Mountain Paws Dog Sled Tours | Pagosa Springs

During two years of volunteering at the Iditarod, owner Joy Marx learned the details of equipment setup and driving. She passes these skills on to you before your three-hour adventure through the San Juan Mountains. The trails lead mostly uphill, so you’ll gain a better appreciation of the power possessed by your team of five to eight Alaskan huskies as you control the sled on your own (with a guide following on a snowmobile). From $175 per adult, $100 per child, $30 per toddler

Alpine Adventures Dogsledding | Leadville

This kennel houses about 130 sled dogs, including 20 former professional racing pups. Life on the trail hasn’t dulled their love for pulling, at least if their wagging tails during guided tours are any indication. You’ll drive the sled for part of the hourlong excursion covering nearly six miles of snow-covered ranchland with stark views of the two tallest peaks in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. Feel free to get attached to the dogs—many can be adopted at the season’s end. From $120 per adult, $100 per child age three to eight

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Durango Dog Ranch | Hesperus

Don’t worry if you still feel like a novice after your mushing lesson at the owners’ private ranch, 15 miles outside Durango. A guide drives the sled with you during the ensuing tour, giving pointers as eight huskies pull you and a friend for two hours through meadows and the San Juan National Forest. Opt for the 4 p.m. sunset tour to see colors refract through icicles dangling from fir branches. From $325 per two-person sled

Photo courtesy of Mountain Paws Dog Sled Tours

Mountain Musher | Wolcott

Allow guides to do the mushing—and Alaskan huskies the pulling—while you and a friend snuggle under blankets and watch for foxes, elk, and coyotes among the aspen and pine glades. The cozy factor grows exponentially halfway through the two-hour jaunt on a private trail when the pack breaks and humans devour hot chocolate and homemade pumpkin bread. From $225 per person

Grizzle-T Dog & Sled Works | Steamboat Springs

Former Iditarod musher Kris Hoffman owns this 37-year-old kennel, which has bred multiple huskies for Alaska’s big race. Choose between two tours that both let you direct the sled while guides lead and follow by snowmobile. The difference is in the scenery—the South Trail winds eight miles around the frozen shores of Yampa Valley’s Stagecoach Reservoir, while the West Trail undulates over 12.5 miles of hills, canyons, ridges, and meadows. $200 per adult, $120 per child, $45 per child two years and younger