Answering the Call of the Wild | Montana Dog Sled Events | Companies Offering Dog Sled Adventures

Answering the Call of the Wild

Admit it. After reading "The Call of the Wild" for the first time in high school, you secretly yearned to hitch a team of huskies and yell "mush." Well, you can do just that in Montana. The popularity of dog sledding has been growing across the country in the last few years, and more and more companies in Big Sky Country are putting their winters on paws. You can find everything from quick half-day sled outings with a guide to multi-night resort adventures with planned dog sled itineraries. And no, you don't need to bring a pack of 12 huskies along; you'll find trained teams and everything else you need to get started at any of the companies listed below.

Montana Dog Sled Events

If the thought of trying to control a dozen yipping huskies seems a bit overwhelming, you can always do the next best thing: watch someone else try to control them.

Montana has become an epicenter for high-profile dog sled races and events, including the Race to the Sky. Ranked one of the top five sled dog races on earth. Since 1986, the race has been organized by Montana Sled Dog, Inc., a private non-profit group dedicated to commemorating the historical use of sled dogs in Montana. The 350-mile race begins at Camp Rimini just outside of Helena, runs to Deer Lodge, the next day restarts in Lincoln, and goes to White Tail Ranch, Ovando, Seeley Lake Community Center, Seeley Lake, to a wilderness checkpoint and back to Seeley Lake Community Center and onto the finish at Hi-Country Beef Snacks archway near Lincoln, making it one of the most physically challenging sled races in the world.

The second weekend in January, Seeley Lake and Lincoln host the Seeley Lake Sled Dog Races. Typically there will be 200 and 300 mile Iditarod qualifying races with a total of up to thirty teams entered. The races attract some of the best mushers from Alaska, Canada and the lower 48.

Companies Offering Dog Sled Adventures

So you want to take the reins of you very own sled, eh? Montana has plenty of resorts and companies filled with expert mushers who will get you started.