Coal Mines and dinosaur Finds driving Tour
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Coal Mines and Dinosaur Finds Driving Tour
Royal Tyrrell • Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site • East Coulee School Museum • Hoodoos Recreation Area
Rosedale Suspension Bridge • Bleriot Ferry • World’s Largest Dinosaur
Hike through the spectacular Hoodoos in the Canadian Badlands
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 more than 75 million years old. Our culture is literally layered in the land. National
historic sites and provincial parks reveal First Nations rock art, farming and ranching history and a rich industrial heritage. 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. Local driving tours are one to two
days long and offer many ideas of what to see and do. You can customize your own half-day road trip or use Side Trips and regional
driving tours to create a three to four day vacation. The Touring Routes can be enjoyed in any season. While larger attractions are open
year-round, local attractions often open 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.
This tour packs an amazing diversity of the swinging Rosedale Suspension
Dinosaur Trail experiences into just a 48-km stretch Bridge to a tour up Canada’s last
• Admire world-class dinosaur specimens at
the Royal Tyrrell Museum of the narrow, winding Drumheller standing wooden coal tipple. Situated
• Wander through an old mine site in Valley. You’ll need at least two between these two short driving
Midland Provincial Park days to sample the unique dinosaur tours, Drumheller boasts the World’s
• Squeeze into a pew in The Little Church
• Float on the Bleriot Ferry across the Red and coal-mining museums, narrow Largest Dinosaur, a popular waterpark,
Deer River bridges, intricately-sculpted hoodoos an impressive reptile collection and
• Soak up stunning panoramas at Orkney and sweeping vistas – all nestled in a whimsical collection of cement
Hill Viewpoint and Horsethief Canyon
an exquisite badlands setting. The dinosaurs.
Hoodoo Trail
• Take a swaying walk across the Red Deer showstopper is the Royal Tyrrell
River on the Rosedale Suspension Bridge Museum, one of the world’s finest
• Cross the eleven single-lane bridges to the dinosaur museums, where you can
ghost town of Wayne
• Inspect the other-worldly shapes of cringe beneath the bone-crushing jaws
hoodoos at the Hoodoos Recreation Area of an enormous Tyrannosaurus rex
• Sit in a 1930s’ classroom and sip tea at skeleton, one of hundreds of specimens
East Coulee School Museum
• Ride a rattling “mantrip” train at Atlas on display. The nearby Dinosaur
Coal Mine National Historic Site Trail takes you on a cable ferry ride
Drumheller across the Red Deer River and leads
• Climb into the mouth of the World’s to stunning viewpoints of badlands
Largest Dinosaur
formations and the deeply-eroded
• Cool off in Rotary Spray Park and cascade
down the Aquaplex waterslide Drumheller Valley. Heading east of
• Search for “cementosauruses” and historic Drumheller, the Hoodoo Trail is no
buildings in downtown Drumheller
less varied, ranging from a walk across
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Visitor Information Centres Events Attractions
Travel Alberta April A World’s Largest Dinosaur
1-800-ALBERTA East Coulee Spring Festival 1-866-823-8100, traveldrumheller.com
travelalberta.com
June B Dinosaur Trail
Beethoven in the Badlands, 1-866-823-8100, traveldrumheller.com
Drumheller Drumheller
60 – 1 Avenue West
July C Homestead Antique Museum
1-866-823-8100
Canada Day, all communities 403-823-2600, virtuallydrumheller.com
traveldrumheller.com
Canadian Badlands Passion Play,
D Royal Tyrrell Museum
Drumheller
Accommodations 403-823-7707, tyrrellmuseum.com
Richard Cosgrove Memorial Rodeo,
Visit the Alberta Hotel & Lodging
Drumheller
Association online at explorealberta. E Hoodoo Trail
Badlands Dinosaur (Chuckwagon)
com for approved accommodation or 1-866-823-8100, traveldrumheller.com
Derby, Drumheller
contact 1-800-ALBERTA. Reservations
highly recommended. August F East Coulee School Museum
Celebrity Golf Tournament, 403-822-3970, ecsmuseum.com
Camping: There is a campground and a
Drumheller
recreational vehicle park in Drumheller 7 Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site
and, along Dinosaur Trail, a recreational September 403-822-2220, atlascoalmine.ab.ca
vehicle resort and a provincial Waynefest Music Festival, Wayne
campground (the latter first come, first Year-round 8 Reptile World
served). Along the Hoodoo Trail, there Rosebud Theatre, Rosebud 403-823-8623, reptileworld.net
are three campgrounds in Rosedale, one Haunted Atlas Coal Mine
in Wayne and one across the river from Farmers’ Market, Saturdays in
Cambria. These facilities are often full Drumheller
by early afternoon, and reservations are
highly recommended where permitted.
