Food to Tickle Your Palate

Home Cooked meals to warm you up after a day outside mushing dogs.  All of our trips include delicious meals, served both in lodges and on the trail. Nobody will go hungry here! Your trail lunches are steaming hot bowls of a variety of homemade soups. One of the favorites is the lunch of locally made bratwurst roasted over a crackling fire. Scrumptious cookies and homemade breads accompany the meals. Many say that meals served at our yurt are their favorite. Pork Schnitzel with chipotle apple brandy sauce, served with wild rice pilaf and sourdough French bread is one of many tasty dinner possibilities. Of course the evening meal is topped off with a delicious dessert. Fresh-out-of-the-oven cranberry bread pudding will hit the spot (but then, so would the rich chocolate fudge pecan cake or the Danish cremes). A hearty breakfast of orange-pecan stuffed French toast or north woods pancakes is a great way to start out a day of mushing.

Relaxing Evenings

Evenings are set aside for relaxation. At the lodge or the yurt, it is a time for relaxing around a wood stove or fire and recounting the adventures of the day, playing a game, reading a book or just plain conversing among friends. Have a little more energy? Take a walk down to the lake or try a snowshoe hike. Save the last night at the lodge for a soak in the whirlpool or a steam in the sauna.

Dog sledding Rates and itineraries

Experience the ultimate in dog mushing. This trip is our signature trip. With four days of sledding culminating in a fantastic night run to the kennel. We are the only ones to offer a trip like this:

• 4 days dog sledding (3 nights in a lodge, 2 nights at yurt)
• Premiere style (you drive your own team for the entire trip)
• Explore over 100 miles of the Superior National Forest by dog team
• Physically active and adventurous trip
• No previous dog sledding experience needed
• Spectacular night run
• Perfect for individuals and couples

After an overview of basics on the first night, we head out the next day for the first day trip with the dogs, returning that night to the lodge. The next day begins by mushing your dog team to our remote yurt for a two-night stay. A delicious supper followed by a hearty breakfast prepares you for a full day to explore frozen lakes and snowy forest trails.

Enjoy a relaxing second morning at the yurt, with an opportunity for quiet reading or a snowshoe hike. After a delicious brunch, depart from the yurt early afternoon and run until dusk. Stop for supper cooked over a crackling campfire, and continue mushing on into the darkness of the night. The night run is always a favorite. Running at night is as close to flying as you will get without leaving the ground. Back at the kennel we will have dessert and enjoy the stories from the night. Return to the lodge and depart after breakfast the next morning.

Join one of our scheduled trips, or gather a group of 4-6 together and we can customize this trip for your group.

Winter Odyssey Booking Information

Trip Itinerary

Day 1:
Group welcome dinner and trip orientation.

Day 2:
Following breakfast, arrive at the kennel and meet your traveling companions. We'll teach you the essentials of driving a sled, harnessing dogs and then be off on a day trip. Novices and veterans alike will gain confidence throughout the day. Return to the lodge.

Day 3:
Travel day ending at the yurt.

Day 4:
Travel day returning to the yurt.

Day 5:
Sleep in, relax in the yurt, or explore the area woods - fantastic brunch followed by dogsledding the rest of the day, dinner on a lake, and mushing back to the kennel in the dark under the moon. Stay overnight in lodge.

Day 6:
Breakfast and depart.

Maximum group size: 5 guests with 1-2 guides.

Minimum age 16

Premier Yurt Trip

What is a yurt? A yurt is an insulated Mongolian tent-like shelter with a wooden frame and a canvas skin. Heated, a yurt provides the warmth and comfort of a lodge with the remoteness of a campsite. Although remote, the yurt experience is far from "roughing it." In addition to two nights at the yurt, enjoy a comfortable lodge both the first and last night of the program. Tickle your palate with delicious meals, complete with special desserts.

This premier style trip (one person per sled) includes three full days of mushing to explore a variety of trails. The two nights at the yurt increases the chances of a starry or moonlit night, or even seeing the aurora borealis.

Join one of the scheduled trips, or gather a group of 3-6 together and we can customize this trip for your group.

