Howling Dog Tours
Howling Dog Tours
4.5
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Full view
About
Howling Dog Tours provides dogsled tours in the backcountry near Canmore, Banff and Kananaskis. Based out of Canmore, this family operated company has been in operation since 1995, and is eager to share their love of dog mushing after spending their early years on the sprint race circuit. The fully guided tours include the option to drive your team with a guide, harness the dogs, and reward the dogs with a biscuit and water after the run. Transportation is provided from Canmore and Banff (surcharge applies). Enjoy the scenic ride through the Canadian Rockies! Two hour tours are offered from December through April, and the four hour tour runs from January through March. The dogs are Alaskan and Siberian huskies that come from a racing background. About 60% of the dogs are adopted in from other kennels, giving them a second chance at being a sled dog! The kennel follows the practices of Mush with PRIDE, an international organization promoting sled dog wellbeing.
Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Features animals
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2022
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(46 reviews)
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
480 reviews
Excellent
409
Very good
42
Average
11
Poor
3
Terrible
15
HCowie
Calgary, Canada3 contributions
Mar. 2023
It was a gorgeous blue sky Alberta day, a picture perfect day to dog sled. All staff from check in to the driver to the mushers were amazing. Lots of fun getting there and learning about the dogs, how they are looked after and how we get to be invovled in the experience. Gwen in particular was an attentive and expereinced guide. Answered all of our questions and made sure we had a great time!! Thank you.
I would recomend that the company give the mushers hot chocolate at the break, they work hard!!
I would recomend that the company give the mushers hot chocolate at the break, they work hard!!
Written March 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Gary N
Yangshuo County, China14 contributions
Feb. 2023 • Friends
From start to finish the sled dog experience was awesome! Beautiful friendly dogs & great mushers.
Howling dog tours are very well run. Highly recommended!
Howling dog tours are very well run. Highly recommended!
Written February 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Melissa
Cochrane, Canada85 contributions
Feb. 2023 • Friends
This was a well run, interactive experience right from the moment we entered the meeting office in Canmore. The staff were welcoming and explained everything. Our driver Rich was friendly, humorous and gave us a great commentary on our drive out to the site. There was an opportunity to be interactive with the dogs, learning their names and harnessing them. Our guide Martin was excellent and made our experience both educational and fun. The ride on the trails was amazing and the mountain air was refreshing. We stopped for hot chocolate and cookies along the way and then carried on. At the end there’s an opportunity to reward the dogs with a treat and drink. It was a perfect day!
Written February 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
JasminVS
Sandton, South Africa12 contributions
Jan. 2023 • Family
Awesome experience. From our driver Bob's storytelling on some history of Canmore to our Musher guide being personable. We felt like part of the pack engaging with the dogs too! We were 2 adults and 1 toddler and we were comfortable and got the opportunity to help the musher guide the sled. Great day out and will definitely go back once another opportunity arises.
Written January 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Cecilie Balling D
1 contribution
Jan. 2023 • Friends
We had a fantastic experience.
It was such an amazing tour, learning about the dogs and how they work as a group.
Our guide, Jan, was so open and sweet to talk to, which made the trip even more comfortable and great - so thank you Jan;)
The fact that you could say hi and Connect with the dogs both before, during and after the trip was incredible :)
It was such an amazing tour, learning about the dogs and how they work as a group.
Our guide, Jan, was so open and sweet to talk to, which made the trip even more comfortable and great - so thank you Jan;)
The fact that you could say hi and Connect with the dogs both before, during and after the trip was incredible :)
Written January 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jill1911
Banff, Canada7 contributions
Jan. 2023 • Couples
Totally amazing experience, right from the office. Friendly staff, very informative driver for the 25 mins ride into the mountains. Brief talk when we got there, then meet the team and the dogs. With a talk about them. Got to harness them up and hold the line for them to be connected. Then off you go. Photo op on the way. Stop for hot choc and cookies, then back down we go. All teams and dogs are people friendly. A totally amazing experience. If you come to Banff National park and love dogs ) even if you don’t love dogs) this is well worth a visit. We’ll done team. X
Written January 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Brett F
1 contribution
Dec. 2022
My Wife Kyla and I got to experience our first time dog sledding together for my birthday. What a great experience for the both of us! We learned a lot about the history of the dogs and the sport in general. The views are absolutely breath taking and our musher, Phaye was so great to be with. We had lots of laughs together and it was clear to see how passionate she was to do her work. Very friendly and informative. 5 stars from us. Thank you!
Written December 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jovanka V
1 contribution
Apr. 2022 • Solo
My whole experience was amazing! From the very start our van driver was friendly and gave us all cool information about the spray lakes, canmore and the dog sled tour itself.
Once we arrived we were nicely greeted and met our guides. I was lucky to have Pablo as a guide, he made me feel safe at all moments of the tour and taught me all about the different roles the dogs play in the sled. He is very kind and clearly is very passionate about what he does!
Thank you so much for the experience, definitely put this on your Canadian Bucket list!
Once we arrived we were nicely greeted and met our guides. I was lucky to have Pablo as a guide, he made me feel safe at all moments of the tour and taught me all about the different roles the dogs play in the sled. He is very kind and clearly is very passionate about what he does!
Thank you so much for the experience, definitely put this on your Canadian Bucket list!
