Juneau Sled Dog Cart Tour
The Juneau Sled Dog Cart Tour is guided by Joel Kersting, Joe Pawelek, Tonya Schlentner & Austin Barr.
Dog musher Joel Kersting made our visit to dog sled camp enjoyable, entertaining and informative. While we did not ride in a sled on snow, we were pulled in a wheeled “sled” by twelve sled dogs and saw the team in action and got the feel of the real event.
- Mayilyn
This was one of the highlights of our trip. Joe did a fantastic job of explaining things and shared his own personal experiences. He was very personable and really enjoyed what he was doing. He really made the experience wonderful for our family.
- Renee
Being dog lovers, this was a great experience. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the mushers and the dogs. The outdoors and nature of the dog camp was both eye opening and educational. We loved meeting Tonya and her assistant and her many dogs. We highly recommend this excursion and we would strongly consider taking this shore excursion again on a future cruise.
- Alan & Kara
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Really hands on experience. Loved everything about it. Joel and his dogs were great.- Elizabeth
Joel was great. He was very knowledgeable about the sled dogs. He took pictures for us with our cameras and answered any questions we might have. He was warm and friendly with a sense of humor. I’d recommend this for all.
- Judith
I took a 9 year old grand daughter. Joel was very kind to her. She got to command the dogs, try on mittens and hold a puppy. Joel introduced us to every dog for our sled and let us pet them.
- Charles
The best tour in 6 cruises! And my grand daughter loved it – 13 years old. Verrrrry informative and fun! I will go again!
- Barbara
We really enjoyed this excellent tour. It was well organized and Joel was really enthusiastic.
- Darlene
Joe seemed to have a true love for the dogs. Very knowledgeable. Had actually been on dog races himself.
- Becky
Tonya was so informative, friendly and nice. The dogs were exciting to see in action. I would do this again.
- Diane
Very informative. The guide was excellent – truly showed his love and passion of taking care of his dogs. Dogs and puppies friendly.
- Mary
This was the best event of our trip! We had a terrific trip and enjoyed the dog sled ride. Joe was an exceptional guide explaining the sport of mushing.
- Hugh
Joe enriched our dog sledding experience with his pleasant disposition, knowledge, and wonderment. Joe took extra time to ensure we had amazing pictures of our experience. In addition, his love for the dogs was apparent and appreciated. He sets the bar high for tour guides!
- Michelle
We really enjoyed it and Tonya was top notch!
- Ed & Arlene
Joe went out of his way to accommodate us. He was kind, courteous and friendly. He was informative and gracious. As we toured the camp he even showed us his private living quarters while explaining the lifestyle of the mushers.
- Pat
I had been looking forward to the dog sled summer camp excursion ever since we booked the cruise and I was not disappointed. Joe was an entertaining and informative guide and we had a blast. All the dogs are so well taken care of and loved and Joe’s expertise as a musher was obvious. Thank you so much!!
- Tiffany
This was one of our favorite tours! Joe was very friendly and full of knowledge! We could tell that Joe and his co-workers really cared about the dogs and enjoyed working at the camp.
- Hashimoto
This was the best part of our trip so far! He was able to supply us with answers to all our questions. He answered questions from dog’s eating, winter schedule, and the Iditarod. He was fun to be around. He really showed he loved working with the dogs.
- Lindsey
This was the best event of our trip! We had a terrific trip and enjoyed the dog sled ride. Joe was an exceptional guide explaining the sport of mushing.
- Hugh
Very good tour and explanation of summer camp for sled dogs. Provided details of training and dog sled racing.
- Greg
Joel was very personable and informative. His tour with the sled dogs was the highlight of the trip!
- Susan
Joel was very hospitable to us, and explained a lot about the history of dog sledding. The ride in the dog sled was cool. The puppies were very adorable. We heartily recommend this tour to anyone.
- anonymous
It was the best excursion so far. The dogs were great and the musher was very engaging, friendly and very knowledgeable.
- Kyle
Skagway Dog Sled Demonstration
The Skagway Dog Sled Demonstration is guided by 7 time Iditarod finisher Matt Hayashida and Mattie Schmidt
Very interactive tour of Alaskan sled dog and musher’s camp. We were able to hold the puppies and observe an actual dog sledding. Panning for gold was extremely exciting. Overall tour is highly recommended and very knowledgeable staff.
