Shared itinerary · Drumheller, Alberta
Drumheller day trip from Calgary
A day in the Alberta badlands from Calgary: Horseshoe Canyon on the way in, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the World’s Largest Dinosaur, the hoodoos on Highway 10, the Atlas Coal Mine and the Star Mine Suspension Bridge, then dinner in Wayne after 11 bridges in 6 km. 7 stops with times and notes. Summer afternoons in the valley bottom are hot, so carry more water than you think.
Updated
Distance
73.5 km
Horseshoe Canyon → Last Chance Saloon
Day
1
Stops
7
Day 1: Horseshoe Canyon to Last Chance Saloon
73.5 kmAbout 90 minutes from Calgary on Highway 9. The museum takes the middle of the day; the old mining towns along Highway 10 take the afternoon.
- 09:15
Horseshoe Canyon
Park & nature
A badlands canyon right off Highway 9, 17 km before Drumheller. The path down takes ten minutes.
12.2 km · 20m drive to next
- 10:30
Royal Tyrrell Museum
Sight
One of the largest dinosaur collections in the world, in a coulee north of town. Its café does lunch; eat there and keep the afternoon free.
7.5 km · 10m drive to next
- 13:50
World’s Largest Dinosaur
Sight
A 26 m fibreglass T. rex over the visitor centre. The stairs go up inside it to the open mouth.
20.1 km · 20m drive to next
- 14:45
Hoodoos Trail
Park & nature
Sandstone caps on soft clay pillars beside Highway 10. Stay on the paths: the hoodoos wear away at a touch.
8.9 km · 10m drive to next
- 15:30
Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site
Sight
Canada’s last standing wooden coal tipple, at East Coulee. The guided tours climb the tipple and walk into a tunnel.
17.8 km · 20m drive to next
- 17:20
Star Mine Suspension Bridge
Activity
A swaying footbridge across the Red Deer River at Rosedale.
6.9 km · 15m drive to next
- 18:10
Last Chance Saloon
Food & drink
In Wayne, a near ghost town at the end of Highway 10X, which crosses 11 bridges in 6 km. The hotel above the saloon went up in 1913.