FEATURED SCHEDULE:
Dogsledding and Sled Dog Racing: Combine your mushing experience on a Premier Yurt Trip with spectating at one of the nearby sled dog races for an incredible week of dogs, mushing and winter excitement. We have one Premier Yurt Trip scheduled to coincide with a sled dog race.

• Feb 22-26. This trip finishes in time to catch the exciting start of the Wolftrack Classic Sled Dog Race, hosted in Ely, MN. The Wolftrack Classic features over 80 teams from the US and Canada in this mid-distance race (30 mile and 130 mile divisions).

Premier Yurt Trip Booking Information

Trip Itinerary

Day 1:
Group welcome dinner and trip orientation.

Day 2:
Following breakfast, arrive at the kennel and meet your traveling companions. We'll teach you the essentials of driving a sled, harnessing dogs and then be off on a day trip. Novices and veterans alike will gain confidence throughout the day. Travel to the yurt camp.

Day 3:
Travel day and return to the yurt.

Day 4:

Travel day and return to the kennel. Spend the night in the lodge.

Day 5:

Breakfast and depart.

Maximum group size: 4-5 guests with 1-2 guides.

Minimum age 16.

The Fisherman's Circuit- an Exclusive trip!

Combine one of the finest winter routes in the famed Boundary Waters Wilderness with ice fishing on three renowned wilderness fishing lakes for an outdoor enthusiast’s dream trip.  Top it off with driving your own team of well trained sled dogs for three days though this winter wonderland, eating fresh grilled fish over a campfire and sleeping under the most stars you’ve seen in a while – and you have the makings of an unforgettable trip.

The Fisherman's Circuit encompasses a fantastic wilderness route through marshes, small lakes, boreal forests and fun filled portage trails en route to some remote and productive wilderness fishing destinations. 

Learn to ice fish…(or for seasoned anglers, search for the big one). Savor the thrill of pulling up a fish through the ice hole. Feel the adrenaline rush of the good fight a northern pike or lake trout typically provide. At night, enjoy a hearty dinner around a crackling fire, with fresh grilled fish and homemade dessert, and marvel at the incredible night sky, miles and miles away from any artificial lights.  Listen for the howl of the lone wolf answered by our family of sled dogs. Retire for a full nights sleep under the stars or inside a winter expedition tent.

The route includes the historic Basswood Lake on the Canadian border, famed for producing large northerns and lakers. We will camp on a secluded bay on Basswood at the end of the first day.  Drive your dogsled over lively portage trails as we make our way onward to Knife Lake and deeper in to the heart of the BWCAW on day 2 and 3.  For adventurous and efficient travelers, we’ll continue on to Thomas Lake, renowned for its lake trout fishing.

This well-balanced trip insures you'll get your fill of both adventurous dog sledding and ice fishing. We typically travel ½-3/4 every day by dog team and fish a healthy amount each day. Base-camping for one night of the trip, with an optional day trip is also an option.  Typical group size is small, 2-3 guests with one guide, or up to a party of 6 with 2 guides.

Our guides see to it that you learn not only to mush, but also to winter camp comfortably. All winter camping equipment is provided. Parka, wind pants, and winter boots are available for rent. All fishing gear is provided. You will need to bring a current MN fishing license. Note that lake travel in the wilderness changes day to day in the winter. Our final route will adapt to the conditions, intent on fishing two different lakes on our tour. Typical routes include some combination of Knife, Kekekabic, Fraser and Thomas lakes.

Join one of our trips on the schedule, or contact us with your dates and we can design a trip just for your group. Custom trips can be arranged premier or traditional style. The best time to go is mid-February through the end of March. Ice fishing season here runs Jan 15-Feb 28 for most fish, and Jan 15-March 31 for Lake Trout.

The Fisherman's Circuit Booking Information

Trip Itinerary:

Day 1:
Arrive. Welcome dinner and trip orientation with your guide.

Day 2:
Meet at trailhead. Load sleds and learn basic mushing skills. Run for 1/2 day to destination lake. Set up camp, fish for ½ day and camp.

Day 3:
Fish the morning bite, break camp  mid-day, travel for 1/2 day, make second camp.

Day 4:
Fish for the morning, take down camp, lunch, final dogsled run. Return to lodge for dinner.

Day 5:
Breakfast and depart.

Maximum group size: 4-5 guests with 1-2 guides.

Minimum age 16.