Family husky safari in Enontekiö: how a family fits on the sleighs
Illustration photo: a husky in snowy woods, not in Hetta.
The short answer
With a child under three, plan on one parent and the child in one sleigh, which the kennel always arranges. Two small, light children under five can usually both ride in front of one parent. From about seven a child may ride with a guide driver instead. Families wanting a real adventure should look at the kennel's late-spring family week, open to children from eight, who drive their own dogs.
Hetta’s kennel prices children from three to twelve on its day rides. How a family is seated depends on the children’s ages, and the kennel is clear about it.
Under three
A child under three always rides with one of the parents in the sleigh.1 Two children under five who are small and light can usually both sit in front of one parent. Ask when you book how the kennel will seat your party, since a guest in a sleigh of their own pays the solo rate.
From about seven
Older children, from about seven, may ride in a sleigh a guide drives rather than with a parent, which the kennel’s questions page offers as an option rather than a rule.
Children who drive
The kennel’s late-spring family week is the one programme built for children to mush: from the age of eight, each child drives a team of their own.2 For a first try at any age, the two-kilometre taster round the kennel’s land keeps the sleigh time to ten or fifteen minutes.3 The standard rides and their child fares are on husky safari in Hetta.
Questions people ask
Do children need their own winter clothing?
On the short rides, usually their own warm clothing is fine. The kennel's questions page says that unless you are on one of its longer safaris you will often be fine in your own winter clothing when driving the dogs, and that its multi-day safaris all include clothing and boots. It points to a separate page for hire kit, which did not load when we read it, so ask about children's sizes in advance.
What happens early in the season?
Before the full trail network opens, usually around the start of December, the kennel runs a five-kilometre early-season tour along a protected trail by its marsh. It says it tends to offer this only with two people per sleigh or guide-driven sleighs, and with children in the guides' sleighs, so on an early visit a child rides with a guide rather than a parent.
How does the family week work?
It is a seven-day package from the fourth week of March to the end of April, with four days of mushing, two nights on the farm and two in wilderness cabins, plus nights at a family hotel before and after. The kennel prices adults and children the same on these longer tours, because it expects each child to drive a team; a younger sibling can share by turns as a seated passenger.