Additional campgrounds can be found Bleriot Ferry
in surrounding communities such as Orkney 838
Viewpoint
Rosebud, Dorothy, Delia, Michichi and
Horsethief
Morrin. 2 Canyon Midland
DINOSAUR 838 Provincial 9
Distances and Driving Times TRAIL Park
837 4
Calgary, 138 km, 1 hr 20 min Dinosaur Trail Golf Drumheller
Edmonton, 279 km, 2 hr 50 min & Country Club
3 1
The Little Church
Red Deer, 165 km, 1 hr 40 min McMullen Island Canadian Badlands 8 Rosedale
Lethbridge, 282 km, 2 hr 50 min Passion Play Site Suspension Bridge
Horseshoe Rossdale
Brooks, 139 km, 1 hr 20 min Canyon
9 10
Medicine Hat, 247 km, 2 hr 30 min 10x Cambria
Wayne
Last Chance 5 The Hoodoos
This map is not intended for navigation. 9 Saloon
570
Pick up an official Alberta Road Map HOODOO
TRAIL
at a Visitor Information Centre or
6
call 1-800-ALBERTA. East Coulee
7
The Canadian Badlands Touring Routes aim to follow good secondary highways and, occasionally, gravel road alternatives. 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
Dropping steeply into the Drumheller and exposed rich coal seams and as this unique landscape slowly washes
Valley, you suddenly enter a parched, rocky dinosaur bones. away.
landscape sculpted into strange badland
formations and dotted with the odd Today, the dinosaurs are long gone and The attractions of the Drumheller Valley
sagebrush and cactus. Yet this dry valley the last of the 139 coal mines that once are as densely packed as the rock layers,
owes much – including its famed dinosaur crowded this valley has closed. But their carrying you back to the days when
and coal-mining heritage – to water. legacy lives on in museums, ghost towns, dinosaurs and, much later, coal mining
mining artifacts and fossilized remains, ruled these lands. Plan to spend two or
Some 70 million years ago, rivers and the latter which continue to be unveiled three days exploring the area, with the
flooding seas deposited sediments in a better part of a day devoted to each of the
lush coastal environment that harboured two main driving tours described here
dinosaurs and nurtured luxuriant plants, – Dinosaur Trail and Hoodoo Trail. The
which over the ages were transformed Royal Tyrrell Museum, along the Dinosaur
into coal. Then about 15,000 years ago, Trail, can alone captivate you for half a day
the rapid melting of a 1000-metre-thick or more. Make sure to set aside at least a
ice sheet carved a deep valley through few hours to sample the diverse delights of
Witness nature’s fascinating creations in the
those compressed, colourful sediments Drumheller Valley the burgeoning town of Drumheller.
turn left on secondary Highway 838 major coal mines, including the
to pick up the Dinosaur Trail. It’s less colourfully-named Brilliant Mines and
Dinosaur Trail than 2 km to the Homestead Antique Western Gem. While the town’s early
Museum, a large domed building housing buildings and sports fields have largely
one of the oldest and best-stocked local disappeared, some coal mining legacy
Generally followed in a
history museums in Alberta. Through has been salvaged. In 1974, Sidney
counterclockwise direction, the the more than 30,000 historic items McMullen, former president of the
Dinosaur Trail is a lovely, looping drive on display, you can examine the long Midland Mining Company, donated 595
tenure of human settlement in this hectares of the closed mine’s land to the
that closely follows both sides of the
valley, ranging from aboriginal camps province, forming the basis of Midland
slow-moving Red Deer River, climbing
to pioneer farming and the era of steam Provincial Park.
twice to commanding viewpoints. engines. The museum’s highlights
This 48-km tour nicely combines the include a popular children’s scavenger Within the park, you can follow
hunt, school song-and-dance programs interpretive trails to displays at grassed-
riveting intensity of the Royal Tyrrell
and the amazing sight of a rare, stuffed over remains of old coal mining sites.
