Hiawatha Heritage Dog Sled Race

UPDATE - JANUARY 24, 2025

THANKS TO ALL YOUR PRAYERS, THE RACE IS A GO BUT WITH SOME CHANGES!

1. We have sufficient snow to accommodate the 6-Dog HH30 mile dog sled race.
2. We do not have sufficient snow to safely accommodate the 10-Dog HH100 mile endurance dog sled race. 
   1. We need a minimum of 8 inches of hard packed snow to facilitate use of the 10-Dog sled snow brake.  We have had a good 8-10 inches of new snowfall but given the extreme cold and dry conditions, it’s all very fluffy stuff that once groomed only adds less than 2 inches of hard pack. Without a snow brake, the mushers have no way to stop their sled teams in case of emergency.
3. The snow conditions on the Beaver Lake ATV trail are not adequate to accommodate the dog sleds so we cannot use the Activity Building Start / Finish line.

1. We will have two 6-Dog 30-mile races conducted on the HH30 course.  The two races will be held on Saturday Feb 1st at 9:00 till noon and Sunday Feb 2nd at 11:00am till 2:00pm. Times for finishing are approximate as mushers are running a timed event.
2. Mushers will have their choice to compete in either and or both races.
3. We will move the Start / Finish point to N-Gate.
   1. This obviously is a much tighter space than the Activities Building recreation area provided but we will make it work. This means mushers sled parking will be along Millecoquins Lake road so traffic will be extremely limited.
   2. We will provide a continuous shuttle bus service from the Winter Carnival / HSC Office area to the N-gate area.  
   3. Viewing areas will be set up at the intersection of N-trail and Beaver Lake trail and at the Sand Pit. Access to these areas will be on foot from the bus drop-off.
   4. Viewers must be in-place thirty minutes before the sled race begins.
4. The awards ceremony and mushers with sled dog team pictures will be held at the Activities Building and outside area following each day’s race. 
   1. We will use the newly erected -Start / Finish Masthead and tennis court fences to hold sponsor banners for the photo shoots.

 
Temperatures are forecast to be below freezing all week then warm up to mid-30’s for both race days!  We should hold the base of snow we have, and with this warmup, it should be a terrific weekend for our Winter Carnival and our Inaugural Hiawatha Heritage Dog Sled Race so come join us!
 
Don’t forget, we will be having a family sled dog rides at the Carnival so bring the Kids!!!!
 Thanks from the Heritage Dog Sled Committee

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE SCHEDULE AND MAP - CLICK HERE