The North Ridge Team
North Ridge Ranch is the result of one man’s commitment to sharing the experience of dogsledding with others.
At North Ridge Ranch we take pride in everything we do. We work diligently and efficiently to ensure all our dogs are happy, healthy, well socialized and comfortable. Meeting their needs is our #1 priority.
Our dogs are fed a Canadian-made food, specifically designed to meet the requirements of their highly active lifestyles. All of our gear is sourced as local as possible with quality always our primary concern.
The majority of the dogs in our kennel were born at North Ridge Ranch, but we have also adopted a number of wonderful dogs who help to keep the kennel strong and add diversity to our lines.
Our efforts & hard work along with the knowledge gained from our experiences over the years have assisted in creating a strong and hardworking kennel.
We are very proud of our dogs and hope that you will come and join us on one of our tours so you can experience the excitement and drive that the dogs put into their harnesses and the love they have for their job.
Meet the Team
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Brad
With 30+ years of experience, Brad is a Muskoka trailblazer on a dogsled. Starting as a Deerhurst Resort guide, he founded his own business in 1995, expanding to other resorts. Now, from his own property in Huntsville, Muskoka, Brad provides personalized tours with his loving huskies, built from years of hard work.
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Leah
Leah's dogsledding passion ignited during a 10-day expedition at Lakehead University. After graduation, she thrived as a guide at Winterdance Dogsled Tours in Haliburton for 6 years. Meeting Brad in Huntsville, she became his partner, enjoying races with the dogs and cherishing their remarkable companionship.
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Brea
Brea came to us just in time for the dogsled season in 2014! She is a happy girl outside and in the dog yard. She loves helping out and can often be seen picking up harnesses, dusting snow off sleds, and of course saying hi to all the dogs and guests. She is an up-and-coming little musher and is very quickly learning about the musher lifestyle from mom and dad.
More about North Ridge Ranch
North Ridge Ranch is a true small family run business. The owners Brad and Leah are also the operators and they will be the ones you always speak with. Leah usually answers the phone and greets you and Brad will give you the lesson, guide your tour, and enjoys sharing stories, and knowledge and answering all your questions. We take care of all the dogs, build and groom the trails, and maintain the dog yard, equipment, and everything in between. We are dogsledders and that is all we do….we work with our dogs, care for our dogs and most of all we love our dogs.
Our dogsled trails are all private and only used by us. The system runs on our own property of 500 acres and utilizes some neighboring acreages as well. The forest is beautiful and quiet and exploring it on a dogsled is incredibly serene.
Our dogs are Alaskan Huskies and they all live with us on our property, most have been born at North Ridge Ranch or have been adopted in. They all have names, personalities, and quirks, which we know very well and make up our extended, chosen 4 legged family. We know all our dogs and everything about them, from who likes running with who, how much they eat, what harness size they are, who is related to who…the kennel may seem large and overwhelming to some, but when we look in, we see each individual, not a mass of dogs. They are friendly, strong, driven, beautiful, and healthy and we could not be prouder of them.
We offer small tours of 4-5 guest sleds per tour, which offers our guests a unique experience. We teach you how to drive the sled prior to heading out so you know the basics of dogsledding. The guide sled is the first sled out and then the customer sleds follow in behind. The guide leading the trip is always watching to make sure all the dogs and people are kept safe.