Museum with a couple of short walks,
two-headed calf. A 1912 mine office building contains
a short ferry ride and the scenic something that was nearly as valuable
majesty of the Drumheller Valley. As you continue west, the sprawling as the mine’s coal – the safe. Mind you,
outskirts of Drumheller embrace anyone interested in seizing the safe’s
From the World’s Largest Dinosaur in what once was the thriving town payroll (delivered by armed guards)
the heart of Drumheller, take Highway of Midlandvale, which boasted a might have needed some coal-mining
9 north across the Red Deer River and population of 600 residents and four dynamite to crack its thick brick walls.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
:" The dry, rocky badlands of the Drumheller year-old fossilized footprints, dinosaur chat with a technician painstakingly
Valley can feel like an oven on a hot eggs and magnificent skeletons of brushing grains of sand off, say, a freshly-
summer’s day. Be sure to pack plenty exotic creatures such as the duck-billed excavated dinosaur femur. Visible at work
of water and sun protection and try, if Edmontonosaurus. A new exhibit tells through a nearby window are many of
possible, to plan your outdoor excursions the story of Ceratopsians, a dinosaur the museum’s other technicians, whose
for the cooler hours of morning and early group distinguished by its elaborate expertise is in demand at dinosaur digs
evening. horns and frills. Casting a large shadow around the world.
over the room is the towering, toothy
Across the road is McMullen Island, an Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest of the
:" The dinosaur skeletons in the Royal
oasis of greenery in the otherwise parched meat eaters and one of the last dinosaurs Tyrrell Museum are so life-like, it wouldn’t
badlands, offering a fine picnic spot or in this area. seem surprising if they suddenly started
riverside walk on a typically hot summer’s lumbering through the exhibit halls.
day. As you drive into this day-use area, But most are, in fact, reproductions
notice how the dry sagebrush quickly of the real thing, meticulously cast and
gives way to poplars, cottonwoods and constructed by skilled artists. Besides
thick clumps of sandbar willows along the protecting often-fragile originals from
Red Deer River’s banks. This thin strip damage, the artificial skeletons are a lot
of green – attracting deer, rabbits and lighter than the real versions, which might
songbirds – is the result of deposited silts collapse under their considerable weight.
in a broad, flat part of a river valley that
elsewhere is eroded into steep banks. Want to know what kind of world the
dinosaurs lived in? Just step into the
Just over 1 km further on the Dinosaur steamy Cretaceous Garden and you’ll
Trail, take a short spur road to the world- discover many prehistoric plants like the
renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum, which ones Triceratops or Hadrosaurs dined on
opened in 1985. Canada’s largest dinosaur 70 million years ago. Indeed, the lush,
museum, this magnificent facility houses Stand beneath a terrifying T-rex at the Royal warm environment these creatures
Tyrrell Museum
thousands of fossils, discovered by rock inhabited on the edge of an inland sea
hounds and palaeontologists over the past Spring and fall, brave youngsters and was much closer to today’s southern
100-plus years in the Canadian Badlands. their families can sign up for a “snore U.S. coast than the dry badlands outside
with the dinosaurs” night in the Dinosaur the museum. Close your eyes and try to
Almost immediately upon entering this Hall, warily bedding down beside these picture the primordial swamps and forests
handsome, sprawling sandstone building, prehistoric giants. In summer, the of giant redwoods, cypress and pines.
you’re confronted with the heart-stopping museum’s busy Education Department Fossilized bits of these trees can be found
sight of a pack of Albertosaurs in a runs more than 20 hours of programming throughout the valley, often in close
Cretaceous environment so realistic you a day – including dinosaur prospecting proximity to coal seams.
can practically smell the swamp and trips, simulated digs and fossil casting – for
hear the gnashing of flesh-eating jaws. amateur palaeontologists of all ages. Though dinosaurs are the main draw, the
This arresting introduction is a mere Royal Tyrrell Museum reaches far beyond
appetizer for the beckoning Dinosaur Not everything in the museum is their relatively short 100-million-year reign
Hall, where you can inspect 130-million- fossilized. During the summer, you can to interpret 3.9 billion years of life on this
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
planet. Geological highlights include Over thousands of post-glacial years, these Nearby is the Dinosaur Trail Golf and
a meticulously-constructed Devonian relatively soft, exposed rocks have been Country Club. Its spectacular back nine,
reef and a Burgess Shale exhibit, where rapidly eroded by water, wind and frost opened in 1996, weaves through badlands
you walk on a glass floor over lifelike into the steep slopes and varied, fantastic and coulees and is considered one of
recreations of 500-million-year-old sea formations that make the Red Deer River the most challenging stretch of holes in
creatures. Valley so distinctive. Early French fur trade Canada. Errant shots here might well
trappers called similar landscapes in South ricochet off sandstone walls.