Written April 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
tracimcj06
Forney, Texas38 contributions
Mar. 2022
This was so much fun!! What a great experience that I finally got to check off my bucket list. Spray Lakes was such a beautiful backdrop and the weather was perfect. Pablo our guide was truly incredible. His friendly conversation made our sled ride even more memorable. Pablo gave us so much information about the dogs, each of their roles, and why they were set up the way they were. You could tell from talking to him and listening to him praising the dogs how much he enjoys being with them. Just a really friendly, funny guy. We can not forget the real heroes of the day - our beautiful, amazing dogs!! Big hugs and lots of petting were given to our team - Charger, sweetheart Tequila ( I want to adopt her!!), Roxy, Tank, drama queen Whiskey :), and the very strong, Phantom and sweet, floppy-eared Fire. I will never forget any of them! Getting to help hook up the team, help drive and feed them treats at the end of our run was so enjoyable. This is a must-do activity if you are visiting Banff or Canmore. I cannot say enough about how great our experience at Howling Dog Tours was. Thank you so much!!
Written April 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
It is our pleasure to share with you the experience of dogsledding - and sorry, you cannot take Tequila home just yet! What a great description of the team you had, and of course we also appreciate Pablo's love for the dogs and his hard work. Thank you so much for joining us and completing a bucket list item!
Written April 10, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jfchave
Los Angeles, CA4 contributions
Mar. 2022
This was one of our best experiences when visiting Canmore; I highly recommend it.
Howling Dog Tours takes you from their base in Canmore to Spray Lakes and from there, you help your guide, hook up the dogs and learn a bit about them. I never knew the nuances of dog sledding, from lead dogs, to follow dogs, to having an odd number of dogs in a group, rather than an even number. Once you're in the sled, you have two options: You can sit in the sled and the guide can mush, or you can hop out and mush with the guide as well! We did both and both were great experiences. Don't worry about bumps and falling off, our guide Renee has never had someone fall off her sled and she isn't about to start anytime soon! About halfway in, you'll have a break to pet the dogs, let them rest, and have hot chocolate and an oatmeal cookie if you so desire. Then it's back to the sled and to the finish line!
Our guide, Renee, was absolutely amazing. We enjoyed this bucket list item because of her! Props to her for calmly navigating us through every obstacle that came our way. We had tons of questions about the dogs and their lifestyle as we were curious, and Renee answered each and every question with ease. She shared her ambitions of one day doing professional dog sledding on her own! Fingers crossed for you Renee!
Howling Dog Tours takes you from their base in Canmore to Spray Lakes and from there, you help your guide, hook up the dogs and learn a bit about them. I never knew the nuances of dog sledding, from lead dogs, to follow dogs, to having an odd number of dogs in a group, rather than an even number. Once you're in the sled, you have two options: You can sit in the sled and the guide can mush, or you can hop out and mush with the guide as well! We did both and both were great experiences. Don't worry about bumps and falling off, our guide Renee has never had someone fall off her sled and she isn't about to start anytime soon! About halfway in, you'll have a break to pet the dogs, let them rest, and have hot chocolate and an oatmeal cookie if you so desire. Then it's back to the sled and to the finish line!
Our guide, Renee, was absolutely amazing. We enjoyed this bucket list item because of her! Props to her for calmly navigating us through every obstacle that came our way. We had tons of questions about the dogs and their lifestyle as we were curious, and Renee answered each and every question with ease. She shared her ambitions of one day doing professional dog sledding on her own! Fingers crossed for you Renee!
Written March 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
It is with pleasure that we will share your kind words with Renee! Thanks so much for joining us.
Written March 25, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Wandalee C
Oshawa, Canada
Hi there. We are traveling to BC in February and looking to do some adventures as a family. Dog sledding is on our list :-)
My question is this, are we allowed to bring our small dog in the trip with us? She will be in a small soft carrier if needed.
Thanks!
Howling Dog T
Canmore, Canada
Hello!
Thank you for your interest in Howling Dog Tours. We are based out of Canmore, Alberta (not BC), near Banff.
We do not allow any dogs on our tours, sorry!
Let me know if you have any further questions.
MoeMoe666
San Francisco, CA43 contributions
When is the best time of the year to go dog sledding? What months?
Howling Dog T
Canmore, Canada
Hi there!
We run our tours from December to April; the best weather and snow is usually February and early March!
Hope to see you on the trail.
리나 김
10 contributions
Do yo open the dog sled tour at Nobember? (about Nobember 26 or 27)
Howling Dog T
Canmore, Canada
Hi There! We usually start our season at some point from the end of November to the first two weeks of December. We do not have enough snow right now to be training, so we are waiting for more snow before we know if we can open for the Nov. 24-26 weekend. This will be determined early next week.
janegracezhang
Portland, OR
What is there to do in the summer and how much would it cost?
neilm18
Toronto, Canada80 contributions
The area is around Banff Alberta which is world renown for its natural beauty and an opportunity to go on hikes, there is Calgary great city, lots of things to do
What does it cost to hire protection clothing when dog sleding
Howling Dog T
Canmore, Canada
Hi! We recommend that you have warm layers of your own, as well as good socks, mitts, hat and boots. The gear that we lend to you for the two hours is at no charge, but it is based on availability. We have snow boots, snow pants, and various shell jacket/fleeces to help keep you warm!