Homesteads - the Canadian Badlands!

Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Homesteads, Bonebeds & Coalbeds Driving Tour
Calgary • Rosebud • Drumheller Valley • Brooks • Dinosaur Provincial Park • Calgary
Enjoy the view at Horseshoe Canyon near Drumheller
The Canadian Badlands is like no other place on earth. Home to the world’s most extensive dinosaur bonebeds, badlands and hoodoos
and a world-class dinosaur museum, our natural heritage is over 75 million years old. Our culture is literally layered in the land. National
historic sites and provincial parks reveal First Nations rock art, farming & ranching history and a rich industrial heritage. Our communities
large and small boast festivals, rodeos, live theatre, local art and tea houses. Whether you prospect for fossils, canoe a meandering river or
horseback ride in glacier-carved coulees, the Canadian Badlands experience is as vast and remarkable as the landscape.
The Canadian Badlands Touring Routes dig through the layers of our natural and cultural heritage. Regional driving tours are 3 to 4
days long and offer many ideas of what to see and do. You can customize your own 1or 2-day road trip or use Side Trips to create a
week-long vacation. The Touring Routes can be enjoyed in any season. While larger attractions are open year round, local attractions
often ope from mid-May to early-September. We wish you a memorable journey in the Canadian Badlands. Call 1-800-ALBERTA or visit
canadianbadlands.com for more Canadian Badlands Touring Routes.
Day 1. Calgary to Drumheller
• Enjoy Alberta’s only professional rural theatre – Rosebud Theatre
• Marvel at the view at Horseshoe Canyon
• Prospect for fossils with interpreters from the Royal Tyrrell
Day 2. Drumheller to Brooks
• Visit the ghost town of Wayne
• Walk in the steps of coal miners at the
Atalas Coal Mine
• Travel among the Royal Ladies towns in Brook’s historic ranching country
Day 3. Brooks to Dinosaur and Calgary
• Join an interpretive bus tour in Dinosaur
• Hike among hoodoos and coulees on
self-guided walking trails
• Learn about Blackfoot culture at the Siksika Nations’ Blackfoot Crossing
This tour of the Canadian Badlands is
a tour through time. Fertile farmlands
stretch to the edge of the Red Deer
River valley and the first enticing view
of the bones of the earth at Horseshoe
Canyon. Carved by glacial meltwaters
and washed by rain and snowmelt, the
colourful layers of rock beneath your feet
release a treasure of dinosaur fossils every
spring. You can explore these clues to
the past at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of
Palaeontology in Drumheller and on
a bonebed hike in Dinosaur Provincial
coal – stripe the Drumheller Valley and
Park. Ancient plants – transformed into
coal – once provided a living for
thousands of coal miners. A visit to the
Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site
brings miners’ stories to life, along with
a climb to the top of Canada’s oldest
wooden tipple. Cattle have taken the
place of the great herds of bison that
once travelled the plains surrounding
the Red Deer River, and early 20th
century irrigation feats turned parched
land into fertile farmland. Evidence of
human ingenuity is everywhere – from
the Brooks Aqueduct National Historic
Site to modern-day irrigation canals
and reservoirs.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Visitor Information Centres
Events
Travel Alberta
1-800-Alberta, travelalberta.com
April
Easter Farmer’s Market, Drumheller
Spring Festival, East Coulee
Calgary - 101-9 Ave S.W.
1-800-661-1678
tourismcalgary.com
?
Drumheller - 60-1 Avenue West
1-866-823-8100
traveldrumheller.com
Brooks - 6 km east on Highway 1
403-362-6881
brookschamber.ab.ca
Accommodations
Visit the Alberta Hotel & Lodging
Association online at explorealberta.com
for approved accommodation or contact
1-800-ALBERTA.
Camping: Drumheller and Dinosaur
Provincial Park campgrounds are often
full by early afternoon. Reservations
highly recommended. Camping at
various municipal campgrounds and
Kinbrook and Tillebrook Provincial Parks
near Brooks.