You’ll likely need at least three hours Dakota mauvais terres à traverser, or “bad
to tour the museum’s many exhibits. If lands to cross.” Interestingly, South Dakota
you’re getting glassy eyed, remember your Sioux called the same terrain mako sica, or
admission is good for the whole day (two- “land bad.”
day passes are also available), and you
can come back for another session after a Back on the Dinosaur Trail, it’s only a few
lunch break or an outdoor excursion. kilometres to the popular Little Church,
a seven-by-eleven-foot structure complete
Side trip with a steeple and brass bell. If you’re in Experience the awe of Horsethief Canyon
There are a lot of active ways to explore the luck, you might see a wedding in progress. The road now climbs steeply out of the
Drumheller Valley. You can launch a canoe The church, which accommodates six valley to Horsethief Canyon Viewpoint.
or raft upstream and then lazily drift down
people, was erected in 1968 by a local Looking down, see if you can pick a
the Red Deer River. Take a shaded riverside
contractor as a unique roadside attraction meandering line through the badland
walk in Drumheller or, for a longer trek or
cycle, follow a good trail out of the Royal and place of worship and contemplation. formations crammed within the canyon’s
Tyrrell Museum. For a stunning birds-eye In dire need of repairs, the church was walls. When ranchers began grazing their
view, book a scenic helicopter ride over reconstructed in 1991 by inmates of the cattle on the open range here in the late
the valley. Contact the Tourist Information Drumheller Institution, a medium-security 1800s, rustlers apparently thought this
Centre in Drumheller for details on these federal jail that has long been one of the maze of gullies was the perfect place to
activities and more. town’s major employers. For a closer look, hide stolen cows and horses from detection
duck into the church and squeeze into one until they could safely be trailed south to
A good choice is to stretch your legs on
of the one-person pews. Montana for sale.
the 1-km Badlands Interpretive Trail,
just outside the museum’s main entrance.
You’ll still find cows grazing on the broad
Here, you’ll get a close look at the
plateau beyond, intermingled with crops of
Drumheller Valley’s distinctly coloured
grain and pumpjacks rhythmically lifting
rock layers, deposited as sediments by
oil from rock formations 1.5 km below the
ancient tropical rivers and floodwaters
surface. Along with agriculture, petroleum
and then compressed into white
is now the economic mainstay of the
sandstones, gray-to-brown siltstones and
Drumheller region, replacing the long run
mudstones and chemically transformed
of coal mining in the valley. Long before
reddish-brown to purplish-black
the coal miners or ranchers arrived, the
ironstones. Of course, the thin black
plateau’s soils supported a rich carpet of
lines are swampy plants transformed into
native grasses, grazed by massive bison herds
coal seams.
Squeeze into a pew at the Little Church and roamed by wolves and grizzly bears.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
After this brief interlude atop the the river flats past stands of white spruce, Drumheller, which formed as a huge ice
expansive plains, the Dinosaur Trail which grow on the valley’s cooler, wetter sheet began melting some 15,000 years
plunges back into the confined valley for north-facing slopes, in sharp contrast to ago and then carved these channels
an historic crossing of the Red Deer River the rocky slopes and prairie grasses on when its floodwaters were finally
on the Bleriot Ferry, in operation since other aspects. A short side road to the left released.
1913 and one of only a handful of ferries leads to Orkney Hill Viewpoint, offering
still running in Alberta. The quick, free a spectacular panorama of the Red Deer In 1884, Joseph Tyrrell made the first
ride carries you back to the days when River Valley. From this lofty perch, you discovery of an Albertosaurus skull along
nine ferries worked in the Drumheller can clearly see how the river has carved Kneehills Creek, only a few kilometres
Valley, providing dry transportation and a succession of deeper channels, leaving from the museum bearing his name. But
a vital link between otherwise isolated behind old riverbeds as higher terraces. as the 26-year-old head of a geological
pioneer farms and ranches. Named after survey, he was perhaps more interested
its first ferryman, rancher Andrew Bleriot, in the extensive coal deposits he
the ferry runs from spring break-up to late discovered in the valley.
fall freeze-up.
