The first sled dog race at Chapman State Park crossed the Allegheny National Forest to Marienville and back in January of 1979. Ten teams ran a two-day race. The temperature hovered around -25 degrees both days with two feet of snow. Jim Lobdell of Warren won that first race and thus began the dog racing tradition at Chapman. Shortly thereafter, the “winter carnival” tradition began to accompany the races at the Park. By 1993, Warren County merged the events into Winterfest.

When Jim Lobdell passed away, the races took on his name: “The Jim Lobdell Memorial Sled Dog Races”. The Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club, Inc. manages the races; TVSC volunteers serve as Trail Boss and Race Marshall. Matt Gregerson of Clarendon leads Amateur FM Radio operators in providing communications to help administer the races. Agencies cooperating to make Winterfest possible include Warren County Council on Tourism, the Bureau of State Parks, Pennsylvania Game Commission and the U.S. Forest Service. Each year, the races are listed on Sled Dog Central. Volunteer organizations stage activities and exhibits throughout the Park. Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue group from Philadelphia will be back for a seventh year at Winterfest.

There will be plenty of excitement for 2013, beginning the morning of Friday, January 20 with the 32-mile mid-distance race from Chapman State Park to the Hickory Creek Wilderness Ranch (16 miles away) and back to the Park. The mid-distance race will be followed by a “Meet the Musher” supper at the Kalbfus Rod & Gun Club, 2178 Chapman Dam Road. (About 2.2 miles from Clarendon) The Kalbfus Club will open to the public at 4:30 p.m., and the Spaghetti Supper will be served at 5:00 p.m. The Mushers in attendance (sled dog owners entered to race) can “Eat free and lodge free” at the Kalbfus Club as in years past.

At Chapman State Park, a variety of downhill sledding events will take place, as well as skiing, ice fishing, snow shoeing, snow sculpting, and several food vendors. Bring the entire family and enjoy winter along the West Branch of the Tionesta Creek at the Park.

For more details on the sled dog races and canine weight pull, including scheduled dates and times, check out the 2012 race promotional flyer available for download on this page. (New flyer not yet available.) The access road next to the Beach at Chapman State Park serves as the start/finish line for all sled dog races.

To see what sled dog racing looks like, visit our “sled cam” video on YouTube, posted below. This video is courtesy Lobdell racer Daniel Rehak of Pittsburgh, and was shot during the 2011 races on State Game Lands #29. You can see “head-on passing” as race teams going in opposite directions pass each other on the race course.

2011 Lobdell Race “sled cam” by racer Daniel Rehak

Below is another video, this one posted by Streeper Kennels. While this is not footage of the Lobdell Races, it does show an 18-dog team going over 20 miles per hour:

2007 Sled Cam video from Streeper Kennel.