June/July
Beethoven in the Badlands,
Drumheller
Canada Day, all communities
Motorcycle Madness, Wayne
Passion Play, Drumheller
Prairie Wind Sailing Regatta, Brooks
Rodeos, Drumheller, Brooks
September
WayneFest Folk Festival, Wayne
Silver Sage Rodeo, Brooks
Year-round
Rosebud Theatre, Rosebud
Silver Sage Rodeo, Brooks
(Thursdays November to April)
Attractions
A Rosebud Theatre
1-800-267-7553, rosebudtheatre.com
B Royal Tyrrell Museum
403-823-7707, tyrrellmuseum.com
C Dinosaur/Hoodoo Trail
1-866-823-8100, traveldrumheller.com
D Atlas Coal Mine
403-822-2220, atlascoalmine.ab.ca
E East Coulee School Museum
403-822-3970, albertaheritage.net
F Dinosaur Provincial Park
403-378-4344, cd.gov.ab.ca
7 Brooks & District Museum
403-362-5073, brooks.ca
H Brooks Aqueduct
403-362-4451, cd.gov.ab.ca
I Blackfoot Crossing
403-734-5171, siksikanation.com
Bed & Breakfasts/Guest Ranches/Hotels:
Numerous in the Drumheller Valley and
Brooks area
Distances and Driving Times
Calgary to Rosebud, 100 km, 80 min
Rosebud to Drumheller, 35 km, 30 min
Drumheller to Dorothy, 40 km, 35 min
Dorothy to Brooks, 115 km, 90 min
Brooks to Dinosaur, 48 km, 40 min
Brooks to Calgary, 188 km, 110 min
This map is not intended for navigation.
Pick up an official Alberta Road Map at a
Visitor Information Centre or call
1-800-ALBERTA.
The Canadian Badlands Touring Routes aim to follow good secondary highways and, occasionally, offer gravel-road alternatives. While most attractions are accessible on hard-surfaced roads, some have
gravel-road access. Please drive carefully and respect private property. Every effort has been made to ensure accurate information at the time of publication. Attraction hours and seasons of operation vary.
You are advised to contact each attraction in advance. This publication is for information purposes only. We are unable to accept responsibility for any inconvenience, loss or injury sustained as a result of
anyone relying upon this information.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
1
Day One
Calgary to Drumheller
A paved highway traces the tracks
As your route turns north on
In 1973, the Baptist Church established a
Highway 840, watch for Alberta’s official
theatre school and the Rosebud Theatre
flower, the wild rose. Open your window
and, in doing so, put the village back on
to catch its sweet scent in early to
the map. Artists, singers, and actors now
mid-summer. The abundance of this
people this village, bringing it to life once
pink flower led the local Blackfoot to
more. Visit the craft shops, galleries, tea
rutted by settlers and their wagons,
name the river Akokiniskway, the river
houses and the Rosebud Centennial
searching for a land of promise.
of many rosebuds.
Museum. Take in a performance at
Rosebud Theatre and, if time allows, stay
Prairie villages keep the secrets of
The river runs through the village of
generations while eroded valleys
in one of the inns or bed and breakfasts.
Rosebud, one of the almost-ghost towns in
gradually reveal secrets millions of
the Canadian Badlands. When the railway
North from Rosebud, Highway 840 ends
years old. Explore the mysteries by
arrived in 1914, the village experienced a
at Highway 9. A right turn, and within
growth spurt: a hotel, Chinese restaurant,
minutes you reach Horseshoe Canyon
grain elevators, machinery dealerships, and
Lookout and the first view of the
even a dance hall, appeared as if by magic.
colourful and rugged Red Deer River
The village prospered, with a few rocky
valley. It’s worth taking a few minutes to
years during the Great Depression of the
walk to the edge – the scenery will take
1930s. Then the killer of many small towns
your breath away! Hikers can follow
struck – the local school closed. Students
footpaths on the west side of the Canyon
were bussed to Standard, and many parents
but remember, after a wet spell the trails
followed, for shopping and social activities.
and valley sides turn into slippery gumbo.
land or air, on foot or by canoe.
