The CopperDog sled dog race will begin in Calumet on Feb. 27, but for the first time it will end in Laurium on March 1. (Daily Mining Gazette photo, file)

LAURIUM – Village of Laurium officials are preparing for the 2026 edition of the CopperDog sled dog race.

Earlier this year, CopperDog announced the 2026 CopperDog will begin in Calumet on Feb. 27 but will finish for the first time in Laurium on March 1. The CopperPull, a weight pulling competition, will also take place in Laurium and feature dog teams from all over the Midwest.

“On December first, I will be attending the first meeting to start learning what is going to be expected of the village, how much is expected — is anything expected?” Village Manager Ian Lewis told the village council Tuesday.

“The village staff has been working hard behind the scenes trying to make this happen for our community, and the time is now,” Lewis said. “We can’t wait for our community to officially be part of the CopperDog race.”

The Laurium “Get Active Initiative” has been creating opportunities for all individuals to participate in outdoor recreation over the past two years, he said. Laurium’s “Get Active Initiative” is a program designed to provide residents with more opportunities for outdoor and healthy activities, which includes recent projects like the “Splashing Through Laurium” splash pad at the Recreation Area and new ice skate rentals at the Gipp Ice Arena.

“This partnership with the CopperDog allows Laurium to keep moving forward with our initiative by allowing new recreation-based experiences and memories to be made for our community members,” Lewis said.

On June 16, CopperDog said over the years the event has had lots of support from Laurium business, volunteers and fans, so moving some events to the Gipp is way to show its appreciation.


”With their recreational initiative happening, we see no better time and place to get this done,” CopperDog said on its social media page. “We will be finishing at the George Gipp Arena on Isle Royale Street.”

On Oct. 16, CopperDog announced that on Saturday, March 1, Laurium will also host the CopperPull and the CopperDash at the Gipp Recreation Area.

Also, CopperDog announced in June, the Twin Cities Dog Powered Sports and CD Kennels and Malamutes & Rescue are making plans to host the now-famous CopperPull throughout the race weekend.

“I’ll probably start asking them what they’re thinking for staging,” Lewis said, “because they’re going to do the dogsled pulls somewhere, but I don’t know quite where they want that located, so we’ll need to figure that one out.”