1. Our programs are considered one of the top winter attractions in the Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore area.
2. They can be a positive life changing experience.
3. Our tours can be a gentle and invigorating physical workout.
4. We bring you closest to nature. Our practices create a low impact, environmentally friendly activity for winter.
5. The experience reinforces the power of team work.
6. It is a great confidence builder for young and old.
7. It is the best way to experience the Canadian Rockies winter scenery.
8. You'll talk about the experience for years to come.
9. It's a nice break from skiing, skiing, skiing.
10. With photos of your experience, you have permanent bragging rights. MORE..........

Largest variety of tours and options:

• 10 programs featuring various themes, time frames and levels of adventure.
• Offered 7 days a week.
• Terrific adventurous cultural options available.
• Exclusive sled packages available for the discerning adventurer.
• Our famed, exclusive corporate “Team Enhancement” packaging.

A sterling safety record!:

• Professional Sled Dog Touring "Instructors" -Certified, proven, most extensively trained, tested and experienced in the Bow Valley.
  
• Multilingual, certified in First Aid, CPR and more.
• Well maintained top-of-the-line, custom, back country equipment and support.
• Well trained, friendly, proven touring Huskies.
• Well-established, highly recognized, proven policies and procedures.
• Guest comfort and safety is a priority without exception!  At Snowy Owl this fact is never compromised.
• The reason for this is that our instructors receive, at the very least, one month of extensive in- kennel training, which includes dog care and handling as well as an entire month of intensive safety,  guest instruction and trail/sled training each season, no matter how many years they have worked with us!  Also, we feel you should know that the type of training a “guide” receives compared to that of a “professional instructor” is evaluated at two very different levels as you can imagine.  This is why your tour begins with a very informative 30 minute introduction and instruction, as opposed the “learn as you go” methods.  We understand that learning to drive a dog team is important and crucial to you prior to actually participating in the sport, providing you with a much more enjoyable and safer experience, before the sleds are actually moving!  Our instructors will teach you how to safely drive the sled and manage our “touring” dog teams accordingly and then coach you at all times on tour.  In fact with our comprehensive instruction, our guests inform us that they feel the sport of dog sledding is actually much easier to learn than skiing!  Go figure!  Because our huskies are also very well trained, our company can offer our guests the opportunity to drive their very own teams directly behind our instructors.  This of course is an option, however a very popular one.  The majority of our guest’s drive their own dog team...they claim its mush more fun than only riding or standing on the back of the sled!  Some companies may choose not to offer these terrific options as they simply do not have the infrastructure within their company to do so.  We all have a choice and our choice is to offer the best experience with every opportunity and option presented to you! We hope this busts the myths regarding driving dog teams that may circulate from time to time.

  Here are some examples of what we’ll be covering:

  • Brief history of the breeds and the sport of dog sledding.
  • How to control and operate the sled safely.
  • Proper demonstration of equipment you will be using to drive the sled.
  • How to drive tandem. (2 people on the back driving.)
  • 'Rules of the trail', for example: no passing the sled in front of you; use 2 feet to stop your sled and where we will be stopping to switch drivers.
  • Commands to get your dogs to go, stop, pass distractions, slow down on the down hills and how to keep your team happy and positive.

Superior dog care, demonstrated both in inner and outward appearance! We LOVE our Huskies and we’re sure you will enjoy the results!

