2025 Iditarod Ceremonial Start Held in Downtown Anchorage, Alaska

The ceremonial start of the 2025 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race took place in downtown Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday. Spectators lined 4th Avenue in Alaska’s largest city for the annual event, with mushers and their sled dog teams, capped at eight dogs per musher for the ceremonial start, partaking in a shortened route this year due to lack of snow. Teams made their way from 4th and D Street to Cordova before heading southward and finishing at Sullivan Arena.

The official race restart, initially set for Sunday in nearby Willow, has been moved north this year due to trail conditions stemming from insufficient snow coverage. Mushers will instead begin in Fairbanks, with the official restart pushed back one day to Monday at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge. This marks the fourth time the race has been moved to Fairbanks, with previous occurrences in 2003, 2015 and 2017.

This year’s field of mushers includes participants from four countries - the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway. Among those from the U.S. are mushers from eight states - Alaska, Alabama, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. 33 total mushers are participating this year, tying 2023 for the smallest field for the race. The field is nearly evenly split between rookies and veterans, with 16 rookies participating alongside 17 race veterans this year.

The official race trail is set to be the longest in the history of the race, with 1,128 miles planned for the 53rd iteration of the Iditarod. The race, which first began in 1973, will once again conclude in Nome, a city of a few thousand on the southern Seward Peninsula coast.