The notebook of Drumheller et vallée de la Red Deer
Breathe higher, look further.
The carved Badlands, dinosaur fossils and ancient mining towns form an unexpected landscape in the middle of the Prairies.
At your own pace
Identity summary
3 to 6 days
Spring · Summer · Autumn · Winter
Recommended car
Desert · River · Heritage · Nature
Variable accessibility
Sweet rhythm
General presentation
Drumheller et vallée de la Red Deer
The carved Badlands, dinosaur fossils and ancient mining towns form an unexpected landscape in the middle of the Prairies.
The discovery of Drumheller and Red Deer Valley is based around Royal Tyrrell Museum, Horseshoe Canyon and Hoodoos de Drumheller. The stay thus alternates between desert areas, river landscapes, heritage and natural areas, giving a concrete picture of the destination beyond its only best known site.
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For a stay of 3 to 6 days, a quiet rhythm works well. Also to be anticipated: conditions to be checked according to the season. A car is usually the easiest way to connect different sectors. Accessibility varies from site to site and deserves to be checked step by step.
Strengths and constraints
Strengths
- Royal Tyrrell Museum
- Horseshoe Canyon
- Hoodoos de Drumheller
Before you choose
- Car often useful
- Conditions to be checked by season
Places worth visiting
A selection to start dreaming and organizing the stay — not an exhaustive list of everything there is to see.
Culture and heritage
Royal Tyrrell Museum
The Royal Tyrrell Museum exhibits one of Canada's major dinosaur collections, at the heart of the Canadian Drumheller. Mounted skeletons, fossils, visible laboratories and geological settings directly connect the missing creatures to the layers of rock that are seen outside in the Red Deer Valley.
Nature and panorama
Horseshoe Canyon
Horseshoe Canyon abruptly opens the meadow on an amphitheatre of badlands, with grey ravines, rock bands and friable slopes. From the viewpoints or the downhill trails, the landscape reveals the erosion to the naked, particularly expressive when the low light accentuates the reliefs and shadows.
Place indismissible
Hoodoos de Drumheller
Drumheller's hoodoos erect their stone-style columns in the middle of the badlands, like fragile silhouettes carved by wind and rain. The footbridges and short trails give access to these forms of striae clay, particularly expressive when the razing light accentuates the layers of the relief.
Place indismissible
Atlas Coal Mine
The Atlas Coal Mine tell the other face of Drumheller, that of galleries, wagons and coal extracted in the Red Deer valley. The large wooden horse riding still dominates the site and gives a concrete idea of the mining work that preceded the tourist image of dinosaurs.
Practical tips
This information helps know if the destination matches the planned trip before starting a fuller search.
To go further
More activities
Restaurants, walks, culture, leisure and outings to search without leaving the destination card.
The nearest destinations
The closest ideas on the map, to extend your trip.
Similar destinations
Same landscapes and the same pace of travel, elsewhere in the world.
