5 Day Rainey Pass, Nikolai & McGrath Checkpoint Tour

Why Book Your Checkpoint Tour With AIT?

Owner and guide Rich Montagna lived in McGrath for 20 years. He mushed his dog team thousands of miles along the race trail, worked for several Native organizations representing the concerns of the McGrath, Nikolai and Takotna villages to State and Federal agencies. He is intimately familiar with the Upper Kuskokwim area and its people. Visiting the Nikolai and McGrath checkpoints with Rich will give you a unique trail experience no other tour company can provide.

Iditarod Checkpoints Tour Package Highlights

  • Spectacular flights over the Alaska Range to the Rainy Pass, Nikolai and McGrath checkpoints.
  • Opportunity to interact with the dog teams and mushers along the trail at the Nikolai and McGrath Checkpoints
  • Have a unique cultural experience meeting locals in the Nikolai and McGrath checkpoints
  • Visit the Sally Jo Collins Museum in McGrath and learn about the history of the historic Iditarod Mining District and the Iditarod Trail
  • Spend 5 days on the Iditarod Trail meeting your favorite mushers and their dog teams.
  • Be there to greet the mushers as they pull into the Rainey Pass, Nikolai and McGrath checkpoints.
  • McGrath is a favorite place for the mushers to take their 24 hour layover and our 3 days there gives us plenty of opportunities to meet them and see first hand how they care for their dogs.

Cost and Details

March 8 - March 12, 2027

$5200 pp double occupancy in the McGrath Outpost. Single person supplement $600 Tour price includes all local taxes.

Tour Includes: All flights between Anchorage and McGrath and Rainey Pass. Lodging and meals as indicated.

Feeding dogs /p>

Itinerary

  • Day One Monday : Today we fly over the Iditarod Trail into the heart of the Alaska Range and Rainy Pass Lodge. This gives us an opportunity to view the teams from above and watch the mushers care for their teams at the checkpoint. Departure time to the air strip TBD. We return to Anchorage for the night before heading to McGrath on Tuesday. Departure time TBD. (Lunch) (Lunch)
  • Day Two Tuesday : We will fly back over the Iditarod Trail again on our way to the village of Niklai, the 1st checkpoint aftwr the mushers come through the Alaska Range and down the notorious Dalzell Gorge. This is a great opportunity to experience life in a very traditional Native village and see the influence of the Russain explorers and missionaries who first came here. From Nikolai we fly to the McGrath checkpoint, our home for the next three days. We will get familiar with the community as we await the arrival of the lead mushers in the evening( Lunch, Dinner)
  • Days Three : Today is a busy day in McGrath with all the teams passing through McGrath and most of them taking either a rest break or their 24 hour layover here. It is a great opportunity for Iditarod fans to spend time at the checkpoint and experience 1st hand how the mushers care for their dogs along the trail. Clients will also have opportunities to schedule optional activities such as dog mushing and snowmobiling. We will organize a hike to explore Old Town McGrath, site of the original community of McGrath.(Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
  • Days Four : This morning is another opportunity to spend more time at the checkpoint with the mushers and their teams. In the afternoon we will take a walk across the river and explore the remains of Old Town McGrath, the site of the original trading post and community that was abandoned when the Takotna River shifted and the main channel broke through to the Kuskokwim River further downstream. (Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
  • Day Five Friday : Today we leave McGrath and return to Anchorage. (Continental Breakfast)

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Liz Hi Richard, I just want to thank you so much for a wonderful vacation!! It far exceeded any expectation that I had. I smiled for 21 days straight!! It was my first time in Alaska, and I feel that there is no way I could ever top this trip!! I loved every bit of it. From the cruise in Seward, to the resort, in which we took the helicopter ride and landed on a glacier!!! How awesome was that!! I loved the banquet, where we got to meet all of the mushers. Just when I thought "it can't get any better" it did!! I loved McGrath and flying to the check points. It was amazing And of course, being at the finish line in Nome, was the perfect ending to our Iditarod experience! We made so many wonderful new friends on the tour, that was icing on the cake!! It is truly a vacation I will never forget!! Thank you sooo very much!! Liz Masalin