Alpine Adventures Dogsledding — Attraction in Leadville

BUYER BEWARE....THIS A CRACKER JACK OUTFIT.... ZERO STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so disappointed and frustrated with the lack of professionalism and respect from this company, they demand a level of respect from their customers with regard to showing up or how to cancel but when the shoe is on the other foot, those same rules and level of respect apparently dont apply to them. SHAMEFUL! I received an email at 5:02am on the date of my reservation with all of the detail of my trip. I left Colorado Springs at 8am for Leadville for an appointment time of 11:45, according to Google it was a 2hrs and 15 min drive, however, the weather in Leadville and along the way was possible snow storms and I wanted to leave extra time in case of bad roads or upon arriving early we could go to lunch. Upon my arrival at exactly 11:15am, 30 min before my scheduled appt, no one was there. The office had an "open" sign hanging in the window, the lights were left on but no one was there. I called twice to no avail, leaving messages. While waiting for 45 minutes, another party of 3 drove up for their 12n appt. 3 1/2 hours later, a total of 7 hours round trip, I checked my emails again and found that at 9am they had sent an email of cancellation. Folks, I am a reasonable guy, technically they did send I email but was that good customer service overall? My mother always taught me to treat people the way that I wanted to be treated, the Golden Rule. So, as a business, I have no issue with rules, cancellation guidelines or demands asking customers to follow being made but I do have a major issue if the shoe is on the other foot and those same rules, guidelines or demands are not reciprocated back to the customer. Their website and email content clear state a 48 hour cancellation period, 72 in peak season by the consumer AND, here is something that I will highlight....."CANCELLATIONS MUST BE OVER THE PHONE!!!" So, if I am cancelling, they want 48 to 72 hours in advance and I must call them but if the shoe is on the other foot, they apparently have no issue or respect with just leaving an email, 2.5 hours before and walking out the door for the day...Classy! This is a crackerjack group that has no business being in business. If they cared about their customers, perhaps they should ask where you are coming from so that if they had to cancel, they can "call you" with appropriate advanced warning or how about just a calling to cancel anyway. I my case, if they would have simply called instead of emailed when they did, I would have be inconvenienced for only 2 hours round trip instead of 7. I have since emailed them and called another time to speak with them...crickets from them. We are from Sydney Australia, it was my birthday and more importantly, this was suppose to be one of the highlight activities for my 6 and 8 year boys. Thank for absolutely nothing. Keep scrolling down and reading some of the other reviews, similar stories be several other, is clearly is a habit...

I gave two stars because the dogs are super friendly, hard workers and the guide, Kayla, was pretty great. Unfortunately, I felt jipped. We go in the lobby to check in and overhear the front desk lady ask anyone who came in from a tour "Did you tip your guide outside?". Ok, fine, they are in a tipping position which wasn't obvious when making a $170 reservation. Otherwise, the front desk lady was pretty monotone, unexcited and rather off-putting. It's how demanding the tip was that was most bothersome. Anyway, so we felt a lot of unwelcome pressure to tip the guide the suggested 16-20 percent (as mentioned on a sign in more than one place in the lobby). It was a very pricey "adventure". The adventure was on a snow track in a large field. It wasn't through the woods or mountains or anything. The field you pass on the road is the field that you go on. It's a pre-set track with little stick flags that weave around to make the trip seem lengthly. It didn't seem like 6 miles to me. My sister and I both run often enough to know what 6 miles feels like and the dogs trot was not very fast. The dogs were great, like I said, the tour guide was great as well... Although I didn't feel like I was being toured or guided on anything. The same views all around as it's just in the same field. I was expecting to go on a nice trail or something. We paid for the private tour where we are on the dog sled the entire time. I couldn't imagine how unimpressive the other tour would be. It just wasn't worth the money. It was still a good time but for $170 that we paid online PER PERSON it just wasn't worth it. I would never do it again, as least with this company. The only thing that made me come to terms with the price is that it's caring for the dogs and the pity I felt that the guide must not be paid well. The dogs are all tied on chains when not in use which was a bit disheartening - no free run play or anything. As expected upon our return, we got a monotone "how was it?" and a stiff "Did you tip your guide outside or are you paying it inside?". If it wasn't for the well fare of so many dogs and a super friendly guide - this place would...

Our family of 5 (2 adults, 1 teen, 2 tweens) had a great experience. Everyone was extremely well-informed, friendly, and professional.

We did a private tour with 1 sled and a snowmobile. We took turns driving, sitting in the basket, and sitting on the back of the sled pulled by the snowmobile. All spots have a different experience and all were a lot of fun. Everything exceeded our expectations. Our children have all studied the Iditarod in school, so that background knowledge helped deepen the experience for everyone.

Trail is 6 miles with expansive mountain views all around. We stopped midway for some epic photo opportunities. We had a beautiful, dry, 30-ish degree, clear day, so I'm sure this impacted our experience being really amazing, but I think it would be fun in all conditions if you dress accordingly.

We were still adjusting to the altitude and found this was a perfect activity for an adjustment day - we got outside to enjoy this unique activity among the mountains, snow, and views without over-exerting ourselves as we acclimated.

The dogs are working dogs, bred for this kind of life. They are not pets, but you can see they are all very respected, loved, and well-cared for. All kennel and loading areas had plenty of fresh straw, food, water, etc. Two members of our party are a bit scared of dogs, but because of the dogs' training and the way they are kept and treated made everyone feel very comfortable visiting the kennel, holding the lead dogs while changing drivers, etc. The dogs look like they are in their element when they are running. You get a great view of their faces when taking your turn in the snowmobile. We were allowed plenty of time to visit the kennel after our tour.

A few things to note - 15-20% tips are extremely encouraged. It's a very rustic spot so be prepared to use portable toilets if in need.

We stopped for lunch in Leadville afterwards which I...