Head east from Calgary on Country Hills
Boulevard (Highway 564) to begin your
journey in the Canadian Badlands.
The prairies that stretch before you hide
stories of hardship and success, the story
of settlement that pitted young farmers
against relentless wind, baking sun and
Rosebud’s businesses locked their doors and
never-ending work. The faint of heart
rolled up their sidewalks.
lasted a year or less, then packed up and
cliffs and canyons you see before you
headed back to town. Those who stayed
mauvaises terres, or badlands. Badlands
built a wooden house when their crops
form when water cuts through layers of
prospered. As you drive along, look for
rock. Glacial rivers with high volumes of
these weather-beaten homes, now gray and
water made the first slice 13,000 years ago.
leaning, ending their days as storage sheds.
The Red Deer River continues to widen
the valley today.
Gradually, hamlets and villages formed
to provide groceries, mail and schools:
Imagine standing at Horseshoe Canyon
Ardenode, Nightingale, Harriot, Rockyford
Lookout 75 million years ago, a warm
and Rosebud. Some were named by their
ocean tickling your feet and damp forests
inhabitants; others were given a name
and swamps behind you. You might have
when a post office was opened or
during the survey of the Canadian
Early French explorers called the eroded
Enjoy live theatre in Rosebud
National Railway line.
:" Rosebud Theatre offers both matinee and
thought that this was Florida. The big
difference would have been the hungry
dinosaurs eyeing you for lunch!
evening dinner threatre for the whole family.
Reservations are recommended.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Settlers and ranchers have long known
the big granddaddy stands guard over the
about strange bones eroding from the
Visitor Information Centre. Climb to the
valley sides. In 1909, John Wegner, a
top of the World’s Largest Dinosaur for a
local rancher, mentioned them to Barnum
Tyrannosaurus-eye view of the badlands
Brown, a scientist at the American
and the cottonwood-lined Red Deer
Museum of Natural History and sparked
River. Then join Alberta’s dinosaur
the Great Canadian Dinosaur Rush.
hunters at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of
Over the next five years, more than 200
Palaeontology. The museum is located in
complete or nearly complete skeletons
Midland Provincial Park, 6 km northwest
were collected for the world’s museums.
of Drumheller on Highway 838.
:" See a Fossil? Let it Be! Fossils uncover
stories of past times when left on the
ground with other fossils and rocks.
Mark the spot and report it to the
Tyrrell Museum so a palaeontologist
can check it out. Collecting fossils in
Alberta is illegal without a permit.
The Tyrrell Museum promises an
educational visit of two to three hours.
The highlight for many visitors is the
Dinosaur Gallery where reconstructed
skeletons tower over you, still threatening
after so many years. The museum’s guided
hikes and interpretive programs are
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Be a part of the modern-day Dinosaur
popular as well. Contact the Tyrrell in
Rush. From Horseshoe Canyon, continue
advance to join an interpreter on a
on Highway 9 for 17 km to Drumheller.
realistic dinosaur dig and to cast your
Folk art dinosaurs are everywhere and
own dinosaur fossils.
Day Two
Drumheller to Brooks
Journey through the Drumheller
Valley’s coal mining heritage.
Watch for signs of the 140 mines
that operated in the valley: red slag
heaps, broken timbers, iron rails and
battered coal cars. Then tip back
your Stetson and drive across the
open range to Brooks.
Marvel at dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell
Side Trip
Drumheller can keep you busy for days! Take time to visit the Homestead Antique Museum, cuddle up with a boa constrictor at Reptile World, squeeze into Alberta’s smallest church, drive the Dinosaur Trail via Bleriot Ferry,
and shop in historic downtown Drumheller.
Contact the Drumheller Visitor Information
Centre for details on these attractions, as
well as where to golf, canoe, hike and
horseback ride in the valley. Don’t forget to ask about scenic helicopter rides over
Horseshoe Canyon!