Still, it was a quarter century before
As a stout cable pulls the ferry across the coal’s vast potential was finally realized
river, see if you can spot anyone paddling in the valley, thanks to the arrival of
a canoe or floating a raft down the river. the Canadian National Railway. In
A century ago, you might well have spied 1911, Jesse Gouge and G.N. Coyle, with
Enjoy the Red Deer River Valley from Ornkey
a raft of grizzled prospectors scouring Viewpoint a loan from the latter’s mother, opened
these banks for unburied treasure. These Keen eyes might spot grassed-over circles the area’s first coal mine in Newcastle,
were bone hunters, lured here by stories of of stone on the high bluffs on both sides which you pass through on the outskirts
local ranchers finding impressive dinosaur of the valley. They are evidence of teepee of Drumheller. Within a year, nine other
remains throughout the valley. During the rings from First Nations camps, set up mines had opened in a valley previously
Great Canadian Dinosaur Rush (1910- partly to provide a commanding view populated only by scattered ranches, and
17), expeditions launched by top North of bison herds, which helped sustain Drumheller was soon one of the fastest-
American museums and universities a nomadic way of life for thousands of growing towns in North America.
discovered more than 200 complete years. When fur trade explorer Peter
skeletons in the valley, including species Fidler passed through the area in 1793, he Over the next seven decades, a total of
never seen before. noted the “ground is entirely covered by 139 coal mines opened and closed in the
buffalo and appears quite black… I am Drumheller Valley. It was an economic
:" See a fossil? Have a good look, but leave sure there was some millions in sight.” rollercoaster ride, with massive cutbacks
it where it is. Report your find to the during the 1930s followed by a post-war
Royal Tyrrell Museum so a palaeontologist Turning east on secondary Highway boom and the ultimate death knell – the
can check it out. Digging for fossils in 575, the Dinosaur Trail passes discovery in Alberta of large quantities
Alberta, or removing them from the Ghostpine Creek and then Kneehills of oil and gas, which largely replaced
Province, is illegal without a permit. Creek. The reason these creeks are the need for coal. To learn more
much smaller than their containing about this fascinating history, spend
The Dinosaur Trail now swings south on valleys is the latter are remnant a day exploring the many coal-related
secondary Highway 837, climbing from fingers of the immense Glacial Lake attractions along the Hoodoo Trail.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
the former Star coal mining site. If this mine closed in 1957. Note the places
Side trip slightly swaying bridge makes you feel where the hillside deposits of shale are
17 km southwest of Drumheller on Highway unsteady, imagine what the twice-daily brick red in colour, a telltale sign that gases
9, Horseshoe Canyon is an isolated pocket passage was like for early coal miners, who in the underlying coal seam have ignited
of prairie badlands, well removed from the
at first crossed in rowboats and later were and burned. Such baked shale spots are
Red Deer River Valley, where most of these
slung across on an aerial cable system. evident throughout the valley, and a few
distinctive landforms are found. Yet the view
of this small canyon’s sharply-eroded rock continue to burn.
layers is as stunning as anything found in the These crossings were the least of the
Drumheller Valley. Note the narrow coulee occupational hazards faced by the :" Throughout the Drumheller Valley you
that drains at the back of the canyon. mostly-immigrant miners at the Star and can see red piles of shale near mine
adjacent Rosedale mines. Often working entrances. These piles frequently burn
long hours for poor pay and sleeping for years, often without any smoke,
fifty to a building on small cots lined so take care to stay off all slag heaps.
with straw mattresses, many of them Similarly, stay clear of old coal mine
joined the newly-formed One Big Union entrances and abandoned buildings and
Hoodoo Trail in 1919. After mine owners refused to equipment, all of which can pose risk of
recognize the union and hired returning injury.
