Island Cabin Dogsled Safari in South Lapland

Description »

An authentic and wild mushing adventure with accessible level of challenge

Winter 2026/27: Bookings for this tour are now open for next winter. We recommend booking immediately if you wish to travel next winter, as availability is typically limited far in advance.

Looking for a multi-day dog sledding experience driving your own sled and covering plenty of distance but suitable for novice mushers? Look no further! Island Cabin Dogsled Safari in South Lapland puts you in the driving seat with your own team of huskies for a 3-day/2-night husky adventure through a landscape of forests and marshland, across frozen lakes and along the mighty Vindelälv river.

Driving your own dogsled during the tour

You'll be driving your own sled during the tour, or can choose to share sled with a partner if preferred. Photo: WLA.

Three days of wonderful sledding and atmospheric evenings at the cabin

The tour is 3 days/2 nights with sledding on all three days. You will need to overnight independently locally before the tour, as sledding begins in the morning of Day 1. Starting from the kennels, you head off into the wilderness, stopping for lunch outdoors on the way before continuing to your overnight accommodation, a wilderness cabin on an island in the frozen Vindeläv river, typically covering around 20-30km this day.

At the cabin, you take care of your dogsled team before enjoying your first evening in the wilderness, spending as much time outside as possible to make the most of the silence, the darkness and tranquility. With luck, the Northern Lights will illuminate the skies above.

Your tour will take you along beautiful, easy-going forest trails. Photo: WLA.

From here, now you've gained some confidence with the sled and your team, you take a longer day tour on Day 2, normally heading along the frozen river for a tour of around 40-50km and stopping for lunch over open fire outside, before returning to the cabin for your second night.

Day 3 brings you back to the kennels with an early start and a run of around 25-35km to arrive home for a late lunch followed by departure around 14.30.

Wide choice of tour dates and suitable for adults and older children

Island Cabin Dogsled Safari in South Lapland is an authentic multi-day dogsled experience where you will be closely involved in all aspects of handling and caring for your husky team, as well as assisting with the various tasks around the cabin such as cooking dinner together, chopping firewood, etc. However, the terrain is relatively untechnical, with wide and mostly level trails. You will need to have a general good level of fitness and be comfortable spending extended periods outdoors in winter conditions, but the level of physical challenge is moderate and the tour is accessible to a wide range of participants with general good health and fitnesss.

Northern Lights during your dogsled tour

Far from light pollution, there are good chances to see the magical Northern Lights during your tour. Photo: WLA.

The tour is also open to younger mushers aged minimum 15. Everyone will drive their own dogsled as standard, usually with 3-5 huskies per team, though if you prefer, you are also welcome to share sled with one person driving and one riding as passenger, taking turns to drive as appropriate. Great for more sociable sledding or for taking pictures!

There is a wide choice of dates, with weekly tours Sunday-Tuesday between mid-December and late March. Max. group size is 6 persons for public tours, though private groups of up to 8 persons are also possible on request for dates between December and April.

Whether this will be your first dogsled adventure, or you're ready for a "next step" multi-day trip after trying a shorter tour, the huskies and the island cabin are waiting for you!

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.

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Itinerary »

As with all outdoor experiences, the itinerary below is subject to change depending on weather conditions and other factors. At times of extreme low temperatures, an alternative itinerary may be arranged whereby accommodation will still be at the island cabin on both nights, but sledding will take place from the kennels on one or more days, with participants transferred by snowmobile between the kennels and island cabin as necessary.

Day 1: Arrival and dog sledding to the island

NB: This experience begins at the kennels at 09.30 on Day 1. You will need to arrive in Lycksele the day before to overnight locally before the tour begins and may also wish to overnight independently at the end of the tour before onward travel.

Travel independently by taxi to the kennels for arrival by 09.30. Please ensure you've had a good breakfast, as the morning will be busy until lunch on the trail once you begin sledding.

You will collect your winter clothing, meet the dogs and have an introduction to handling the sled and to travelling in winter conditions.

You then harness your team and set off, heading along forest trails and across frozen lakes and river towards the island where you will spend the next two nights.

You'll make a lunch stop along the way, normally in tipi, to enjoy lunch and coffee around the fire before continuing on your way.

Once you reach the wilderness cabin, you'll prepare the dogs for spending the night outside and give them their dinner (the dogs always come first!). Then it's time to enjoy a relaxing evening in and around the cabin. Everyone assists with the various tasks for the evening, including caring for and feeding the dogs, and chopping firewood.

You'll cook dinner together, hopefully outside if weather permits, and perhaps the Northern Lights will be dancing in the skies above. You will spend as much time as possible together outside, enjoying the open fire, the darkness and stillness of the wilderness.

The cabin is heated with wood-burning stove and with "proper" beds, making it warm and cosy for your first night in the wilderness.

Typical sledding distance this day is around 25-35km.

