Minnetonka’s annual Klondike Dog Derby is coming to an end, after warm weather forced organizers to cancel the race several years in a row.
The Klondike Dog Derby launched in 2020, but it’s only gone ahead three times. It was canceled once for the COVID-19 pandemic, and three times for a lack of snow and ice.
President and co-founder Bill Danberg said winter conditions are too variable to keep the race going.
“The decision was really made by Mother Nature, unfortunately,” Danberg said.
The 40-mile course started in downtown Excelsior and crossed Lake Minnetonka. Race organizers say it drew about 30,000 people every year it ran. More than 500 volunteers helped put it on every year, many flying in from out of state. Danberg said organizers needed to raise about $300,000 for it annually, too.
Danberg called it a “monumental lift” – especially with unreliable weather.
“It's been sort of precarious, and then the last three years of either having no ice or no snow, or no ice and snow, it just got to the point where it sort of wore us down,” Danberg said.
The race was postponed from February to March this year, then canceled amid record-high temperatures. It was the third canceled year in a row.
Danberg is sad to see the race end. But he says it was fun while it lasted. He owns an outdoor clothing and gear shop in Excelsior, and said he’ll miss the excitement from his customers leading up to the race.
“Just about every person that walks through the door from the middle of December up through February talks about how excited they are for the Klondike to happen,” Danberg said. “Those are things that really are impactful, where you see an event that creates so much excitement.”
Winter is the fastest-warming season in Minnesota. As the climate changes, warm spells are getting more common, creating trickier conditions for winter events.
That’s caused problems for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon on the North Shore, too. It was canceled in 2024 and postponed in 2025.
Organizers of the Klondike race say they’re planning a farewell event for volunteers and community members to say goodbye to the race.
