Northern Pines Sled Dog Race draws 50 teams

Racers and spectators rushed to Bayfield County last weekend for the 7th Annual Northern Pines Sled Dog Race.

Hosted by the Iron River Chamber of Commerce, the race took place at the Northern Pines Golf and Event Center in Iron River.

Rob Lombard is the race marshal. He says organizers wanted the race to stand apart from traditional sled dog competitions.

“We first decided we were gonna do something different. We realized that kennels were getting smaller in the racing world, so we designed our race to have smaller classes and to be able to have each of our races occur at their own time slot instead of having each race start one after the other,” Lombard says.

Racers competed in classes ranging from 4-dog and 6-dog teams to sprint and mid-distance events, allowing adults and kids of all experience levels to participate. 

This year, 50 teams competed. That’s the second-highest turnout since the race began.

“It seems like the word is getting out and we’re having more mushers travel longer distances to come race at our event,” Lombard says.

After past years with low snow, Lombard says the trails were in great shape. With over two feet of snow providing fast and smooth conditions.

Beyond the main races, the event included a mutt run for kids and their pets, snowshoeing on the trails, sled dog rides, a warm indoor venue for spectators and mushers, and even a sanctioned weight-pull competition.

“There’s not a lot of those around, so it’s a pretty big deal for people to come up here and compete on snow instead of just pulling a cart,” Lombard says.

Lombard says the safety of the course and welcoming atmosphere is what bring racers and families back year after year.

“There are no snowmobiles running at the same time as the race. There’s no risk of cars. They do cross some roads, but we have really good volunteers that stop traffic for that. We’ve got a seven-year-old running a race this year. That tells you they feel safe to send their seven-year-old on our four-dog race trail because we’re going to make sure they get back,” Lombard says.

He adds that volunteers are an essential part of keeping the event running smoothly, many helping since the race began.

“They just keep coming back, and we love them, and they seem to love our events, so we’re thankful for them,” Lombard says.