EarthSong Lodge & Denali Dog Sled Expeditions — Hotel in Alaska

Clean, quaint, comfy, private and majestic 360°views of the surrounding Tundra. Denali is visible on a clear day. Friendly Owners and Sled Dogs with daily Kennel Tours at 9:30am. Delicious Cinnamon Rolls! What led me to Earthsong is I had the pleasure of coming to Alaska March, 2020 for the Iditarod and wanted to run some Dogs afterwards. I found Earthsong after some extensive research and saw the great feedback left by other guests. I booked a 4 day dog sled expedition into the Northern Park additions. Mike who is one of Jon's Guides, now retired, is the quintessential Alaskan. We each ran 8 Dog teams a handmade sled and experienced all kinds of different Terrain such as wide open Tundra, Tussocks, Inclines and Declines, River Crossings, Lakes, Spruce and Birch stands. Denali views were breathtaking! You WILL dump the sled. It's gonna happen, it's all part of mushing. Just DON'T LET GO! I wrecked twice and held on tight! No injuries. This trail gives the guest a true Alaskan dog mushing experience unlike some other places that take you into their backyard on flat land and camp a few nights. During our four days, we stayed at 2 differnet cabins. One on Slate Lake and another on the Sushanna. One night on the Sushanna, I decided to take my experience one step further and setup my Bivy and sleep outside with the dogs at -15°! I Slept like a baby and was toasty warm all night! Mike supplied all snacks, beverages and meals. You only need to bring food if you want something extra to snack on, but I found I didn't have to bring anything. Winter gear is also provided if you don't have Winter boots and an oversuit. Mike had more than enough food to last us over a week and cooked some really good meals. The melted snow and ice we drank was some of the best drinking water I ever had. To haul water into the backcountry is unfeasible so don't expect bottled water lol. I also felt 100% safe in the company of Mike even while we encountered several Moose and Herds of Caribou on the trail with deep snow. We experienced close to -30° fahrenheit temperatures the 1st day and never got cold. The entire experience was unlike anything in my life and I've done some pretty intense activities. In fact, I loved this outfit so much that I decided to bring my wife back this summer so we could experience the lodge and the grounds especially during berry season. Our summer stay was just as enjoyable as the dog sled Expedition. We saw tons of wildlife, picked lots of Blueberries and Salmon berries, and saw Denali on one clear morning. The cabins are well furnished, comfy and most importantly CLEAN! Beds were also very comfortable too. There is Sky Kiosk on-site that has a community fridge and various snack fare and Cinnamon Rolls. Coffee is prepared each morning and a single serve maker is available 24/7. The Kiosk was cleaner than an Operating room. One of the best parts of the stay are the daily Kennel tours given at 9:30am. These are some of the nicest, well mannered sled dogs in all of Alaska. We didn't have a chance to visit Henry's coffee shop or experience the slide shows that Jon offers each evening due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions in place. I'm sure we'll do that the next time we come up. We will definitely return in the future! Thanks for the hospitality Jon & Karen! We had a great time and made some...

Our family stayed in two cabins at EarthSong in July of this year (2021). We traveled all over the state, and stayed in many different places (some much more expensive and "nicer"), but among us, we all enjoyed our stay at Earthsong the most. We really appreciated the way we were treated by the staff, including Courtney (manager), who we communicated with prior to, and during our stay. She was warm and welcoming, and allowed us to spend extra time with their sled dogs (we loved the dogs - especially Basil), while she sat and visited with us. We also appreciated Scout, who operated Henry's Coffee House (and breakfast bar). Her service was great, and she was very enjoyable to talk with. The cabins were basic, but were clean and comfortable. The grouping of the cabins along the boardwalks was homey, and had a bit of a "Shire" feel. Because I had to reschedule our trip from 2020 to 2021, I had spoken with the John, the owner numerous times. I always enjoyed talking with him, and he provided me with some tips for our visit to Denali and the hiking I wanted to do there. After reading about him, the family was sorry they did not get to meet him, as he had to be away at the time of our stay. We did some dog mushing before we got to EarthSong. Having spoken with Courtney about dog mushing expeditions they offer, I am very interested in going back to participate in one of their multi-day Denali backcountry sledding trips. If we were back in the area, we would most definitely return...

The lodge is located about 15 minutes away from the Denali park entrance and the location is amazing. The cabins are very spacious, cozy, super clean and comfortable. All the details during our stay were very thoughtful. We learned while we were there that the co-owner John (who gave us a very warm welcome) was a former park ranger and also runs sled dog expeditions. He also built all the structures!! He gave us very helpful information before our trip into the park and also hosted a tour of his dog kennels. We loved meeting his sled dogs. We enjoyed sitting outside on our balcony in the peace and quiet. The shower and water pressure was great. We also took evening walks down the road to harvest wild berries. The blueberries were delicious! They also have a coffeehouse next door that is open in the morning and serves great coffee and simple options for breakfast. If you wake up late and miss the hours of the coffeehouse, they provide coffee and tea in the communal mini kitchen/sky kiosk. It was exactly what we needed before heading into the park. We absolutely loved our experience at Earthsong and highly recommend the stay here away from the crowds by the...