• Highest Quality Food – we’re not afraid to pamper our huskies, never failing to reward them handsomely for their contributions in our mutual success. We stress the importance of being friends first and work associates second. They deserve it! We hope you agree!
• Detailed, loving care in grooming, medical attention, spa treatments, humane housing and more, provided for each husky. We’re sure you will find this visibly apparent in comparison, not to mention performance ability. Our huskies are not considered or treated as livestock.
• We are the only company that uses 4 traditional pure breeds of husky as opposed to 1 crossbred “grey hound/husky racing breed” that many other companies use.  Even though greyhounds are classified as the fastest dog on earth, they have zero endurance and weight pulling ability. The dog sledders that use this breed for touring and freighting are very limited in how much their dogs can pull, the distances per day they can run, the terrain thay can run on, etc. Because we understand you want to experience real, we use the famous and beautiful Siberian husky; the mysterious Canadian Indian husky, which are the closest living relative to the coyote; the stunning Canadian Inuit husky, which are the closest living relative to the wolf; the powerful Alaskan Malamute and; the very exceptional Alaskan Husky. Learn more about the breeds here!
• We are the only company in the area that uses thermoses to keep their “Doggie Gatorade” warm and fresh throughout the day!  Here’s why:  Just like us, eating the cold snow dehydrates the dogs, as they spend too much energy warming up again, so watering the dogs with cold water is not severing any purpose other than dehydrating them further.  We care about our huskies health and in order for them to stay happy and eager to perform we serve all their meals warm in the winter...after all what would you rather drink, hot tea or cold tea?
  This “Doggie Gatorade” is made up of a couple key elements: 
  #1. Hot water which is refreshing, comforting and hydrating.
  #2. Chicken fat which is high in energy, calories and oils which is excellent for our working huskies who are burning around 2000 calories a day! 
  #3. Tripe which is full of very important and helpful digestive enzymes, oils and vitamins.  So on average each dog drinks 3 liters per day! 
  Ensuring that all our huskies drink and stay hydrated is very important so often times we will even mix in other tasty meats such as turkey, buffalo, duck and salmon!   We also offer delicious treats to our huskies once they have finished drinking their water and are enjoy their rest.  Variety is the spice of life so we offer many different types of treats such as duck, chicken, yams wrapped in chicken, Milk Bones, beef liver and their favourite...chicken fat!  Learn more about our dog care here!
  
  Our huskies enjoy a minimum 1 hour break between their tours where they receive their “Doggie Gatorade” and treats.  We do not load our huskies into their travel boxes after running as this causes their muscles to tense up and become stiff, also because they eat and drink so much they need to be able to relieve themselves whenever they please, if they are in their travel box they have no alternative area to do so.  Another benefit of letting our huskies cool down and rest in their team formation is it allows our guides ample time to give each dog loving attention and thank them for their hard work on each tour. Any dogs with thinner coats are offered a nice warm dog coat while we clip their nails, groom them and prep their feet (some huskies have sensitive feet and require paw protection ointment and booties) for the next outing.  Our huskies only enjoy being in their travel boxes for very short periods of time, not for 2 hours like some other companies allow.

Superior quality adventure experiences where we “walk our talk”:

• Custom and Customer Satisfaction orientated.
• Flexible to guest’s individual, specific needs wherever possible. For example; special occasions such as weddings, engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
  
• Maximum 3 adults, (includes instructor) per sled, based on combined weight. The most important reasons for this is to support humanitarian logic, respecting our huskies, as well as to support our guest’s comfort, safety and enjoyment. We can guarantee our company will not over-load sleds with customers at the cost of our huskies, your enjoyment or simply to generate more revenue.
• Cozy bon- fires, delightful food and beverages are provided on every tour. We believe a warm fire, hot beverage, snack or meals are essential to the quality of your experience on each tour.
• Professional, experienced, on site photographer provides the option of making your participation even more memorable.
• Door-to-door, professional, courteous transportation service available from Banff and Canmore.

Comprehensive guest introduction & instruction. At Snowy Owl we have always understood this important factor for everyone’s comfort, safety and enjoyment:

• All clients learn how to skillfully drive a dog sled & handle the sled dogs with humane respect.
• All clients have an option of driving, or riding in the sled, always expertly supervised, instructed and cared for.
• For that ultimate, most popular choice, (which again only our company can provide), guests may drive their very own experienced sled dog team, following closley behind one of our proficient instructors at all times.

Scenic Mountain trails:

• True, Pristine Mountain trail systems. We do not frequent vehicle road ways unless there are absolutely no alternatives. We feel it "takes away" from the ambiance of the experience unless offered in a more back-country setting with out road signage etc..
• Loop trails for diverse scenery and experience as opposed to “out and back” trails.
• Well-groomed, interesting, safe mountain trails.

Established local company since 1983.  This lends our company the status of being the longest running and most experienced sled dog company in the Bow Valley and with it’s original owners:

• Family business with 70 years of combined, extensive, professional mountain sled dog guide/racing and instruction experience behind company.
• 2010 marks Snowy Owls’ 27th Anniversary in commercial tourism.

