Courtesy Ogden CVB
Prairie Isle Dog Trekking
Petersburg, North Dakota
The snowy plains of North Dakota make the perfect terrain for dogsledding, and Prairie Isle Dog Trekking gives travelers an opportunity to experience that distinctive winter activity firsthand.
Based at Red Willow Bible Camp in Petersburg, North Dakota, Prairie Isle Dog Trekking is run by Helen Corlew, an experienced musher who introduces visitors to her kennel of 26 Samoyed dogs.
“I try to make it personal and hands-on,” Corlew said. “You learn how to harness the dogs, and you get to meet them. We talk about dog safety, and I teach them how to approach dogs properly. Everyone falls in love with one of the dogs.”
Once the dogs are harnessed, Corlew and the guests set out on one of her custom-built “dually” sleds, which allows riders to participate in the experience as much or as little as they like.
“I’m doing all of the steering and braking, but they get the experience of driving the team,” she said. “People don’t have to just sit in the sled, but they can if they want to.”
The rides go out onto the camp’s 600 acres. Sleds follow groomed trails on private land where no vehicles or snowmobiles are allowed to operate. Group members who would rather opt out of the chilly experience can watch through windows in the camp’s main lodge.
www.prairieisledogtrekking.com
Glacier Country
Whitefish, Montana
Whitefish and nearby Glacier National Park are year-round favorite destinations for outdoor lovers. During the winter, travelers have a number of options for exploring the park.
“There are tours in the national park in winter,” said Lisa Jones, a communications representative for the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau. “There are ranger naturalist programs that can be arranged that do snowshoe tours and animal tracking, and they teach you about wildlife in the park.”
Private outfitters also take guided excursions into the park. One of the most popular involves cross-country skiing or snowshoeing up Going to the Sun Road. Visitors see the beautiful glacial runoff of McDonald Creek, which is only partially frozen during winter. The tours include a picnic lunch.
Outside of the park, the Whitefish area offers numerous other adventures. Whitefish Mountain Resort has great skiing and snowboarding slopes and a two-day ski school package for beginners. Snowmobile tour operators take adventurers on hundreds of miles of trails in the area, including routes to Canyon Creek and the back side of Whitefish Mountain.
For a more unusual experience, groups can take a sleigh ride at an area guest ranch.
“Bar W Guest Ranch and Gaynor’s Resort both have horse-drawn sleigh rides in the winter,” Jones said. “They can accommodate a group overnight with a variety of cabins, lodges and yurts, and they both also offer rides to groups that aren’t staying on property.”