Dinosaurs hid in forests of dinosaur-sized
to the valley in 1884. He knew that coal
trees, ferns, cycads and ginkoes. You
would power the development of the
can see their relatives in the Cretaceous
west. And for many years it did, as fuel
Garden at the Tyrrell Museum, or you
for steam trains and for home heating.
can find their remains in layers of coal.
Today it is still used to produce most of
In fact, every black line traced across the
Alberta’s electricity. The Drumheller
badlands around you is a layer of coal,
Valley was Alberta’s hotbed for coal
marking a time when prehistoric plants
mining from 1911 until the 1950s.
fell into swamps and with time and
The last mine closed in 1984.
compression, left only their carbon
molecules behind.
To journey through Drumheller’s coal
mining past, head east on the scenic
It was carbon – coal – that Joseph Burr
Hoodoo Trail (Highway 10).
Tyrrell was searching for when he came
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
:" Fill up your fuel tank before leaving
Drumheller and take plenty of water and
snacks. Pack a picnic or plan to lunch in
the Willow Tea Room at the East Coulee
School Museum.
Rosedale is the first historic mining town
east of Drumheller. Follow the signs to
the Suspension Bridge, a swaying cable
bridge hanging over the Red Deer River.
Cross in the footsteps of the miners as
they walked to work at the Star Mine on
the far side. After changing from street
clothes to mining clothes in the wash
house, the miners picked up their lamp,
battery and identification tag and headed
Side trip
Take Highway 10X to Wayne, counting the eleven bridges over the Rosebud River along the way. Wayne was once home to 2,000 bachelors and families, miners and shopkeepers. Hotels, restaurants, boarding houses and stores thrived while the six mines operated. Once the mines began to close, people moved to the next mine that was hiring, often taking their houses with them. Now only the Last Chance Saloon in the Rosedeer Hotel remain.
Stop in for a buffalo burger and to see the
photographs and artifacts of a town that died over 50 years ago. Motorcycle buffs shouldn’t miss the annual Harley Davidson rally in
early July.
6-room school lining the main street.
Today the East Coulee School Museum
presents a fascinating glimpse of life
during the heyday of mining. Join a
museum interpreter to tour the restored
1930s schoolroom and, over tea or a light
lunch at the Willow Tea Room, look
through old mining photos or chat
with a local.
Ready to try out the mining life?
From East Coulee, continue east on
Highway 10 for 1.5 km, and follow signs
across the river to the Atlas Coal Mine
National Historic Site, Alberta’s most
extensive coal mining museum.
into the mine. A coal-dusted sandwich
and a flask of water or tea broke a day of
the war years. Towns like Rosedale and
The Atlas was the last mine in the
heavy work with pick and shovel or drill
nearby Wayne regularly pitted their
Drumheller Valley to close. A large
and coal cutter. After a good 8-hour
sports teams against each other. After
wooden tipple – the site of size-sorting
day, it was back to the surface and a hot
cheering on their players, they retired to
shakers and coal storage bins – dominates
shower before heading home.
some friendly drinking and gambling in
the site. You can climb to the top with a
the pool halls and bars. If you have time,
guide and peek into the 8-storey high bins
one such establishment to visit is the
while hearing stories of underground work,
red piles of shale near mine entrances.
These piles burn for years – often without
any visible smoke. It’s best to stay off
famed Last Chance Saloon in Wayne.
accidents, unions and Wildfire brand coal.
From Rosedale, continue 13 km east on
you can take a mantrip ride – the old
all slag heaps.
Highway 10, passing the historic mining
mode of transporting miners to the coal
towns of Cambria, Willow Creek and
face. Allow at least two hours to enjoy the
Lehigh, to reach East Coulee.
various interpretive programs, audiotours,
:" Throughout the valley you will see
There were always several mines near
Although there are no underground tours,
each community, creating rivalry but
plenty of employment, especially during
walking trails, and the Atlas’ awardThis mining town continues to thrive
winning film.
as a village of commuters, artists and
retirees. Many old miners’ homes have
been restored as permanent or summer
residences. Retired miners still live
here – look for huge vegetable gardens
that in lean years kept the families fed.
