_{A racing kennel.
A family passion.}_{Open to those who
want to see it.}

‍

Kari Jæger came to Holmen in 1986. Eirik Nilsen arrived in Alta the following year. The dogs brought them to the same place. They rented the farmhouse together, built the kennel, and eventually bought the land. They never left.

Their son Brage runs the kennel and the lodge today. Their daughter Oda has come home. And over the years, people from across the world have found their way here too — drawn by the same life the dogs make possible. They stay. They come back. They work every season to let guests into the same connection that brought them here.

Together they are building the best place to experience dog sledding on earth.

Our story

You drive.
_{The dogs run.}

Every tour starts the same way. You harness the dogs yourself, get on the sled, and drive your own team. Not beside a guide doing the work. You are the musher. The dogs will teach you what that means.

We run 2.5-hour tours through the Arctic forest, 5-hour river expeditions with fire-cooked lunch on the trail, Northern Lights evening tours, and 5-day crossings of the Finnmark wilderness. December through April. Dryland mushing available September through November.

Explore Dog Sled Tours

Built beside the kennel.
_{That is deliberate.}

Seven architect-designed Forest Suites, 62 m² each, built from solid cross-laminated timber among the pines in 2024. Shaped by the Sámi lavvu — low, grounded, belonging to the landscape. Each suite is fully private with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the forest. The suites are heavily insulated — you will sleep well. In the morning, the dogs are the first thing you see.

Breakfast is served in the restored post-war barn. The sauna, ice bath, and outdoor jacuzzi are available for all overnight guests. Minimum two nights.

book room

The dogs brought you here.
_{Alta will surprise you.}

Overnight guests at Holmen have access to a range of winter activities beyond dog sledding — run by local guides and partners who know this landscape the way we know our trails. Snowmobiling on the Finnmark plateau, a day with a Sami reindeer herder, king crab or whale safari in the Alta Fjord, Northern Lights chasing, fat biking, ice fishing, and more.

See All Winter Experiences

Stays built around the dogs.
_{Everything else follows.}

Our packages combine a Forest Suite stay with dog sledding and other activities, planned with enough time on the trail, enough time to recover, and enough time to sit with the dogs between runs. Three days or five. Winter or summer. We build them around what you are looking for.

Explore Packages

What forty years
_{with dogs teaches you.}

Forty years with dogs teaches you things that are hard to learn any other way. What happens to a team when the musher is calm versus anxious. How much attitude matters over long distances. How presence is something dogs can feel before you understand it yourself. These things shaped how Holmen operates.

Read the Holmen Way

Welcome to

BASED IN ALTA, Norway

_{A racing kennel.
A family passion.}_{Open to those who
want to see it.}

You drive.
_{The dogs run.}

Built beside the kennel.
_{That is deliberate.}

The dogs brought you here.
_{Alta will surprise you.}

Stays built around the dogs.
_{Everything else follows.}

What forty years
_{with dogs teaches you.}

MUSHER

_{Alta, Norway. 69° North.}

Welcome to

BASED IN ALTA, Norway

A racing kennel.A family passion.Open to those whowant to see it.

You drive.The dogs run.

Built beside the kennel.That is deliberate.

The dogs brought you here. Alta will surprise you.

Stays built around the dogs. Everything else follows.

What forty years with dogs teaches you.

MUSHER

Alta, Norway. 69° North.

_{A racing kennel.
A family passion.}_{Open to those who
want to see it.}

You drive.
_{The dogs run.}

Built beside the kennel.
_{That is deliberate.}

The dogs brought you here.
_{Alta will surprise you.}

Stays built around the dogs.
_{Everything else follows.}

What forty years
_{with dogs teaches you.}

_{Alta, Norway. 69° North.}