2018 Iditarod Race Trail / Checkpoints Tour Package. This tour is designed to give you the opportunity to meet your favorite Iditarod mushers up close and personal. Be there to greet the mushers as they pull into the Nikolai, McGrath and Takotna checkpoints. Wish them well as they leave the checkpoints and head down the trail to Nome. McGrath and Takotna are the favorite places for the mushers to take their 24 hour layover and this gives us plenty of opportunities to meet them. Our Iditarod Tour clients who have wanted to be more involved in the race have volunteered to be checkers at the McGrath checkpoint, have helped out in the checkpoint kitchen and even assisted the veterinarians as they examined the race dogs. As long time residents of McGrath, we are able to arrange these activities for you and offer you a personalized tour experience you won't find anywhere else.

5 Day Iditarod Race Trail Tour Package Highlights Include :

• Scenic flight over the Alaska Range and Rainy Pass.
• Sightseeing excursion along the Iditarod trail.
• Visit to the Athabaskan village of Nikolai
• Visit to the Takotna checkpoint in the historic Iditarod Mining District.
• Dog Mushing excursion.
• Opportunity to be a volunteer checker at the McGrath checkpoint.

Itinerary

• Day One Monday: Clients will fly to the community of McGrath on the Kuskokwim River. You will have opportunity to explore the town of McGrath, the old townsite of McGrath and meet a lot of interesting and friendly people. Lodging ; Hotel McGrath apartments.
• Day Two Tuesday : Today you will fly to the Athabaskan community of Nikolai and watch as the lead mushers come in from their gruelling travels through the Alaska Range and the Farewell Burn. Nikolai is a great place to watch the musher's care for their dogs and experience a little of bit of life in a remote Native village. In the late afternoon we will return to McGrath and spend the evening watching the lead mushers come into the McGrath checkpoint. Lodging ; McGrath
• Day Three Wednesday : The Takotna checkpoint has earned a reputation as the friendliest checkpoint on the trail and the spot where many of the lead mushers take their 24 hour layover. Today we take a short flight there and spend the day watching the mushers and their teams. We will spend the evening watching the lead mushers come into the McGrath checkpoint. Lodging ; McGrath.
• Day Four Thursday : Teams continue to enter and leave McGrath and clients will take a combination dog mushing and snowmobile tour. We will also work to schedule slots for clients who are interested in being a volunteer checker. Lodging ;McGrath
• Day Five Friday : The tour comes to an end and clients return to Anchorage.

Cost and Details

March 5 - 9, 2017. $3500 pp double occupancy, private bedroom, shared bathroom, living room and kitchen in 2 bedroom apartment.

Tour Includes

4 Nights Accommodation in McGrath Continental breakfast, lunches and dinners Dog mushing excursion

Flights between Anchorage and McGrath Flights between from McGrath and Nikolai Flights between McGrath and Takotna