With 3000 people in 1940, East Coulee
sprawled across the valley. The town
prospered with shops, churches and a
Visit Wayne's famous Last Chance Saloon
Explore the Atlas Coal Mine
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Coal from the Atlas and other mines
:" Cross the Red Deer River by ferry.
was shipped by train to heat homes across
the prairies. The same trains stopped at
the huge wooden elevators in even the
smallest farming towns to pick up wheat
and other grains for shipment to Calgary
and points west. One such town was
Dorothy, a ghost town situated at the
east end of the Drumheller Valley.
Finnegan Ferry is located on the gravel
Highway 862, south of Highway 570.
The cable-driven ferry operates from
spring when the ice breaks up (about May)
to mid-fall when the river freezes (about
October or November).
Great herds of bison travelled these lands,
grazing as they went. By the mid-1870s
they were slaughtered almost to extinction,
Side trip
The Hoodoos Recreation Area is 7 km east
of Rosedale on Highway 10. Like stone
mushrooms that have popped out of the
valley floor, these hoodoos are just some of
the hundreds, large and small, that you can
see throughout the Canadian Badlands. A hard
rock forms the cap of the hoodoo, sheltering
the softer rock beneath from the chiseling
action of rain and wind. At least for a while.
Hoodoos are the creation of erosion. Once the
cap rock falls, the pillar shrinks rapidly. It is
important not to climb on the hoodoos, both
for your safety and theirs.
and the endless grass pulled at the pocketbooks of British investors. With land
leased at 1¢ an acre per year, the potential
profits were inviting. Dukes and princes,
lawyers and wealthy landowners hired
cowboys to trail cattle from Texas and
Mexico. They placed experienced ranch
managers in charge and waited for the
cash to roll in. Some made a tidy profit;
others soon sold out or abandoned their
ranch to invest in more reliable ventures.
Two British dukes owned large parcels of
land north of Brooks, although neither
To reach Dorothy, continue on Highway
10 (later Highway 570). Today only one
of the original three grain elevators, the
Roman Catholic and United churches,
and a scatter of boarded up homes and
businesses remain.
Past Dorothy, the road climbs out of the
ever lived here. Their four royal ladies are
remembered in the towns along Highways
550 and 554. Rosemary was the daughter
of the Duke of Sutherland and Millicent
was his wife. Duchess commemorates the
wife of the Duke of Connaught who also
served as Canada’s Governor General from
1911 to 1916. Patricia was their daughter.
valley and onto the prairie. Watch for
deer, coyote and pronghorn as you travel
the next 100 km through ranching
country to Brooks via Highways 570,
36, 550 and 873.
Side Trip
Side trips to the Brooks Aqueduct National Historic Site and Kinbrook Marsh in Kinbrook
Provincial Park can be made either in the
evening or the next morning. Both sites offer
self-guided trails; in summer months, park
interpreters offer guided tours of the Aqueduct.
Both sites can be reached from Highway 873.
To the eyes of Captain John Palliser, sent by the federal government to inspect western Canada, this area of the Canadian Badlands was not fit for settlement. Not enough rain
fell to grow crops and frosts could occur in almost any month of the year. Experimental farms took care of one problem by
developing hardier crops needing a shorter growing season. Irrigation solved the other.
Irrigation allows farmers to grow grains, canola, and specialty crops like peas and
sugar beets on the prairies. The Brooks
Aqueduct to the south, carried water from
the Bow River to drier lands in the north.
At three kilometres long, it was a marvel of
engineering. Completed in 1915, it brought
water to the Millicent and Tilley areas until
1979. Construction required 300 workers,
enough concrete for 630 house basements,
and 1800 tonnes of steel.
Irrigation systems also require storage areas. Local reservoirs include Lake Newell, to the south of Brooks. Lake Newell and Kinbrook
Island Provincial Park attract boaters,
swimmers, windsurfers, fishers and bird
watchers – making the Brooks area the
water-based playground of the Canadian
Badlands. Pelicans, cormorants and every
species of prairie duck and shorebird can be
seen at Kinbrook Marsh. Allow about 1.5
hours for an evening or early morning stroll,
more time if you plan to scan the cattails and
bushes for colourful warblers and shy bitterns.
