The day begins with a sense of anticipation as you're picked up from your Fairbanks hotel at 10 a.m. By mid-morning, you’re at Arctic Dog Adventure Co., sipping a warm drink as you and your guide review gear and packing list for the journey. After lunch, you bundle into your expedition parka, pants, and boots and head outside to meet your new teammates: your dog team.
The dogs are happy and excited, tails wagging and eager to run. After a brief safety orientation and mushing lesson, you step onto the runners of your sled, heart pounding, and pull the snow hook. With a shout of “Hike!” the team surges forward. You grip the handlebars, knees slightly bent, adjusting to the movement of the sled as you follow your guide through an old wildfire scar to a high ridge overlooking the Chatanika River Valley.
Framed by the rolling foothills of the White Mountains, this wilderness—free of roads or railways—stretches unbroken for hundreds of miles, all the way to the Arctic Ocean. Snow-covered hills roll in every direction, and the only sound is the rhythmic patter of paws and the hush of sled runners gliding over snow.
As the afternoon light fades, you arrive at our private Aurora Camp, accessible only by dog team or snowmachine. Perched on a ridge north of Fairbanks, far from light pollution, the camp includes a kitchen tent, two heated Arctic Oven glamping tents, and a privy. Unharness your dogs and tuck them in for the night, a quiet moment of connection and care.
Your accommodation for the night is a heated 9×9×7 ft Alaskan Arctic Oven Igloo tent—cozy, warm, and softly lit with twinkle lights. Inside, warmth radiates from the stove and two twin beds made with linen sheets, down comforters, and alpaca blankets promise restorative sleep. There is ample room for gear at the foot of the beds.
After a hearty wilderness dinner in the communal kitchen tent, step outside into the crisp night air. Above, the sky begins to shimmer—green ribbons of aurora ripple across the blackness, dancing above the pristine forest. Wrapped in down and silence, you watch the lights dance until sleep calls.
At a glance:
* Pick-up: 10 a.m. from Fairbanks hotel
* Meals: Breakfast on your own; lunch at Arctic Dog Adventure Co.; hot dinner at camp
* Distance: 10–15 trail miles
* Camp: Kitchen tent, two heated Arctic Ovens (2 guests each), and privy
* Highlights: Heated tents, cold-weather gear, hands-on mushing, pure roadless wilderness, exclusive aurora viewing location.
