Best husky tour in Utsjoki: one pick for each kind of party
Illustration photo: huskies at play, not at the farms described here.
The short answer
Families with children who can steer should take the easy loop. Adults who came for the dogs should take the Teno valley run, which is the longest time on the sled short of a whole day. A party that wants no surprises on the bill should book the holiday village's safari, which prints its child price and includes the clothing. Only fit adults travelling in spring should consider the full day.
Four husky rides are sold from Utsjoki, and each suits a different party better than the others do.
For a family with children who can steer
The easy loop: about five kilometres on flat fields, which the village company itself describes as the one for families with children.1 Flat ground asks little of a first-time driver, which is the point when the driver is ten.
For adults who came for the dogs
The Teno valley run. It is the one that feels like a safari rather than a taster, with a fire and hot drinks at the end, and it costs 80 euros more than the loop for two to three times the distance.
For a party that wants the bill settled in advance
The holiday village’s safari. It prints a price for an adult and another for a child under twelve, and puts the clothing, the transfer and the snack by the fire inside it.2 For a family, a known total is worth something when the other seller’s prices carry no basis.
For fit adults in spring
The full day, from March into May, with most of it spent driving your own sled through the wilderness. It is a different kind of trip, and a different price.
What the four print is set side by side on husky safari in Utsjoki.
Questions people ask
Is there a husky ride for a family with a child under five?
Not among the four. The village company advises against children under five driving a sled and points families with small children to a shorter one-hour husky programme, which its own programme list shows as a summer and autumn farm visit. Ask it whether a short winter visit is possible before you book. The holiday village gives a child price under twelve but no minimum age.
Can we see the northern lights on a husky ride here?
None of the four is sold as an evening ride, and the Teno valley run picks you up at about half past nine in the morning. Treat the dogs and the aurora as two separate outings. The village company's evening tour, which drives to dark places near the village or settles by a fire in a lávvu, is described on this site's northern lights page for Utsjoki.
Which ride gives the most time actually driving?
Short of the ten-hour day, the Teno valley run: an hour and a half to two hours on the sled over ten to fifteen kilometres, though you share the sled and take turns, so each person drives part of it. The spring day has six hours of driving your own sled. The holiday village does not say how long its safari spends on the trail.