Denali Alaska Winter Activities: Skiing and Dog Sledding Into The Wilderness

Into the wild bus
The famous “Into The Wild” Bus along the Stampede trail.  The Bus was removed in June 2020.

Experience Denali National Park in Winter! EarthSong Lodge and Denali Dog Sled Expeditions is a concessionaire licensed to operate overnight trips in the heart of Denali Park Wilderness, the only guides that can mush you to spectacular Wonder Lake and the park road corridor. No one else can get you closer to the spectacular North Face of Denali.

We specialize in bringing travelers to Interior Alaska and Denali Park face to face with the Alaska they have come so far to see.

Our trips are fully interactive. You will mush a dog team deep into the heart of Alaska’s most sacred place – Denali National Park in the Winter.

Denali National Park provides many options for dog sled travel. From river bars and mountain passes to the Alaska Range glacier system, you will see a piece of wilderness most people will only see in the pages of magazines and books. For trip dates and rates, see our Dog Sledding Schedule.

Northern lights
Northern lights over Denali National Park.

For detailed information about our dog sledding trips, be sure to read our Dog Sledding Q&A and see what other guests’ experiences were like in our Dog Sledding Stories.

We also offer cross-country ski expeditions and spring mountain climb support in the Alaska Range. Our trips are for guests with skill levels from beginner to advanced. From overnights in our cozy cabins with basic sled dog demonstrations to 7-day backcountry adventures, EarthSong Lodge can cater to your Alaskan adventure vacation.

NEW! Check our our Gallery pages.
Mushing in Denali Park or Dog Sledding outside of Denali.

P.O. Box 89 Healy, Alaska 99743
(907) 683-2863
(907) 683-2868

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE 2023-2024 WINTER DOG SLED GUIDING SEASON:

Denali Dogsled Expeditions will be operating on a full schedule for the upcoming 2023-2024 guiding season.  Due to some factors we will have a modified schedule.

The Denali Park Road is now closed for at least the next two years at Mile44, the halfway point on the Park Road to Wonder Lake.  How this impacts our operations are not known at this time, as we require access to the Road to stock and unstock our caches at Toklat, Thorofare, and Wonder Lake.  We may be offering less trips west of Toklat for this reason.  For winter 2023 we are not offering any trips to Wonder Lake.  We will always have excellent alternatives if your first choice of trip is not available.

Which brings us to the last issue…climate change.  It is undeniable that our changing climate is impacting the park.  That’s the root problem for the Road Closure.  It is also the cause of our record-breaking snowfall winter 2021-2022.  As always, we will try to achieve the itinerary guests choose when booking a trip, but we work in the wilderness and work WITH nature and weather, not against it.  You will not leave us without having an excellent adventure!

Recent Reviews:

Who and Why Denali Dog Sled Expeditions?   Denali Dog Sled Expeditions started guiding in and around Denali National Park in 1985.  Company founder and owner Jon Nierenberg, a local homesteader, wanted to share his love of travel in the Denali Backcountry by dog team with people from all over the world.  The company has evolved from a one-person endeavor to an operation employing six local guides, all with high skills and individual specialties.  There are a number of things that make DDSE special, above and beyond all the rest:

Local knowledge–Our staff has over 100 years of mushing in the park area.  All guides live and run dogs in the park neighborhood, and stay here year-round with a full commitment and love of the park and it’s ideals.

Best dogs–We know that the best part of a dog sled expedition is the interaction between our guests and the sled dogs they are working with.  So we do have the best, hardest-working, most social dogs around.

Location–Hard to beat Alaska, and specifically Denali National Park.  It’s the reason why Jon has stayed in the area since 1982, even after mushing expeditions all over Alaska and parts of Canada.  Denali is one of the only true wilderness areas in Alaska, where motorized vehicle access is prohibited.

Group size–We only deal with very small groups, generally 2-4 people, and have an excellent guest to guide ratio.  This results in the ability to customize trips, modify while out on the trail, and keep a very high safety standard.

Approved by Denali National Park–We have to reach certain standards to be fulfill our permit obligations with the National Park Service.   Our record speaks for itself.

History–We are one of the longest-running dog sled guiding services in the north country.  We do know what we are doing, and what guests want.

Variety–From a one hour day trip to a 10 day backcountry expedition, we can meet the needs and desires of just about any visitor.  Our guests have come from all over the country and world, from youngsters to seniors.

Our winter business now has exclusive use of all Denali National Park Huts, along with two cabins at Wonder Lake, for dog sled passenger trips and cross-country ski-support trips.