Learn about irrigation at the Brooks Aqueduct
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
:" Explore the badlands by canoe.
Fifteen kilometres south of Duchess is
Brooks is a small city with a multicultural
Brooks, the heart of the Eastern Irrigation
and multi-skilled population. Lakeside
District. You may have noticed more trees
Packers, the largest local business,
and green fields since crossing the Red
employs around 2500 people. These
Deer River. Irrigation has turned parched
workers represent every province and
lands into luxuriant alfalfa and grain
territory and about a dozen other
fields. It also provides the large amounts
countries as well. Don’t be surprised to be
of water needed to operate the cattle
greeted by a Newfoundlander or a North
feedlots around Brooks.
African as you walk around the town.
The Red Deer River offers a Class 1
(novice) river experience. Contact
1-800-Alberta for information on day
and multi-day excursions on the
Red Deer River.
Visit the Brooks and District Museum to
learn more about settlement and ranching
in the Eastern Irrigation District.
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Dinosaur Provincial Park received its
United Nations World Heritage Site
Day Three
Brooks to Dinosaur Provincial Park
Dinosaur Provincial Park to Calgary
Dinosaurs play the starring role
designation for three reasons: the
abundance and diversity of fossils, the
largest and most spectacular badlands in
Canada, and to recognize the endangered
river edge habitat with its plains
cottonwood trees.
in a visit to World Heritage Site
Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Breath-taking scenery, unearthly
rock formations and cool
The park is a giant laboratory of past
life, grudgingly giving up clues to the
researchers who come here from around
the world. At least 35 species of dinosaurs
cottonwoods promise a day or
have been found here, including more
more of discoveries for everyone.
than 500 complete skeletons. Scientists
:" The park has lots to offer: interpretive
have uncovered several bonebeds.
Dinosaur Provincial Park is 48 km north-
Seventy-five million years ago, the
east of Brooks accessed from Highways
climate was as explosive as a T. rex.
873 and 544. As you approach the park,
Sudden storms and flash floods panicked
the prairie comes to an abrupt end.
herds of dinosaurs, drowning large
Before descending into the valley, take
numbers. Sand and mud washed over
time to stop at the lookout where a world
the carcasses, burying them. Over the
truly like no other stretches before you.
next three million years, more sediment
poured in, finally covering the dinosaur
:" For an unusual dinner, stop at the Patricia
Hotel for a barbecue-your-own steak or
bison burger and all the fixings, in a real
western bar.
graveyards in a rock blanket
1.5 kilometres thick.
Join a fossil safari in Dinosaur Provincial Park
trails, fossil exhibits, the John Ware cabin,
the exhibits in the Field Station and birding
along the creek and river. As staff often say,
a park that took over 75 million years to
create deserves more than a day to visit!
Every year, new discoveries are made.
These fossils are protected in the Natural
Reserve which covers 70% of the park.
You can enter this restricted area on a
guided hike or bus tour. Park interpretive
tours are very popular, so be sure to book
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
in advance. You can explore the rest of
Trees outline homesteads – you may still
the park on your own.
see a rhubarb patch or peonies planted
75 or more years ago. A weather-beaten
As you leave the park, take a last look
old house, or just a space, show the site
over the rim. As the sun drops lower on
of someone’s hopes and dreams,
the horizon, the glare of mid-day
abandoned when the rains didn’t come.
disappears, and the softer light and
Now irrigation paints the fields yellow
shadows create a photographer’s dream.
with canola, green and gold with wheat
and barley, purple with alfalfa and
The changing light also creates
occasionally blue with flax. Every tree,
wonderful photo opportunities for your
shelterbelt and caragana hedge grows
250 km drive to Calgary. For a quieter
on the prairies as a result of irrigation.
alternative to the TransCanada
As you drive the 28 km from Rosemary
Highway, from the park, return to
to Bassano, look for irrigation canals,
Highway 544 and carry on through
sprinklers and water pipes. Highway 550
Duchess on Highway 550, passing by
joins the TransCanada Highway 5 km
the royal lady community of Rosemary.
east of Bassano. Return at your own
The colours change as you pass from
pace to Calgary on the TransCanada
native prairie to irrigated lands.
