National parks across the country just began their peak visitor season, but in a quiet little corner of Denali National Park, it’s also peak puppy season.
On May 3, 2025, the national park welcomed five new sled dogs to their mushing crew: Squall, Storm, Graupel, Dew, and Fog. While the pups were still acclimating to things earth-side for most of May, they are now available to be seen on a livestream, known to fans as the Puppy Cam.
The Denali Kennels have been the only sled dog kennel in the NPS for over 103 years, and one of the oldest in the U.S. as a whole. Each year, Denali aims to breed or adopt one litter of sled dogs, which might have anywhere from one to six or more pups.
This year’s pack of five is named after words that describe various ways that water influences the weather, since the Denali Kennels and the National Weather Service are celebrating 100 years of weather data collection by the park’s mushing rangers.
Aside from being unbearably cute, these puppies are part of an important lineage. Mushing, or dog-sledding, is a cultural tradition that dates back thousands of years among Indigenous peoples of Alaska.
It also happens to be the most effective mode of transportation for National Park Service rangers during Denali’s harsh winters. In heavy snow and winter weather, NPS rangers patrol the park’s vast areas of designated wilderness to gain valuable data and weather information.
Denali is home to two million acres of federally-designated wilderness, meaning rangers have a long journey to traverse. That means it’s key for their trusty companions to be ready for the job.
Careful breeding ensures that dogs are born with qualities suitable for the challenges of being a Denali sled dog.
“Physical traits include long legs to break trail through deep snow, compact paws to resist buildup of ice between toes, and sturdy coats and puffy tails to keep warm in the depths of sub-arctic weather,” the NPS explains.
And if you’re wondering if the dogs like the spotlight, well, they’re bred for that, too.
“Character traits include tenacity, an unbridled love to pull and run as part of a team, and social skills that tolerate [the] attention of many thousands of admirers to visit the kennels each summer,” the NPS continues.
Outside of the livestream — which includes adorable feeding times, and sometimes a glimpse at the elder sled dogs — Denali visitors can tour the kennels and see the pups in person at the park daily. Educational sled dog programs are also offered throughout the summer season.
Funding for the Puppy Cam programming comes from a partnership with Alaska Geographic and proceeds from its Denali Park Store.
With budget cuts threatening both the NPS and the National Weather Service, these types of private partnerships bolster the park’s popular programming.
The Puppy Cam shows a small look into the lives of the sled dog puppies, who are about four weeks old as of the publishing of this article.
For the first two months of their lives, the puppies will continue to nurse, sleep, and gain weight (more than a pound a week) at the kennels. After six weeks, they are also handled by adults and children to be socialized for park programming, according to the NPS.
The pups’ paws and mouths are also regularly examined to get them acquainted with wearing booties and dental exams as they age.
“Kennel staff take the puppies for walks, giving them opportunities to explore puddles, climb steep slopes, and amble over willow bushes and tundra,” an informational page from the NPS shares. “This familiarizes the puppies with the environment and helps them become confident and secure in their surroundings.”
By six months old, the pups are old enough to observe the older dogs in their early-season training runs, ambling alongside, until a few weeks later, when they are harnessed, too. The puppies do not get leashed to sleds until they are seven or eight months old for short runs with well-trained adult dogs.
“The pups develop into working sled dogs very quickly. By the end of their first winter, they will already have several hundred miles of experience running in harness,” the NPS shares.
“This first winter of training is so significant to their physical and mental development that by the time their second winter comes around, they will be hooked up into [the] team as full-fledged sled dogs.”
While these pups would likely be happy to take their posts for the love of the game, their responsibilities are real and important to the conservation of Denali National Park and its cultural heritage.
“The dogs, and the kennels where they live, represent important pieces of the American story. These are the only sled dogs in the United States that help protect a national park and the wildlife, scenery, and wilderness therein, and it has been this way since the birth of the park,” the NPS shares.
“This special group of dogs is tasked with preserving unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
But for now, they’re doing their part just by being cute.
Check in on the Puppy Cam.
Header image courtesy of NPS Photo / Kent Miller
