About Points Unknown

A love and respect for dogs

Points Unknown evolved from a love and respect for dogs and the deep desire to create dog-based adventures for those with a range of experience levels. Those new to dogs and/or mushing, all the way up to mushers with their own sled dog teams, are welcome to join us if looking for new challenges.

Points Unknown promotes and actively maintains a kennel of traditional sled dogs including the Freight Alaskan Husky and Hedlund Husky.

Our love of nature, dogs and the outdoors has always been a driving force in the direction of our lives. With the dogs, we followed our internal compass north and abandoned the hustle and bustle of a semi suburban yet, by all appearances, rural lifestyle, thirty miles west of the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN metropolitan area. Opening up a new chapter in the peaceful, remote north woods of Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region, we now live and work off grid using power from the sun.

Our “corporate headquarters” rests on 40 acres of woods, surrounded by State and Federal lands, 26 miles northeast of Grand Marais, MN and 7 miles up the hill from Lake Superior’s shores. Here, we not only provide dog sledding tours and teach folks how to dog mush through Points Unknown, but we also handcraft pure beeswax candles using our solar energy. To learn more about our beeswax candle business please visit Scent from Nature.

Look at what else we do………

Watch the clip on pbs.org – Cook County Tourism

Read the article here – Dog Sledding at Points Unknown – WDIO

Read about our mission to bring back the Hedlund Husky from extinction on Cascade Vacation Rentals and listen to the podcast from Exploring the North Shore

Read and listen to a podcast about our Mindful Paddling adventures with Exploring the North Shore!

North Shore bed and sled business puts women first – Duluth News Tribune

Dog Sled Tour: Fall Training Run – A feature on Points Unknown’s sled dog training routine in the North Shore Explorer

Cook County’s history with the Becoming An Outdoors Woman Program – By WTIP North Shore Radio

Sled Dog Info featured Linda, Points Unknown and the Hedlund Husky.
 

WTIP in Grand Marais, MN, USA did a radio feature on Points Unknown and our Bed & Sled.

This video, created by a former Points Unknown handler/Intern, will leave you in tears of joy at the human/canine bond.
 

Linda and Points Unknown were featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
 

See what the Sierra Club Magazine has to say about the Points Unknown Women’s Adventures!

Points Unknown was featured in the Carver County Gold Miner (530kb pdf)
 

See the Points Unknown Sled Dogs in action!

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A post shared by Melissa | Do North Marketing (@northshoreexplorermn)

Points Unknown is currently on a journey with a result that includes providing you with some very unique, OFF GRID, north woods dog mushing experiences! You can follow this journey by following our blog or the Points Unknown Facebook page.

• Women’s Winter Adventures
• Advanced Women’s Winter Adventure in Minnesota’s beautiful northwoods.  Please contact us directly for information on this adventure.
• Girl Scout Dog Mushing Badge Program! This program provides each girl with all of the education and hands-on experience needed to meet the requirements necessary to receive the dog mushing badge. This is a popular program so be sure to book early!
• Canicross Hiking
• Pull Training with your dog
• Kennel Tours (year ’round). Come and cuddle the sled dogs and see what our lifestyle with the dogs is all about! Contact us for details.

We have a passion for sharing our knowledge with those who love dogs and are thirsty for education and adventure. We often have internship, volunteer or employment opportunities available. Please Contact us if you would be interested in any of this opportunities. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos below of some of our Points Unknown team members over the years.

Linda Newman – Owner of Points Unknown, LLC

Linda grew up all over the United States in a U.S. Forest Service family. The wilderness has always been a driving force in her life. Linda had a dog all through her childhood but didn’t find her true passion for them until the 1990s. Linda has been training dogs since 1994. She got her first sled dogs in 2000 and thus began her sled dog training. She came from a background of Australian Shepherds, obedience and agility training. Now, she applies this training to her sled dogs so they can all reach their full potential in and out of harness.

Linda’s dream of a career that included her passion for the outdoors and her love and respect for her canine companions became a reality in early 2005 when she started Points Unknown.  Points Unknown was contracted to provide dog mushing adventures at a popular northern Minnesota Lodge in Grand Marais, MN, USA in the winters of 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 and Linda headed up this program, creating a number of different dog sledding adventures and experiences for their guests. She is currently a DNR Becoming an Outdoors Women program instructor, and is giving dog mushing instruction at her homestead in Hovland and providing demonstrations at local events. Linda feels stongly about community service and, to that end, was the chairperson for the Cook County Parks & Trails Commission and is currently on the Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment for Cook County.

To read the Sled Dog Info feature on Linda, please click HERE.