Kennel and Ride Rules

Thank you for your interest in dog sledding with us! We want you to have a great time riding in the sled creating memories, capturing media, and meeting our amazing working dogs. For your safety and the safety of the ride and dogs, here are our rules for participation.

Our driveway is located down a narrow gravel logging road off of HWY 44, or Pequaywan Lake Rd. When you make the turn off of 44 you will see a large yellow gate that is open along with a “St. Louis County Reservoir Forest Management Road” sign. Our property is 1 mile down the road on the left look for the fire number and green gate. We are not located in a State Park, or County Park the road was put in back in the mid 1990’s for logging, aka “forest management.” Depending on the time of year, there usually is logging activity on this road use caution if you see signs posted. Logging trucks are loaded with 40 tons of timber or pulp and have a difficult time stopping on a dime. The road is also open for the general public.

Please do not arrive before your scheduled time. Unless you are the first group of the day, we will most likely be dealing with customers that have booked an earlier time slot. If it is snowing, there is a strong chance that we will be running behind schedule. Don’t worry, we will still get you out on the trail. There’s also a chance you may run into another group that is leaving. It’s not possible to pass each other on the gravel road if we have lots of snow.

• Wait at your vehicle in our designated parking lot. One of our staff members will greet you and go over our kennel rules again for the entire group.
• Do not wander into the kennel or on the owner’s private property.
• You can get ready at your vehicle we do not have heated indoor buildings or bathrooms for customers.
• Feel free to use the designated porta potty in the lot. If you make a mess in the john, please clean it up for the next customer.

Our weight limit per customer is 265lbs. Although we can load the entire sled up to 800lbs with multiple customers, larger individuals put too much pressure on the dog sled in a concentrated area which make them hard to control and prone to damage.

Children 12 years old are usually adult size and weight we have a different price point for them. Children under 3 years old either laugh, cry, or fall asleep in the sled. We leave it up to the parents discretion when booking. We usually don’t take children under 2 y/o.

Pregnant women are allowed to sled, we usually put them in the front.

We do not have an age limit, however it’s best if you are able to move on your own in soft snow conditions.

Handicapped customers are allowed but we do recommend you have someone that is physically capable of helping you to the staging area.

How to dress. Everyone has their limit when it comes to winter weather tolerance. Here are some do’s and don’t when it comes to dog sledding.

Items NOT to Wear

• CHEMICAL HAND WARMERS are NOT ALLOWED! Sometimes they can slip out of your hands or dropped without knowing and the dogs will pick them up and eat them. This can cause poisoning or a bowel obstruction which is a death sentence for a dog
• bulky Carhartt bibs, pants, and jackets or related brands
• long zip women’s coats that cover the thighs
• knit items such as mittens or scarves (dogs will try to steal and chew on them)
• full face masks
• tennis shoes
• uninsulated rubber boots (especially children)
• tight boots with multiple layers of socks
• thin gloves

Suggested Clothing (weather dependent)

• insulated boots 1 size larger than your shoe size with merino wool socks
• mitts or mittens (not hand knit)
• warm hat
• facemask (on the sled only, not during kennel tour), balaclava, scarf tucked in
• merino wool long underwear
• ski or snowboard pants and jacket
• sunglasses or goggles