Wilderness Lodge and Husky Sledding in Swedish Lapland (Sweden)

Develop your mushing skills through the week, including overnight expedition to wilderness cabin

Your experience will begin with an introductory training day tour with two persons per sled to gain confidence in handling the sled and get used to working with the dogs.

As well as of course the excitement of husky sledding and the stark beauty of the Arctic landscape in winter, mealtimes will be a feature of your stay. There is a focus on local cuisine, such as reindeer or moose from the surrounding area, as well as herbs and berries picked from the forests. Vegetarian and other dietary options can of course also be catered for.

Subsequent sledding days will gradually increase the distance and level of challenge as your confidence and mushing skills develop. After the introductory day, you will normally drive your own sled with own dog team, but there is also the option to use tandem sled (with two persons standing/driving) if preferred. There is flexibility to adapt the sled arrangements and level of challenge to offer the best experience.

The Wilderness Lodge offers simple but comfortable accommodation, with social/dining area, showers/WC, sauna facilities and limited electricity supply (using generator).

After each day's sledding, you return to the cosy atmosphere of your base at the kennels to relax and enjoy dinner together in the evening, with the exception of the overnight expedition, when you will sled to a riverside wilderness camp for accommodation in simple cabins before returning to the Lodge the following day.

The overnight tour offers an extra dimension of excitement and adventure. The camp has simple sleeping cabins with a larger cabin for cooking/socialising, and a wood-fired sauna - it may be simple, but it's very cosy and very welcoming!

There is also one day for other activities, where arrangements can be flexible depending on your preference - take the chance to try ice fishing and snowshoeing from the Lodge, or visit the world-famous Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi and Kiruna town, the capital of Swedish Lapland.

Wilderness Lodge and Husky Sledding in Swedish Lapland is the ideal option for those seeking an extended mushing experience with simple comforts to return to in a remote wilderness setting. What a combination!

Getting Involved

As with all our dogsled tours, you will be involved in all aspects of the trip, and this is very much part of the experience. You will assist with caring for your dog team, including harnessing, feeding (and, yes, picking up poo!), as well as tasks around camp such as fetching water, chopping wood, preparing food, washing up, etc.

Day 2: Introductory Dogsled Tour

After breakfast, you meet for an instruction session, where you will be shown how to harness your dogs and handle the sled.

You will then set off for a dogsled tour in the surrounding forest. Two-person sleds are used for this initial training tour. Sledding distance today will normally be around 15-20km. You return from your tour to have lunch, and can then enjoy the atmosphere of the base camp in the afternoon. Take some snowshoes and go exploring or relax in the sauna! Dinner is served in the evening.

Day 3: Second Day of Dog Sledding

Today you can develop what you learned on Day 2, with a longer tour of around 20-30km. You should find you're becoming more confident with harnessing your dogs and handling the sled now.

Conditions permitting, you will stop for lunch outdoors around open fire, before returning to the camp in the afternoon for dinner.

Days 4-5: Overnight Dogsled Tour to Wilderness Camp

Onwards and upwards! Your mushing skills will be developing well by now, and today you embark on an overnight dogsled tour, taking you through the twists and turns of forest tracks and across frozen lakes, stopping for lunch outdoors around the fire.

In the afternoon, you reach the riverside wilderness camp for accommodation there in simple cabins. The camp has a communal cabin for meals/socialising and sauna is also available. No electricity or running water, dry outside toilet.

Next day, you continue your dogsled adventure, returning to the kennels.

Please note: The overnight expedition to riverside wilderness camp is possible when the river is properly frozen and can be crossed safely. Ice conditions are normally suitable from beginning of December onwards until the end of the season, so the overnight tour is an intended feature of all standard tour dates. In the event that ice conditions are not suitable to cross the river, all days of sledding will be from the kennels as an alternative.

