DCL Port Adventure – Juneau, Alaska

Travel to the Musher’s Camp, where you’ll enjoy an exciting sled dog ride as well as time to play with husky puppies.

On this adventure you will…

• Meet your friendly guides at the dock and depart on an approximately 30-minute ride to Douglas Island where a unique dog-sledding experience awaits!
• Arrive at the Musher’s Camp. Your adventure begins with an exhilarating sled-dog ride led by a powerful team of Alaskan Huskies. Your dog team will pull you around a one-mile track on a specially-made summertime sled. You will be surrounded by Western hemlock and Sitka spruce in the center of the world’s largest temperate rainforest.
• Conclude your ride for a chance to meet your professional team of Alaskan huskies. Many of the dogs on this high-caliber team are veterans of races such as the Iditarod and Yukon Quest. Feel free to take pictures with your team of sled dogs.
• Meet a dog handler and a special helper sled dog. Together they will tell you about the dogs at the camp and show you different tools and products used for taking care of the sled dogs.
• Mid-tour, take the rare opportunity to cross a suspension bridge that offers great views of the temperate rainforest, the lush Alaskan landscape and the river below. You will have the chance to snap some photos at the viewing platform.
• After learning about dog care, enjoy a presentation about the sport of mushing. Learn about famous races like the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. Finally, experience one of the most exciting moments of your tour: puppy time! They love to meet and be cuddled by new friends. Guests will get to hold new puppies and take lots of pictures.
• Board your transportation and travel back to the pier.

Our Experience

Since Juneau had an early all-aboard time, we decided to do the first excursion of the day.  We met in Wavebands at 8:45, and we left the ship and walked to a passenger van.  While waiting to depart, and because someone actually made it all the way back to the ship once, we heard a very stern lecture about not stealing any of the puppies.  Then we were on our way.  The driver gave us some fun and interesting facts about Juneau during the ride, and she also pointed out some landmarks and other points of interest.

We arrived at the Musher’s Camp, and we were divided into two groups.  Our group got to go on the sled ride first!  The sled was actually a modified large golf cart, and consequently I was worried that the dogs wouldn’t be able to pull us.  As much as I hate to say it, was I wrong!  First, they did it with ease, and second, they were having a great time!  These dogs LOVE to run, and even when we stopped to give them a break, almost all of them were up and ready to go in a very short time.