Driving your own dog sled vs riding as a passenger

Two very different jobs on the same sled

Every husky sled booking near Rovaniemi asks, in one form or another, the same question: do you want to drive, or do you want to be driven? The two options share a trail, a team of dogs and a lot of the same marketing photography, but they are genuinely different experiences, and mixing them up is the single most common source of disappointment reported after a sledding trip. This page is only about that choice — who stands on the runners and who sits in the sled. It does not cover how long a run should last (see our dog sledding tour duration guide) or how well a particular kennel treats its animals (see husky welfare questions to ask).

What driving actually involves

Driving your own dog sled means standing upright on two runners at the back of the sled, holding the handlebar, with one foot resting on a metal brake between the runners. You are not sitting down at any point while you drive. The dogs pull; you control speed with the brake, lean into corners to keep the sled upright, and use a short set of voice commands — typically something like “go” to start and a firm, repeated word to slow the team, since huskies are trained to respond to tone and consistency more than to any specific vocabulary. There is no steering wheel and nothing to turn: the sled follows the team, and your job is mostly about speed control and balance, not navigation.

Before any of that, every kennel around Rovaniemi that offers a self-driven option runs a compulsory briefing, generally 10 to 15 minutes, on foot, before the dogs are even harnessed. It covers standing position, how hard to press the brake, what to do if the sled tips on a bend, and how to keep your weight centred going downhill. This briefing is not a formality to sit through — guides are watching how comfortable people look on their feet, and they can, and do, move someone from the driving role to the passenger seat if the briefing makes it clear that person is not going to manage the runners safely.

The same applies to snow conditions: if the trail is icy, rutted or otherwise judged unsafe for guests to drive themselves that day, a kennel can restrict driving and run passenger-only sleds instead. Any operator who tells you no skill or attention is needed to drive is skipping a step that most reputable kennels build into the day deliberately.

Driving suits fit adults more than anyone else. It asks for reasonable balance, the strength to hold a brake pedal down firmly and consistently, and enough general coordination to lean with the sled on a curve rather than fight it. Kennels generally set a minimum age somewhere between 15 and 18 to drive alone, though this varies by operator, and most expect an adult to ride along in the sled if a minor is driving. Routes offered for self-driving also tend to run on less technically demanding terrain — wider forest tracks and gentler curves — rather than the tightest or steepest sections a kennel’s dogs might use, because a guest at the brake needs margin for error that an experienced musher does not.

What riding as a passenger actually involves

Riding is the simpler option to describe: you sit down, low in the sled, usually reclined against a backrest, wrapped in a thick blanket or reindeer hide provided by the kennel, and a guide or professional musher stands on the runners and drives. You do nothing except hold on and stay covered. There is no briefing beyond basic safety points, because there is nothing to operate.

This is the role that suits families with young children, since a child can sit on an adult’s lap or be tucked in alongside them rather than needing to stand and balance on moving runners. It is also the realistic option for anyone with limited mobility, an injury, or simply no interest in the physical side of the activity — sitting down and being wrapped in blankets is a manageable transfer for many people who would not attempt standing on a moving sled. Because a guide is driving, passenger sleds can also cover ground that some kennels reserve for experienced mushers only, including tighter turns or slightly longer stretches at higher speed, since there is no learner controlling the brake.

Side by side

	Driving your own sled	Riding as a passenger
Position	Standing on the runners	Sitting, wrapped in a blanket
Control	You brake and give voice commands	Guide or musher does everything
Briefing	Compulsory, 10–15 minutes on foot	Minimal safety points only
Suits	Fit adults, generally 15–18+	Families with young children, limited mobility
Terrain used	Easier, wider trails	Can include tighter or busier sections
Physical demand	Active: balance, leg strength, focus	Passive: staying warm and holding on
Can be refused	Yes, at briefing or on the trail if unsafe	Rarely, beyond general safety limits

Why some kennels split a shared sled

A number of routes near Rovaniemi are booked as a shared two-person sled, and several kennels handle the driving question by splitting the route: one person drives the first half while the other rides, then they swap for the return leg. This is worth asking about specifically when booking, since it is not always mentioned upfront and it changes what you should expect if you were hoping to drive the entire distance yourself, or conversely if you were hoping to sit the whole way and your booking partner assumed you would split it.

It is also worth asking, plainly, whether the operator’s “driving” option means you control your own dedicated sled and team, or whether you are the second person in a two-seat sled behind someone else who drives — both are sold as husky sledding, but the second is closer to riding with a longer view than to actually driving.

Choosing between the husky trips on offer

For a first taste of driving on a short, well-marked route, the sled dog tour near Ranua runs on forest tracks suited to guests driving for the first time, with the briefing built into the start of the trip. Around Levi, the husky sled ride from Sirkka and the evening husky sled ride in Levi both offer the same driving-or-riding choice on their own trail networks, with the evening option running after dark under headlamps, which some drivers find easier to focus on since there is less to look at beyond the trail itself.

If the group includes small children or anyone who would rather stay seated the whole time, a family sledge pulled behind a snowmobile is a passenger-only alternative that removes the driving decision altogether.

Booking the right one for your group

A group with mixed ages and abilities does not have to book the same role for everyone. Most kennels are used to some guests driving and others riding on the same outing, and will ask at booking, or at the briefing at the latest, who wants which role. What matters is saying so clearly in advance rather than assuming: a kennel that expects a driving group and gets several first-time toddlers, or the reverse, has to rearrange sleds on the spot, which slows the whole group down.

If you are planning a Rovaniemi trip around several activities and need to weigh a husky sled against a reindeer sleigh ride, our reindeer vs husky comparison covers pace, cost and what each animal-based activity actually feels like, separate from the driving question on this page.

Families weighing whether to book at all should also see what disappoints families in Rovaniemi and kid-friendly activities in Rovaniemi before choosing a slot, and travellers asking about wheelchair or mobility access more broadly should check accessibility in Rovaniemi alongside calling the kennel directly, since sled and loading-area access varies operator to operator.

What to wear either way

Whether you drive or ride, you are outdoors in Lapland winter temperatures for the length of the trip, and driving does not keep you warmer — standing still on runners in moving air can feel colder than sitting wrapped in a blanket. Dress in the same three layers regardless of role: merino wool next to skin, a fleece mid-layer, a windproof and, ideally, waterproof outer shell, plus the thermal overalls, boots and mittens most kennels lend out for the trip. See what to pack: the three-layer system for the full breakdown, and dressing a child for -25°C if a young passenger is coming along.

The honest bottom line

Driving your own dog sled is an active, hands-on 10 to 15 minutes of briefing followed by an active run where you are responsible for speed and balance — genuinely satisfying for a fit adult who wants to feel like more than a spectator, and genuinely refusable by a guide if the briefing or the day’s snow conditions say otherwise.

Riding as a passenger is the calmer, more accessible option, better suited to young children, anyone with limited mobility, or travellers who would simply rather watch the forest go by than concentrate on a brake pedal. Neither role is the “better” version of husky sledding — they are two different activities that happen to use the same dogs and the same trail, and the right one depends entirely on who is booking, not on which option sounds more adventurous on a tour listing.