Skagway & Yukon: Husky Puppy Playtime Tour with Summit Stops

4.81

(140 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect my first real “wow” moment to happen before we even crossed into Canada. Our guide—Tom, big beard and all—pulled over at this random turnout on the Klondike Highway. He just said, “You’ll want a photo here.” The wind off the summit was sharp enough to wake up your whole face, and there was this weird silence except for some distant water rushing down Pitchfork Falls. I tried to take a selfie but mostly got my hair in my mouth. Tom laughed and told us about how gold rush travelers would’ve seen almost exactly this view—minus the tour vans and phones, obviously.

We stopped in Skagway first—Broadway’s got these old wooden buildings that look straight out of a movie set. There were a couple locals waving at us from a porch (I think they knew Tom). After that it was just miles of valleys and rivers flashing by. Every so often he’d point out something—“That’s where the train crosses,” or “Moose sometimes show up there.” It felt like he actually cared about the place, not just reciting facts. Crossing into British Columbia felt like someone turned up the color saturation; everything went greener and wilder.

The real reason I booked this Yukon husky puppy playtime tour? Puppies. No shame. When we finally pulled into the sled dog camp, you could hear barking echoing across the tundra before you even opened the van door. The trainers were already outside with a pile of fluffy huskies tumbling over each other—one tried to chew my shoelace while another licked sunscreen off my hand (gross but also kind of sweet). Michelle, one of the mushers, told us about training for the Iditarod while handing me a squirmy little guy named Rocket. I still think about his tiny paws kneading at my jacket like he owned it.

You don’t get rushed here—nobody’s herding you along or watching the clock. We hung around swapping stories with handlers (and trying not to adopt every puppy). There’s a tiny gift shop if you want souvenirs but honestly it’s hard to care about shopping when there are so many noses to boop. On the way back toward Skagway, I realized my hands still smelled faintly like puppy fur mixed with that cold mountain air… which is probably better than most perfumes anyway.