- Mr. & Mrs. Verzon
Fascinating info. Very friendly and personable presentation, hands on w/ puppies, answered lots of questions. Would HIGHLY recommend!
- Mark and Laura
Gold Rush Sled Dogs lecture and demo by Matt Hayashida and Mattie Schmidt were excellent! Their presentation and demonstration of sled dog equipment was better than the sled dog portion of the paddle boat ride at Fairbanks. The young people at dog demonstration were ecstatic when Matt let them hold the sled dog pups.
- E.R. Fine
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A very interesting tour. Learning about the Iditarod from Matt was the most interesting part of the tour because he actually lived it. A great speaker and storyteller. It made me want to learn more about it.- Caroline
Matt’s first hand experience as an Iditarod musher and his personable style and humor made this part of the excursion especially engaging. Interacting with his dogs (especially the puppies!) was also very cool.
- Marylou
Excellent tour, everyone very professional, extremely interesting. Will recommend to everyone I know. Very nice group of people. Excellent for kids of all ages.
- Stephanie
We had so much fun!!!!! the puppies are so cute and cuddly!!!!!
- Alma
Matt and Mattie with the dog sledding were awesome. Very informative, friendly people. We enjoyed it. Charlie for the gold tour was informative, friendly and funny. I would recommend.
- Sheri
It was very informative. The best part of the tour was that Matt is very knowledgeable about the dog sleds.
- Jerry
Panning for gold was fun. The guide for the sled dog part is a racer in the Iditarod Race. The information he gave us was terrific. We also interacted with 16 day old sled dog puppies. This was also terrific. The -40 Cold Experience is quite an experience. This tour is certainly worth participating in. Everything about it was great. Don’t miss it.
- Arnold
This was a fantastic tour for us! It was listed as “kid friendly” and we kids (over 60) had a fabulous time and learned a lot! We highly recommend the tour to anyone who wants to see how life was “back in the day” and what is involved in the dog training for the Iditarod for Matt Hayashida. We plan to help with his expenses! Rating: A+++!
- Jackie & Glenn
We found this tour very informative. Matt in charge of the husky sled dogs really enhanced the visit with his friendly manner. I would recommend to anyone to have this tour.
- Rhonda
This was the tour about sled dogs- very informative, great demo.
- Tim
Went panning for gold today (Skagway) and went to dog sledding area dog sledding movie was great, information about sleds etc. Let more people know about this part of tour (dog sledding). Railway tour was great also.
- Gary
Matt and Mattie were so good! We really enjoyed the dogs and puppies. The other parts of the tour were also very good – and different.
- Lladona
Great tour, wonderful people. Sled dogs were the best. Excellent experience.
- anonymous
This was an outstanding experience – well organized, well staffed with helpful, knowledgeable people. The dogsled part needs to be publicized more as the young man leading the demo & info part is an Iditarod participant – knows his stuff and has lots of visuals – actual visuals from the race.
- Barbara
This is a superb tour for the family. The two persons (Matt and Mattie) who conducted the sled dog visit were exceptional. It was a very informative look at raising, training, and running the dogs. Matt and Mattie are very adapt interacting with their audience especially the young folks. One of our grandsons (9 year old) said that this was the best singular event on this voyage. Keep this two person team on your future offer of tour! This is a great tour for the children including the gold panning and experiencing 40 degrees below.
- Mr John & Mrs Alice Kordek
We loved a personal view of mushing. We visited the dogs and held the puppies. We felt the love the guides Matt and Mattie had for racing and caring for their dogs. This tour was up close and personal!
I am physically disabled and in a wheelchair. The tour site was very well designed for someone in my circumstances! Most researched were not wheelchair friendly. The guides Matt and Matty were absolutely fantastic people. It was the most outstanding have ever done!! I even got 17.00 in gold dust!!! I will definitely go again on my next cruise.
We did the gold panning dog sled. The entire staff was great. Matt and Mattie made our trip with their dogs and puppies.
Loved the dog tour. Matt was very informative. The puppies a joy. Had a ball. Will recommend it!