war veterans to replace the workers, a
This 24 km route journeys southeast
nasty strike broke out, which included the From Rosedale, it’s well worth taking
from Drumheller through a rich tarring and feathering of one union leader. a short detour southwest on secondary
vein of the valley’s coal-mining past. The violence was limited only by police Highway 10X to the ghost town of
It takes you across narrow bridges intervention and the eventual dismissal of Wayne. The road follows the narrow,
the replacement workers. twisting Rosebud River Valley, crossing
to mine scars and a ghost town and
eleven one-way bridges in a span of just 7
guides you to a national historic site km. In the 1920s and ‘30s, six coal mines
that splendidly preserves much of the in this valley supported a population
valley’s last coal mine. Along the way, of nearly 2,000 people, more than the
town of Drumheller. But like many of the
stop for tea at a school museum and
region’s mining communities, prosperity
amble around fantastically-eroded was short lived. By the late 1950s, Wayne
hoodoos. was in a tailspin from which it never
recovered. The moonshine distilleries that
From its intersection with Highway 9 in operated in the surrounding hills during
Drumheller, follow Highway 10 southeast Prohibition in Alberta (1916-1923) have
to the lovely town of Rosedale, which also long disappeared, but you can still
developed around a candy and fruit store Dare to teeter across the Rosedale Suspension taste a bit of the outlaw experience by
established in 1918 by a returning World Bridge visiting Wayne’s colourful Last Chance
War I soldier. Follow signs through the On the far side of the bridge, you can Saloon.
town to the reconstructed, 117-metre explore the remains of the Star mine,
Rosedale Suspension Bridge, which takes much of which was buried by the collapse Back on Highway 10, continue southeast
you on foot across the Red Deer River to of an unstable hillside shortly after the to the Hoodoos Recreation Area for a
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
close look at the strange rock pillars on the As you drive around the attractive with the eventual demise of the valley’s
lower hillside. A European variation of the community of East Coulee, the relative coal industry – supplanted by oil and gas
word voodoo, hoodoos are formed when prosperity is evident in well-kept homes, for heating homes and running trains – the
pieces of harder caprock protect softer abundant gardens and large shade trees. town’s citizenry dwindled to fewer than 200
underlying rocks from erosion, leaving Yet the town almost didn’t survive its early people, which today include some retired
a free-standing column on a thick shale years. The initial hurdle was its isolation miners or their widows.
base. Once the caprock falls, wind and from the rest of the Drumheller Valley
water will wear away the exposed pillar, because of the high cost of building a spur From East Coulee, return to Highway 10
perhaps in a few hundred years. In the railway line to its primary coal mine. Soon and cross a bridge to reach the Atlas Coal
meantime, you can help preserve these after that line was built, in the late 1920s, Mine, declared a national historic site in
delicate structures by staying on the paths the mine closed because of wet coal seams, 2002. Arguably the most modern and
that encircle them. threatening East Coulee’s existence until efficient mine in the Drumheller Valley, it
the nearby Atlas Coal Mine opened in ultimately could not escape the fate of all
Side trip 1936. If you look carefully through a gap the others. Ceasing operations in 1979, it
After you have explored the confines on the in the trees, you can see an abandoned officially closed its doors in 1984, ending
Red Deer River Valley, this tour takes you truss bridge, which crossed the river to the the 73-year reign of coal in the valley.
northeast on secondary Highway 854 to the mine and was uniquely shared by trains and
lofty Hand Hills. At their peak atop Mother passenger vehicles. The good news is the Atlas preserves the
Mountain, these hills rise nearly 185 metres most complete plains coal mine plant in
above the surrounding, rolling prairie, making East Coulee was a boom town in the 1940s, Canada, allowing you to relive the era when
them the second-highest point between the reaching a population of 3,800 and boasting coal was king. It’s well worth spending a
Canadian Rockies and the East Coast. At the four hotels, a pool hall, a movie theatre couple of hours touring its old buildings
base of the hills is the lovely village of Delia, and even a Hungarian cultural centre. But (including a miner’s shack built of mud,
which features an old, wind-powered grist straw and manure) and exhibits of mining
mill and a 1912 lumber building that’s been Side trip equipment. The highlight of any visit is
transformed into a delightful tea house and The Drumheller Valley’s badlands don’t taking a guided tour to the top of Canada’s
restaurant. officially end at East Coulee. For a charming last standing wooden coal tipple, which at
extension of the Hoodoo Trail, continue about eight stories remains the highest building in
A short distance further down the 10 km southeast on secondary Highway the Drumheller Valley.
Hoodoo Trail is the town of East Coulee. 570 to the picturesque hamlet of Dorothy.
