Dog sledding in Fairbanks: prices

Line the eleven listings up and four things decide the number, none of them hidden.

1. Ride or drive. This is the biggest step on the page. A passenger sits in the basket with a musher on the runners: $105 and $175. A driver harnesses the dogs and takes the team: $250 for the two-hour school, $499 and $499 for three hours. You are not paying for better dogs. You are paying for the lesson, the harnessing and the fact that the team is yours for the morning.

2. How long you are out. The cost-per-hour column in the table exists for this. $320 looks like the big number until you see it runs six hours with a dinner inside it, and $136 runs five and a half. Thirty minutes at $105 is, per hour, the most expensive time on the site, and also the easiest to fit into a day.

3. Private or shared. $195 is private and runs the historic Yukon Quest trail; $200 is private on a cart. The small group listings, $105, $135, $129 and $250, share the guide. The rest do not say, so we do not either.

4. What is written into it. A salmon dinner in a yurt on $320. Unlimited hot drinks and snacks, and pickup available, on $136. A yurt to warm up in on $175. Cold-weather gear lent on $195. Each of those is a line on the listing, and each is part of why the fare is what it is.

$105 — thirty minutes in the sled. Small group, Alaskan huskies, 126 reviews at 4.9. The least you can spend to ride behind a team out of Fairbanks, and the highest cost per hour on the site because it is so short.

$129 — three hours on foot. A guided hike with a Siberian husky, a lesson in fitting a harness, mountain views. 4.7 across 5 reviews. The lowest fare on the site, and a hike rather than a sled.

$135 — kennel visit and ATV ride. An hour and a half, family friendly, small group, 4.7 across 26 reviews. The dogs pull you on an ATV through boreal forest. Weather-dependent, with a different date or a full refund if it is called off.

$136 — the lodge evening. Five and a half hours, unlimited hot drinks and snacks in a cabin, pickup available, 4.4 across 22 reviews. The lowest cost per hour on the site by a wide margin.

$175 — an hour and a yurt. 192 reviews at 4.9, the most reviewed listing here. An hour behind Alaskan huskies, then a yurt to warm up in.

$195 — private, on the Yukon Quest trail. An hour and a half, 5.0 across 34 reviews, cold-weather gear lent. Privacy and a named historic trail for $20 more than the shared hour.

$200 — private fall cart. An hour and a half, 4.9 across 7 reviews. Fall colours, a comfortable cart, and talk of mushing, racing and living off-grid.

$250 — the two-hour school. Small group, new this season. The basics, then you run your own team through the snow. The least expensive way to drive.

$320 — the evening with dinner. Six hours, 4.5 across 140 reviews, our pick. A sled run after dark and a home-cooked Alaskan salmon dinner in a yurt. The dinner and the hours are what the fare is for.

$499 and $499 — drive your own team. Three hours each in the hills north of Fairbanks with Siberian huskies you harness yourself; one names an hour of sledding, one is new this season. The top of the range, and the only listings where the team is yours.

On the smallest budget for a ride, book $105. Thirty minutes, small group, 126 reviews at 4.9.

For the classic hour, book $175. An hour behind Alaskan huskies and a yurt afterwards, 192 reviews at 4.9, the most reviewed listing on the site.

For a private trail, book $195. An hour and a half on the Yukon Quest trail, 5.0 across 34, cold-weather gear lent.

For an evening with dinner, book $320. Six hours, a run after dark and a salmon dinner in a yurt, 140 reviews at 4.5, our pick.

For the lowest cost per hour, book $136. Five and a half hours at a lodge with unlimited hot drinks, pickup available.

And to drive the team, book $499 or $499. Three hours, Siberian huskies you harness yourself, the top of the range and the only listings that hand you the team.