for a taste of Alaska and can easily endorse Rod’s Alaskan Guiding Service.
World Traveller 73 
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