Most professionally trained, reliable instructors and service personnel:

• Enthusiastic, courteous, professional team!
• Detailed follow-up with guest tour confirmations, maps & logistics.
• Well-organized, efficient reservations system that is easy to use, providing the very best in customer service.

Competitive rates:

• Highly competitive pricing compared to any competitor, yet Snowy Owl continues to deliver a guaranteed superior product and service.

We are renowned for our honesty and integrity:

• Our company never overloads sleds with guests in attempts to make more money at the cost of our sweet, hardworking huskies! Because of the love and respect we have for them, we offer a maximum of 3 people per sleigh weight restriction with the exception of 2 adults and possibly 2 small children for example, not 3 adult customers, with the addition of a 4th guide.

  We will never force or allow our dogs to pull more than they are respectfully capable of, so keeping the sleds fair is very important for the dog’s safety and enjoyment which we hope you’ll agree. This is also the reason you will find more pure husky breeds in our programs as they are genetically built for this avenue of the sled dog sport. For example we never allow 4 to 5 hound dogs to pull 4 or 5 adults all on one sled. Our huskies are very well looked after, so much so that we invite our customers to visit the kennel environment whenever possible. This is why our summer kennel progrmas are so popular and why we receive such positive feedback from our participants. If you care about the dogs, sign up for a tour with our company!

  The trips we offer are genuine; they are not just marketing tools to make ourselves appear experienced and authentic. We offer each program with very few conditional restrictions.

  Our authentic husky breeds are accomplished in traveling many miles and pulling very well, however, we also train our huskies to pace themselves. When they need our assistance, as responsible dog sledders, we leap into actions of support on their behalf. Also, as said, because our huskies are not often hound crosses, they have been proven to the ability of transporting more weight, simply based on their long history of genetics. The few hound crosses we do care for, need to be handled much more watchfully as they are not adapted as well to this kind of terrain and climate as well the pure bred, original northern breeds. We need to be careful how much weight we allow these leaner dogs to pull as they are known to over pull causing stress on their joints and muscles. The enthusiasm and drive to pull is there for these leaner dogs however, they are obviously not built as sturdy and tough as the northern pure breeds as we have experienced for many years. When the leaner dogs run, we place them into a team of certain qualified strength to make sure they do not pull too much weight. We also offer them booties and dog jackets in cooler temperatures as they typically do not sport coats as dense as the pure husky breeds. This is necessary to ensure their comfort and safety. Even though most of our authentic huskies have thick winter coats, when the temperatures are colder and the dogs are taking their rests, we offer dog coats to all, ensuring their comfort and enjoyment at all times!

  Our huskies are never placed in their travel boxes after a run, we allow them to stretch and have a lot of space to ensure our goal of “no tight muscles”. The dogs need to be cooled down and stretched before getting into their travel boxes which usually takes up to an hour. Though the travel boxes used to transport the dogs are snug, for safety reasons when the truck is moving, we do not leave dogs on the boxes for more than an hour as this could also cramp up their muscles.

  All our huskies are offered a warming (not cold) drink several times throughout each working day. They are also “treated” with Canine Health Food after each run to keep them healthy and happy!
  While all the tours are taking place in the Spray Lakes, we employ kennel managers who tend to dogs at the kennel for dogs enjoying their days off. These people ensure all the high quality, weed free straw in each house is clean and dry and that each husky has plenty of it. The older dogs are walked, food is consistently prepared and the entire kennel is 100% cleaned several times throughout the day. This is why you can freely cuddle with our healthy huskies as they are nice and clean as a result. Again, only the highest standard of dog care here which actually relates directly to you as an important customer as well!

  The culture and lifestyle of dog sledding is our profession and we are 100% committed to it, sometimes even more but certainly not less. All of our guests tell us it shows in all we do and in each and every dog. In fact, we truly do not allow any interference in keeping us from looking after our dogs. In the summer months we have up to 5-6 staff tending to the dogs and their every need, while during the winter, which is our busiest season, we have a staff of 14 to 18 tending to them. As a direct result of this fact, many times our company by example, has been chosen to consult with several municipalities, land managers, future entrepreneurs in the sled dog industry, race officials and developers, dog trainers, etc. to encourage and facilitate strong, humane, safe practices in all areas of our industry. It is a privilege and honor to share our experience and passion with you too!

Let our guests tell you about their experience(s) with us. Click here to read their testimonials to us.