Drop into the East Coulee School A semi-ghost town, Dorothy’s scattered The tipple tour starts with a short, teeth-
Museum, a provincial historic resource remaining homes are intermingled in the rattling “mantrip” ride on a string of little
still heated by coal. After a snack in the prairie grasses with two abandoned but still coal cars pulled by a battery-powered
Willow Tea Room, walk across a creaking majestic historic churches and a magnificent locomotive. Imagine being one of a dozen
wooden floor to a 1930s-era classroom. old grain elevator, and increasing rarity in miners crammed into one of these open-air
Take a seat in an old desk and imagine rural Alberta. Cross the Red Deer River on cars, hunched over for the better part of an
the plight of an early teacher who, besides a steel bridge and drive south up the hill on hour so you didn’t whack your head as the
instructing grades one through twelve, had secondary Highway 848 for a commanding train pulled you deep into the mine. Even
to provide a hot winter’s lunch for students view of the valley. Halfway up the hill, the ponies, which for many years worked
and help them harness their horses – all watch for nesting bluebirds in colourful underground hauling carts of coal from
for $35 a month. roadside boxes. the mine face, wore little helmets.
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Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
Mine, you, too, might spot a spectral community of 8,000 today. It’s well
miner or grieving widow roaming the worth taking the time to explore its
mine site. many attractions.
The old mine entrance, marked by
Side trip
a flag, is located halfway up the hill
For a unique slice of prairie pioneer life,
behind the tipple. A short walk up to
take an excursion north of Drumheller on
the entrance, now closed, takes you Highway 9 for 22 km and then west for
through one million years of geological 5 km on Highway 27 to reach the Morrin
Take a mantrip ride at the Atlas Coal Mine history to a million-dollar view of the Sod House and Historical Park. Step inside
Once your short, above-ground ride is Drumheller Valley. the reconstruction of a dirt-floored sod house
over, it’s a steady climb on foot through and notice how the thick earth walls provide
surprising insulation from the summer’s heat.
the creaky tipple to its dusty top. Here From the Atlas Coal Mine, retrace
If you’re in luck, hot bread might be emerging
is where men, working in deafening and your route along the Hoodoo Trail to
from the house’s clay oven. From Morrin, drive
soot-choking conditions, sorted coal Drumheller. The town is named after 13 km north to the ghost town of Rowley on a
from the mine into various sizes for Samuel Drumheller, an American gravel road or alternatively, return to Highway
loading onto trains bound for distant entrepreneur who opened one of the 9/56 and follow it north to the Rowley turnoff.
markets. The mines of the Drumheller valley’s early coal mines. He bought Rowley’s remaining residents have restored
Valley were relatively safe, suffering land here from pioneer homesteader several pioneer buildings and purchased the
local grain elevators. Local people drive a fair
only a fraction of the fatalities of those Thomas Greentree and apparently
distance to Rowley the last Saturday of each
in the Crowsnest Pass in southwestern won a coin toss between the two for
month for pizza night, held at Sam’s Saloon,
Alberta. Still, accidents did happen, the fledgling town’s naming rights. which features swinging doors, a long bar top
and if you take one of the highly- Drumheller has grown from a and mounted bison heads.
popular ghost tours at the Atlas Coal population of 50 in 1911 to a vibrant
In the heart of downtown Drumheller,
look up, look way up into the toothy
jaws of the World’s Largest Dinosaur.
Drumheller A 26-metre-high, man-made
Tyrannosaurus rex, it became an instant
If one word describes all that
landmark when erected beside the
Drumheller has to offer, it’s eclectic. Tourist Information Centre in 2000.
A quick list of the town’s attractions Clamber onto its giant toes for a photo
includes man-made dinosaurs big or ascend a flight of stairs into its gaping
mouth for a unique view of the town
and small, water parks, a live reptile
centre and the Red Deer River.