Day 6: Activity Day

Today you leave the dogs to rest for a while as you explore some of the alternative ways to enjoy Swedish Lapland in wintertime. There are alternatives for this day depending on your preference:

• Ice Hotel and Kiruna visit: After breakfast, snowmobile transfer brings you to the road where you continue by vehicle (approx. 1 hour) to Kiruna, the Arctic Capital of Swedish Lapland. No trip to the far north of Sweden is complete without visiting the world-famous Ice Hotel, in the village of Jukkasjärvi just outside Kiruna. Each winter a team of artists creates the Ice Hotel rooms afresh with magical sculptures and carvings, including an Ice Chapel and of course the Ice Bar. You'll be taken to the Ice Hotel to enjoy a tour. Entrance charge applies (around 375 SEK/person, approx. £30), payable locally. You'll also have the opportunity to explore Kiruna town independently, which is undergoing a remarkable transformation - due to the workings of the Kiruna iron ore mine, a large section of the town is in the process of being re-located and re-constructed. This process has been ongoing for many years but is now proceeding quickly.
• Snowshoeing and Ice Fishing: Discover the zen-like activity of ice fishing. After breakfast, hike with snowhoes to one of the frozen lakes, where you drill a hole in the ice with the ice drill before setting down with your fishing rod to try your luck with a catch. Ice fishing is a wonderfully serene activity and a great way to simply "be" in the winter world for a while, letting your thoughts wander as you gaze into the icy depths and admire the surrounding landscape. When ready, you can return to the camp for sauna and an evening around the fire. Perhaps the Northern Lights will dance for you in the skies above!
• Sámi Reindeer Herder visit (additional charge applies): Subject to availability, it may also be possible to visit a local Sämi reindeer herder to meet the reindeer and learn about the traditional way of life of the indigenous people of the area. Please contact us for details.

Day 7: Fifth Day of Dog Sledding

As your week in the Lapland wilderness draws to a close, what better way to end than with an extended dogsled tour! Today's tour will typically be around 35-45km, sledding for around 4-6 hours including lunch.

When you return to the kennels in the afternoon, you should be justly proud of how far your mushing skills have come through the week! Give your team of huskies a warm hug to thank them for their part in your adventure, before final dinner and relaxation in the evening.

Day 8: Departure

Breakfast and departure. Snowmobile transfer to the road followed by onward transfer to Kiruna airport, train station or accommodation in town if staying extra night(s) in the area after your tour.

NB: If you departing Kiruna today, you should plan departure flight from Kiruna airport or train station no earlier than 12.00.

Included

Accommodation:

• 6 nights in shared 2-5 person rooms at the Wilderness Lodge with shared WC/shower facilities. The lodge has total 3 guest rooms with up to total 14 beds. Standard of accommodation is simple but comfortable. The accommodation has limited electricity (using generator, providing power for lighting, re-charging devices, and powering the shower pump and toilet flush between 07.00 and 22.00 each day), and a large common room with fireplace. Sauna is available with possibility for a dip in the lake.
• 1 night in simple cabin at riverside wilderness camp with shared sleeping accommodation. The camp has a communal cabin for meals and socialising and sauna is also available. No electricity or running water. Dry, outside wilderness toilet facilities.

Meals:

All meals from dinner Day 1 to breakfast on Day 8. Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements.

Equipment and Clothing:

• All necessary equipment during dog sledding tour including sleds with own dogsled team. Each adult participant drives their own sled as standard, usually with 4-5 dogs per team. For the training tour at the start, you will drive two persons per sled. On request or where appropriate, a "tandem" sled arrangement can also be used where both participants are standing and assisting in driving and braking the sled, with a larger team of huskies, or shared sled with driver/passenger.
• Warm winter clothing for all activities: insulated parker and snow trousers, winter boots/overshoes, mittens and balaclava. Please bring own winter hat.
• Ice fishing equipment if required for activity day.
• Winter sleeping bag with liner for night in wilderness cabin.

Guide:

• Instruction in harnessing and sled handling.
• Services of local guide(s) during the tour.

Transfers:

• Return transfer between Kiruna airport, train station or accommodation in Kiruna and the kennels in connection with arrival/departure.
• Transfer to/from Jukkasjärvi/Kiruna for Ice Hotel and town visit as per itinerary.