Highway.
Roar from the mouth of the World's Largest
Dinosaur
Marvel at the vast prairie fields and sky
Side Trip
This route crosses Blackfoot territory and the historic grazing lands of the buffalo. You can learn more about the relationship between the land and the First Nations at Blackfoot
Crossing Historical Park. The interpretive
centre, built as a stylized tipi and Sundance
lodge, incorporates a theatre and exhibits on
the seasons, as experienced by the Siksika
tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Stunning
views of the Bow River, a recreated medicine
wheel and trails to Chief Crowfoot’s gravesite
promise a very powerful experience. Blackfoot Crossing is accessed via Highway 842.
Explore the Badlands at Dinosaur Provincial Park
From settlements to dinosaur bones and hoodoos to coal mines, this touring route has given you a taste of the
Canadian Badlands. More discoveries await. In the Canadian Badlands, you can canoe the Milk River, trail ride in
Dry Island Buffalo Jump, tour ancient petroglyphs at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, and take in local rodeos,
farmers’ markets and festivals in communities across the region. To plan your next Canadian Badlands experience,
go to canadianbadlands.com or contact Travel Alberta at 1-800-ALBERTA.
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Homesteads,Bonebeds,
and Coalbeds Driving
Tour
Take a cool ferry ride, build a sandcastle,
be a fossil hunter and roar with the
dinosaurs!
DRUMHELLER AND AREA:
World’s Largest
Dinosaur and
Spray Park: Look
up…way up to the
World’s Largest
Dinosaur- climb
151 feet to the
top and get a Trex eye view. On a
hot summer day, splash around the spray
park but beware of the T-rex’s clutches!
Need a Break?
The Royal Tyrrell Museum: Offers
programs just for kids from 45 minutes
to 3 hours. Explore a dinosaur quarry and
play dinosaur games with the Jr. Dinosaur
Explorers, or discover ancient fossils and
make crafts at the Dino Adventure Hour.
Reptile World: Squeeze your way into a
picture with Brittany the Boa Constrictor then
snap up some courage to visit Fred the 600
pound alligator! Reptile World is Canada’s
largest reptile exhibit, located downtown.
Drumheller pools and waterslides: Dash down
a slippery waterslide, or cannonball into a pool
at the Drumheller Aquaplex next to the
World’s Largest Dinosaur. Don’t forget to see
if your hotel has a swimming pool or a waterslide!
Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site: Have
you ever wondered what a real mine looks like?
Take a teeth-chattering coal car ride, climb
the wooden tipple and learn how coal was taken
from the ground, sorted, and shipped off to
market in East Coulee.
Finnegan Ferry: How did people get across
the rivers before there were bridges? The
original ferry was built before your parents
were born and it was used to carry cars,
people, and animals! Take this short detour
to Finnegan Ferry and take a free ride across
the Red Deer River.
On your drive: There’s lots of fun to be
had in the Drumheller valley: Check out
Drumheller’s amusement parks, squeeze into
the Little Church or play eye-spy by counting
the cement dinosaurs.
BROOKS AND AREA:
Lake Newell/Kinbrook Island Provincial Park:
Build a sandcastle,
jump into one of
Alberta’s warmest
lakes for a swim or
try your luck at
fishing!
Zip down a waterslide or cannon-ball into a pool
at the Brooks Lakeside Leisure Centre.
Dinosaur Provincial Park: Explore a real fossil
site on the Fossil Safari Hike then discover how
dinosaur skeletons are put together in the Fossil
Lab Talk. Dress up as your favourite dinosaur in
a Family Theatre Program, or sing along at the
outdoor amphitheatre.
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park: Sleep in a
teepee, learn to dance the Prairie Chicken and
listen to traditional Aboriginal story telling at
this National Historic Site located on Siksika
Nation.
