Here are the best places to watch the Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage

Diana Moroney leaves the start line during the ceremonial start of the 2005 Iditarod Sled Dog Race in downtown Anchorage. (Bob Hallinen / ADN archive)

The 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicks off this weekend. Up first: the ceremonial start, which takes dog teams on a mini-tour of Anchorage, from packed streets downtown to the end of the route at the Campbell Airstrip.

The ceremonial start begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and D Street downtown. Dog teams will take off in two-minute intervals for an 11-mile ride across town.

Here’s a list of prime viewing spots for ceremonial start spectators.

1. Downtown

Come early to grab a key bleacher spot at the starting line or just hang out, talk with mushers, admire the dogs or eat a grilled hot dog and listen to the announcer count down each team’s departure. The most exciting spot on the ceremonial trail is the corner of Fourth Avenue and Cordova Street, where teams buzz around the soft, snowy turn at speeds that occasionally spill the sled and its rider — this is prime real estate.

2. Cordova Street and 16th Avenue

Now that the crowds have thinned out and the teams are out of the din of downtown, drivers are a little more responsive to fans who wish them good luck.

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3. Chester Creek greenbelt

This is as intimate as it gets — some stretches are so quiet you can hear the dogs’ feet and runners of the sleds cruising along the snow in the distance. But it’s also close quarters along this trail, so be sure to give teams and drivers plenty of room to pass and keep your dogs at home.

Ed Stielstra of Michigan is greeted along the trail during the Iditarod ceremonial start on March 5, 2016, along Chester Creek. (ADN archive)

4. Goose Lake Park

This is tailgate central, where folks picnic and party while teams pass by. The environment is festive but definitely dialed back compared with the madness downtown.

5. Tudor Road overpass

Take your last urban chance to check out the dogs before they disappear into the woods — and traffic on Tudor Road in early afternoon is as urban as it gets around these parts. Just be sure to set up on either side of the overpass, not on the overpass itself; that space is reserved for the dogs.

2003 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers Palmer Sagoonick, bottom, and Bill Pinkham exit the Tudor Road bridge as they head toward Campbell Airstrip, which marks the end of the trail for the ceremonial start. (ADN archive)

6. Campbell Airstrip

These are some of the best in-Anchorage opportunities to see Iditarod dog teams running in a more natural setting. Excellent viewing is found along the forest-lined Campbell Airstrip, near the Campbell Creek Science Center and at BLM offices, where mushers will pack for their trip to the restart in Willow. Take advantage of the free parking at the Abbott Loop Ballfields and Kasuun Elementary, and shuttle buses to take you within a “bone’s throw” of the racers. Plus, the science center has exhibits about the Iditarod National Historic Trail.