museum, a badlands amphitheatre,
a statue of Jesus, riverside walks and Within the dinosaur’s large shadow are
picnics, and good food and shopping. the Rotary Spray Park and the waterslide
Splash under the shadow of the world’s largest
at the Aquaplex, both popular family dinosaur in Drumheller
-9-
Canadian Badlands Touring Routes
diversions on a typically hot summer’s painted, whimsical “cementosauruses” which each July attracts thousands
day. You can also cool off by going on a you can spot. These concrete creations of spectators to this unique badlands
shady walk, bicycle ride or picnic along once graced a hillside amusement amphitheatre. It’s just one of
the Red Deer River or by ducking into a park and have now been scattered Drumheller’s year-round events, ranging
nearby, locally-owned restaurant or tea throughout the town. Another unique from Beethoven in the Badlands to a
house for lunch, a scoop of ice cream or Drumheller attraction is Reptile rodeo and a chuckwagon derby. Not far
a slice of freshly-baked pie. World, Canada’s largest live reptile from the Passion Play amphitheatre is
display, where you can view cobra another town landmark, a large white
While in the Tourist Information and anaconda snakes, gila monsters statue of Jesus that has overlooked the
Centre, pick up a downtown walking and crocodiles, plus get introduced to valley since the early 1930s.
tour brochure, which guides you past friendly boa constrictors.
a number of nearby historic buildings, As you’ll discover, there’s lots to see and
as well as some interesting shops and On a hillside above the west end do in a small stretch of the Drumheller
galleries. As you roam the downtown of Drumheller, visit the site of the Valley. It’s well worth coming back for
streets, see how many brilliantly- Canadian Badlands Passion Play, more visits to this stunning landscape.
Roar from the mouth of the world's largest Stop in at the East Coulee School Museum Visit hoodoos near Drumheller
dinosaur
From a historical wooden tipple to ancient dinosaur bone beds, 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 Provincial Park, 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.
- 10 -Coal Mines and Dinosaur Finds Driving Tour
Make a splash with the World’s Largest Dinosaur, have your picture taken with a live boa constrictor,
race down a cool waterslide, and teeter over a rushing river. On this tour, you will discover lost lands
and cool pools!
World’s Largest Dinosaur and Spray Park: Look up…way up to the World’s Largest Dinosaur- climb all 151
feet to the top and get a T-rex eye view. On a hot summer day, splash around the spray park but beware
of the T-rex’s clutches!
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 in downtown Drumheller.
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 check 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 and sorted to be shipped off to market in
East Coulee.
The Little Church: Can you squish into this tiny church? How many pews can you count?
This little church is located on the Dinosaur Trail. See if all of your family can fit inside!Funland Amusement Park and Badlands Go Kart Park: Hang on tight as you splash your friends and family on the bumper boats, swing away at miniature golf, or knock the cover off the ball at the cool batting cages! Then step on the gas and zoom around in go-karts, and finally stretch your legs blasting your way into some cool video games! Both parks are located on the Dinosaur Trail. Rosedale Suspension Bridge: Hang on tight as you walk on a teetering suspension bridge that the coal miners used to get to the mine site in Rosedale. See if you can make it sway! Bleriot Ferry: How did people get across the rivers before there were bridges? The original Bleriot Ferry was built before your parents were born and it was used to carry cars, people and animals! Take this short but cool, free ferry ride across the Red Deer River. Cementosaurus’- How well can you play I-spy? I-spy dinosaurs made out of cement found throughout the town of Drumheller. How many can you count? Each one is different so be careful you don’t count the same one twice! Fill in the answers on the blanks and then put the letters together to spell a secret word! 1. What kind of dinosaur is the World’s Largest? 4. What is the Alligators name? 2. What carries cars, people and animals? 5. What building can your family squish into? 3. In what can you step on the gas and zoom around? 6. Where can you take a teeth chattering ride? Joseph _________ came looking for coal in 1884 when he stumbled upon what was to be called an Albertosaurus. This would eventually lead to the Great Canadian Dinosaur Rush where over 200 skeletons were collected in five years. Secret Word: Tyrrell
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 Medicine Hat Highlights
O Mormon Tales and Historic Rails Tour
O Coal Mines and Dinosaur Finds Driving Tour
O Prairie Studios (Empress and Medicine Hat Arts and Culture)
O Exploring the Arts of the Canadian Badlands (Rosebud and Drumheller Arts and Culture)
O Hanna: Rail Tales and Prairie Treasures
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 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 1 2 3 4 5 in the self-guided driving tour description? 2. How satisfied were you with the accuracy of the 1 2 3 4 5 information in the self-guided driving tour description? 3. How satisfied were you with the number of 1 2 3 4 5 attractions and activities in the driving tour? 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: First Name: Address : City: Province/State: Country: Postal Code/Zip Code: 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
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