Historic Sled Dog Kennel, Denali National Park

Anyone who thinks animals don’t love having a job to do has never watched a sled dog at work.  These Alaskan huskies live to be harnessed into a team and to be running over the snow at top speed.  It fulfills them, just as I believe that most people find their work to be fulfilling.

If you visit Denali National Park and Preserve, you have the opportunity to visit, interact with and watch a demonstration of the rangers’ sled dogs — usually between 20 – 30 in number.  The park is home to the only working sled dog kennel in the US National Park system.

The kennel was established in 1922 when dogs were used to patrol the new Park’s boundaries, and to prevent poaching.  Sled dogs became especially important after passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act.  This act provides the highest degree of protection to land, including the prohibition of any motorized equipment on it.  Denali Park and Preserve is massive — over 2 million acres.  Dog mushing teams provide a natural way for rangers to travel during the winter months and to comply with the Wilderness Act.  About 3,000 patrol miles are logged by dog sleds in the park each year.  Besides providing park security, the dog sleds are also used for scientific studies and measurements.

There is no standard breed appearance for Alaskan Huskies.  As you can see from the photos in this blog, they have many different sizes, colors and shapes.  Most Alaskan Huskies have a thick fur coat, long legs for breaking trail, and rugged tough feet that can run for miles on ice and snow.  The dogs love the attention visitors give them, and develop strong ties with their handlers.  When they are retired from active service, there are many willing homes waiting to adopt them.

During the summer months, a ranger presents a discussion of the sled dogs and you are given a demonstration of the dogs pulling a wheeled cart around a short track.   

You can watch part of that demonstration run in the video below.  The dogs are fast and obviously enjoy what they do.

After the demonstration, the dogs are rewarded with treats hidden in toys, that they need to dig out — mental stimulation for these intelligent creatures.

There’s also a small museum you can visit at the kennel which has some historic items and displays of interest.  I found the name plaques of retired dogs to be very heart-felt.

If you visit:

The kennel is about 3 miles inside the park at the Headquarters buildings, and is open year round.  It is the oldest building in the park still doing the job it was constructed for.  Free buses leave the Denali Visitor Center for the kennels approximately forty (40) minutes before each demonstration. No parking is available at the kennels.

There is no extra fee or reservation required for your visit to the sled dog kennel.  Your park admission fees covers your ride and visit to the kennel, should you choose to go.

Demonstrations are given three times daily in peak season (Jun-1 through Sep-1), at 10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm.  In the winter months the kennel focuses on getting dogs ready for their long back-country trips, and demonstrations are much more limited and dependent on working and weather conditions.

If you love dogs, don’t miss out the opportunity to visit them when at Denali National Park.