Fill in the answers on the blanks and then put
the letters together to spell a secret word!
1. Explore a real fossil site on the
Fossil _______ Hike
2. Where can you be a Jr. Explorer?
3. What can you sleep in at Blackfoot Crossing?
4. What is the boa constrictor’s name?
5. What is the name of the Ferry you can ride
on a short detour?
6. Where can you build a sandcastle?
XDINOSAURM
VSCHVPJMMT
DJILMUAMEE
STORYPORZE
BDCHUQHUKP
P R P G L Z I J M E
AQIFOSSILE
JNRDTUZQKG
YZCAGFSCUG
RUQSTETEYWE
Words for Word Search
Teepee, Story, Dinosaur,
Fossil, Bridge, Park
Secret word is REPTILE
______ World has over 200 endangered reptiles
and amphibians that it helps to protect. Learn how
to understand and appreciate those that have scales
instead of fur and feathers.
Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Touring Routes Feedback Form
We hope you enjoyed your driving tour of the Canadian Badlands. To help us improve the self-guided tour experience, please
take time to complete and return this form. To thank you for your time, we would like to send you a complimentary poster
of Dinosaur Provincial Park.
1. Please indicate the driving tour you participated in:
O Prairie Winds & Badlands (Lethbridge, Cypress Hills and Medicine Hat)
O Red Coats & Coulees (Medicine Hat/Walsh, Cypress Hills and Dinosaur Provincial Park)
O Train Tales & Dinosaur Trails (Oyen, Hanna, Drumheller and Dinosaur Provincial Park)
O Homesteads, Bonebeds & Coalbeds (Calgary, Drumheller and Dinosaur Provincial Park)
O Boomtowns, Buffalo & Badlands (Milk River/Coutts, Writing-on-Stone and Dinosaur Provincial Park and Drumheller)
O Coal Trails & Prairie Rails (Red Deer, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park and Drumheller)
2. Please describe your travel party:
Number of adults Number of children (under 18 years of age)
3. How did you learn about the driving tour?
O Internet (please specify website) O Travel Alberta Visitor Information Centre (please provide name) O Community Visitor Information Centre (please provide name) O Friend or family member
O Other (please specify) 4. Did you participate in the full length of the driving tour as outlined in the self-guided driving tour description?
O Yes
O No If no, indicate which day(s) you participated in: (e.g., day 2) Why did you choose not to participate in the full driving tour? 5. Check the statements that are most accurate:
O I used the driving tour to plan a trip to the Canadian Badlands.
O I was already planning to visit the Canadian Badlands and used the driving tour as a resource.
O I was already visiting the Canadian Badlands and used the driving tour to enhance my trip.
O I stayed longer in the Canadian Badlands as a result of the driving tour.
O I am planning another trip to the Canadian Badlands as a result of the driving tour.
O Other (please specify) Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
6. After participating in this driving tour, would you consider participating in another Canadian Badlands driving tour?
O Yes
O No. If no, why not? 7. After participating in this driving tour, would you consider participating in a similar self-guided driving tour elsewhere
in the Province of Alberta?
O Yes. If yes, what part of Alberta interests you? O No
For each of the following questions, please indicate your answer on the scale provided,
where 1 represents very unsatisfied and 5 represents very satisfied.
1. How satisfied were you with the level of information
in the self-guided driving tour description?
2. How satisfied were you with the accuracy of the
information in the self-guided driving tour description?
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
3. How satisfied were you with the number of attractions and activities in the driving tour?
1
2
3
4
5
4. How satisfied were you with the length of the driving tour?
1
2
3
4
5
Additional Comments
To receive your complimentary poster, please provide the following information (optional). Personal information
collected in this survey is done so in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection Act (FOIP).
Last Name: Address: Province/State: Country: Mail: Tourism Development Branch,
Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture,
6th Floor, Commerce Place, 10155 – 102 St.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 4L6
Fax: (780) 427-0778
First Name: City: Postal Code/Zip Code: