Dog-Sledding with Huskies in Rovaniemi

One of the things I was most excited to do was to try dog-sledding with huskies in Finnish Lapland. As part of a tour booked through Visit Rovaniemi, I went to Raitola Reindeer & Husky Farm where I got to take a short ride on a dog sled. You can also book self-driving tours, where you learn to drive your own sled, and multi-day excursions where you sleep in the wilderness with your team of dogs. The best season for multi-day husky safaris is from February to March when there is sufficient snow and daylight hours for longer journeys.

The short husky ride and farm visit is great for families, and you’ll have plenty of time to see the dogs. The Siberian huskies, which are purebred, are used for the short rides around the farm. The Alaskan huskies are the dogs that do the multi-day excursions.

The sleds take 4 people, and if you’re in a smaller group you’ll be asked to combine so that the weight stays similar for the dogs on each ride. The tallest riders go in the back, while shorter riders and children go in the front. The dogs go quite quickly, but you’ll have a professional driver on the sled to give commands.

One of my favorite things about the husky farm visit was exploring the grounds and warming up in the wooden shelter, or kota. In the kota, you are served hot juice and cookies while one of the farm’s staff shares facts about the dogs. Overall, it was a fun and low-key activity with lots of opportunity to see the dogs in action. If I can go again, I’d definitely want to do a longer self-driving tour into Lapland’s wilderness.

Right next door, you can visit Raitola Reindeer Farm. If you’re interested in Lapland’s capital, check out this post about Exploring Rovaniemi.