Day 2: Day tour from the island cabin

Greet the dogs and prepare their breakfast (the dogs need to have their breakfast well before starting their run for the day) and then breakfast in the cabin to prepare for a full day of sledding out in the wilderness.

This is a day of "wild and free mushing". You should be gaining confidence on the sled now and getting to know your dogsled team. There are a number of trails which can be taken to explore the surroundings. A light lunch will be prepared over open fire at a suitable spot during the day, before returning to the cabin in the afternoon for your second evening.

Typical sledding distance this day is around 40-50km.

Day 3: Dog sledding to the kennels and departure

You make an early start to head for home, with a long, uninterrupted sled run back to the kennels.

Once back, you unpack the equipment from the tour and take care of the sleds and dogs, enjoy a late lunch together, then at around 14.30, it's time to bid farewell (most likely with a tear or two!) to your team. Travel independently by taxi to Lycksele for onward travel.

Typical sledding distance this day is around 25-35kmkm.

Dates & Prices»

Dates 2026/27

Tours are offered every week Sunday-Tuesday from 20.12-22.12.26 to 21.03-23.03.27 (except no tour 03.01-05.01.27)

Private tours on other dates by arrangement may be available for groups on request between December and April. Max. group size for public tours is 6 persons, but up to 8 persons can be accommodated for private tours. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

The Northern Lights can be seen anytime from around September to early/mid April. While the "spring winter" in March and April has longer hours of daylight and shorter nights than the deep midwinter, on the other hand these months can also have a greater incidence of clear skies.

Prices 2026/27

Standard Prices)
Per person	GBP

What's Included »

Included

Accommodation:

Two nights in wilderness island cabin. Cabin has no electricity or running water (drinking water is brought from the kennels). Dry outside toilet facilities. Cabin is total around 30m2 with kitchen, dining table and wood-burning stove.
Shared sleeping accommodation. Beds have duvets and pillows. The cabin has one double bed with feather mattress and 10cm memory foam mattress on top and two bunk beds with good quality foam mattresses (about 20cm thick) and memory foam top mattress 5cm. There is capacity for an additional two sleeping spaces, but if conditions are suitable, the guide will normally sleep outside on the porch to be able to take care of the dogs during the night.

Meals:

All meals from lunch Day 1 to lunch Day 3. Lunch when out sledding will typically be prepared outdoors over open fire, with lunch on Day 3 back at the kennels. There is a focus on locally sourced ingredients wherever possible, including game such as moose or capercaillie, reindeer and fish from the lakes such as trout and arctic char. Special diets such as vegetarian, gluten free, etc, can also be catered for (though please note that due to the focus on local cuisine, it is not possible to accommodate vegan diets). 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 participant drives own sled, usually with 3-5 dogs per team. Participants may choose to share sled if preferred (one per two persons, driver/passenger, taking turns to drive as appropriate).
Warm winter clothing for all activities: insulated jacket and salopettes, winter boots and mittens, woollen socks. Please bring own winter hat.
Headlamp.
Goggles (with clear lenses) are available to borrow if weather conditions require them and you do not have your own.

Guide:

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

Other:

Photos from your experience. Your guide will take photos during the tour which will be shared with the group as a souvenir of your adventure.

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.

Good To Know »

Required

Health requirements/experience:

Minimum age 15 years. General good level of health and fitness and used to the outdoors. No previous dogsled experience required. If weight >95kg, please contact us to discuss suitability.

As standard, all participants will drive own dogsled, usually with 3-5 dogs per team depending on factors such as participant weight, the individual dogs used, and trail conditions.

If you prefer, it is possible to choose to share sled one per two persons, with driver/passenger, taking turns to drive as appropriate.

What makes this "Easy-Medium"?

Accommodation is in simple but comfortable island cabin which has "proper" beds. The trails are generally wide and level, with a mix of forest trails and sledding on frozen marshland, lakes and river. There are some curves in the trail where some balance is required, and some ups and downs, but it is will not normally be necessary to assist your team significantly on uphill sections as for tours in more hilly terrain.

While the sledding itself is relatively undemanding technically, days are long and you will be outside for extended periods in winter conditions, taking part in all aspects of handling and care for your dog team and assisting with tasks around the cabin.

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:

This experience has no minimum. Scheduled tours are guaranteed to run from the first booking.

Groups

Max. group size 6 persons for public tours. You are of course welcome to book as a solo travellers.

This experience is also ideal as a private tour for groups of up to 8 persons.

Eco Info

This provider has a written environmental policy.

Getting There »

Getting There

See below for a summary of travel options. To learn more about how to travel to this experience, please get in touch!

Detailed information on travel will be provided in response to your enquiry. We are happy to advise on suitable connections and assist you with any aspect of planning your journey.

NB: Please ensure that you make a booking with us first and wait for confirmation that your spaces are reserved before making any travel arrangements.

Travel Summary:

By Air:

Fly to Stockholm then onward to Lycksele by train or domestic flight. Overnight locally in Lycksele and travel by taxi to the kennels in the morning of Day 1.