Not Included

• Travel: We do not arrange flights or domestic travel, but are happy to advise on suitable connections and assist you with any aspect of planning your journey. See under "Getting There" for general travel information.
• Alcoholic drinks.

Required

Health requirements/experience:

General good health and level of fitness. No previous dog sledding experience required. Min. age 18 (16 if accompanied by adult).

Guests aged 18+ will drive own sled as standard (except for first training tour, where two-person sleds are used) but may also choose to use tandem sled (with both persons standing behind the sled and assisting in driving) or shared sled (driver/passenger) if appropriate. Guests aged 16+ will usually drive own sled depending on size/weight and trail conditions and at the discretion of the guide.

Dog sledding and taking care of your husky team can be physically demanding and to drive your own sled you must be able to brake the sled when going downhill and also assist the dogs during uphill sections by stepping off and running behind the sled for short distances (note, however, that this tour runs in a landscape of frozen lakes, rivers and forest so will be less demanding than sledding in mountain terrain).

If weight >95kg, please contact us to discuss suitability.

What makes this "Easy-Medium"?

This experience features simple but comfortable accommodation at the kennels on six nights, with simpler facilities at the wilderness camp for one night.

You will be active during the day with the chance to relax and enjoy the lodge atmosphere in the evenings, with sauna available.

The area is remote and offers exciting and adventurous sledding, but with the flexibility to adapt the level of challenge and distance covered depending on conditions and the participants.

NB: Perception of difficulty is very subjective. What is hard to one person may be easy for another and vice versa, depending on factors including level of fitness, age and previous experience. Weather conditions/temperatures can also dramatically affect the actual level of challenge encountered.

Equipment/clothes needed:

For information on any equipment and/or clothing included as standard for this experience, please see under "What's Included".

A detailed recommended packing list for personal items to bring will be sent with your booking documentation.

NB: We advise you not to buy equipment or clothes for your trip or to incur other non-refundable expenses such as flights until you have received confirmation of your booking from us in writing. Note of course that the most appropriate clothing to use as well as the level of challenge experienced during any outdoor activity may vary significantly depending on factors such as the time of year and the particular weather/temperature conditions during your trip.

Preparing for your trip:

For further reading, we also have a number of general information articles to get you ready for your trip, covering a wide variety of topics from what to do on a city break before/after your tour, advice on packing, eyewear for winter and considerations for female travellers.

Minimum number:

A total of minimum two persons is required for scheduled tours to run. You are of course welcome to book as a solo traveller.

Combine This With

This experience makes a good combination with the following:

• Lapland Sámi Retreat at the Reindeer Camp (60 mins by transfer, ideal for extra night(s) locally before and/or after your tour)
• Reindeer Encounter and Sámi Experience in Lapland (afternoon activity for departure day, 60 mins by transfer)

Groups

Up to 14 guests may be at the lodge during your stay, though in practice there are usually fewer guests at one time. When sledding, groups will be max. 7-8 persons. During periods when there are more than 8 guests, the group will be divided as appropriate to sled separately with own guide(s).

This experience is also available as a private experience for groups. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Eco Info

This provider has a written environmental policy.

Will I see the Northern Lights?

This experience is located in the far north of Sweden, one of the world's best locations for seeing the Northern Lights, and offers good chances to see a display during your tour. Wonderful displays are regularly seen on the tours. However, it is important to bear in mind that the Aurora is a natural phenomenon and sightings can never be guaranteed in any location - it is not possible to search for a display. The skies may be cloudy, there may be no activity, or you may be fast asleep after a day of adventure on the trail!

"I honestly can say this was one of the best experiences I've ever had. It was all amazing, from seeing the northern lights, to driving our own sleds, even picking up dog poop in the dark at -20 degrees was great as we got to cuddle with the dogs. If I had to pick a best it would be the guides, our group spanned 13-76 years and they were great with us all. [I chose Nature Travels because] right type of trip (length and cost) and good reviews." Martha, January 2025

"The highlights were staying at a secluded lodge with only a small group, spending time with the dogs and getting to know the guides and other travellers." Abbey, January 2025