Rovaniemi: Drive Your Own Husky Sled & Lapland BBQ Tour

4.56

(148 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I still remember the first thing I noticed — the huskies’ breath making little clouds in the blue morning air outside Rovaniemi. They’re louder than you’d think, yipping and bouncing, but somehow it’s not annoying. Our guide, Sanni, handed me the reins (well, handlebar?) and grinned like she knew something I didn’t. I had no idea what I was doing but apparently that’s half the fun on this kind of husky safari tour.

The first few minutes were chaos — my boots slipped a bit as we set off, and for a second I thought we’d tip right over into the snow. The dogs just kept charging forward, totally focused, tails wagging like they owned the forest. There’s this weird silence after you get going, except for the sled runners scraping over packed snow and the occasional bark echoing between trees. It’s colder than I expected; my nose felt frozen but honestly, it made everything sharper — even the pine smell seemed stronger out there.

Sanni told us her family’s been here for generations (she joked about Lapland stubbornness being genetic). She knew every dog by name — and when one of them stopped to roll in the snow mid-run, she just laughed and called him back in Finnish. After about 6 or 7 kilometers (I lost track), we pulled up at a clearing where smoke curled from a firepit. Someone handed me a mug of something hot (no idea what was in it but it worked), and we all crowded around for a proper Lapland barbecue. The sausages tasted smoky and sweet at once — or maybe that was just relief at being warm again.

I keep thinking about that moment when everything went quiet except for our breath and the dogs’ paws thumping ahead. If you ever wondered what winter feels like in your bones — well, this is it.