Drumheller, Alberta
Fun Facts
Recognized as the "Dinosaur Capital of the World"
In 1884, a legendary Canadian Geologist by the name of Joseph Burr Tyrrell (pictured) unearthed one of the most significant dinosaur bone discoveries in North America. His discovery was the starting point of why the Drumheller area is now considered to be the "Dinosaur capital of the world."
At the age of 26, Joseph Tyrrell and his team were doing a geological survey along the Red Deer River when Joseph noticed a peculiar rounded rock formation at the top of the steep river embankment. After careful consideration, he decided to climb up the embankment to have a closer look and noticed there was a giant skull peeking out of the land. Tyrrell stated it actually gave him quite a fright because it was as if this skull was looking right at him. After realizing what he just discovered, Joseph and his team started slowly digging away the surrounding landmass using their hands & the limited geology tools they had with them at the time. Tyrell & his team eventually extracted the skull out of the ground and safely transported it to Fort Calgary for further analysis.
Upon further analysis, The skull was named as the "Albertosaurus Sarcophagus" (the flesh-eating lizard from Alberta) by palaeontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn who was apart of the American Museum of Natural History. The skull dated back to the late cretaceous period roughly 70 million years ago and was considered one of the greatest discoveries in Canadian history because it was the first "meat-eating" dinosaur found in Canada.
Fun Fact - The Albertosaurus is considered a "theropod" meaning it walked around on its enormous hind legs and had small arms with two fingers resembling a smaller version of the notorious Tyrannosaurus Rex. As it turns out, the Albertosaurus is actually a close relative to the T-Rex and is estimated to be half the size measuring in at 30 feet long (length of a school bus) with a guesstimated weight of 2 metric tons.
Home of the World's Largest Dinosaur!
Meet Tyra! The "World's Largest Dinosaur!" She is 86 ft (25 meters) tall, 151 feet (46 meters) long, 65 tonnes, and is 4.5 times bigger than a real T-REX.
Tyra was built in little over a year as an information/visitor center and had its grand opening in October of 2000. Her mouth was designed as a viewing platform that can fit roughly 12 people at a time to enjoy the views of Drumheller & the Badlands scenery. We feel the view is incredible from up there and hope adventurous spirits will make a journey to Drumheller and experience it first hand. Believe us, it's worth it.
Just a heads up, there are 106 stairs in total to climb up to the viewing platform and although that sounds like a lot of steps, it’s something worth putting the effort in for. There is also a lovely Gift Shop with many options for the "World’s Largest Dinosaur" memorabilia plus other locally sourced products.
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Admission Pricing:
$5.00 per person or $15.00 per family to climb up to the viewing platform.
Children under 5 free
Address - 60 1 Ave Drumheller, Alberta
There is a "DinoWalk" in the Valley
There have been/still are some really incredible artists located in the Drumheller valley who have created (what we like to call) a very fun & unique dinosaur treasure hunt. These extremely talented artists created such stunning dinosaur murals & statues we just had to recommend tracking all of them down.
The downtown area alone has over 30 dinosaur statues and 5 murals worth finding. We always like to see who can find them all and take pictures with each piece. After all, some of these dinosaurs are still waiting for that special someone like our friend Gus in the picture.
Some of the dinosaur statues date back 50 years and the Drumheller DinoArts Association has graciously taken on the task to ensure these dinosaurs are taken care of over the years. Make sure to check out their website because DinoArts is a not-for-profit organization and they have also created a map where each of these incredible murals & statues are located.
Here is the map for the different pieces around Drumheller provided by the Drumheller DinoArts Association; DinoMap
The "Little Church"
Drumheller has a Little Church which states it has "seating for 10,000 people but only 6 at a time" and is free to visit for people of all ages.
The idea of the "Little Church" came from Reverend E.C. O’Brien of the Pentecostal Church and was originally designed to be an actual place of worship & meditation. Rev O’Brian’s idea came to life with special thanks to the design of Robert “Bob” Gibson and working along side a local contractor by the name of "Tig" Seland with cooperation from the Ministerial Association at the time. The Little Church came to life on July 9th in 1958 and has been a part of the town's history ever since.
Fun Fact – The church was reconstructed by the inmates of the Drumheller Institution in 1991 due the deterioration over the years. It is currently owned and managed by Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce.
Another fun fact – The general public is able to book the Little Church for weddings and other special ceremonies to celebrate in a very unique location outside of the norm.
If anyone is interested in booking the Little Church for an upcoming function, please clink on this link to get in contact with the appropriate people.
People would be able to find the quaint and cute Little Church on Murray Hill Road which just off the North Dinosaur Trail between the Royal Tyrell Museum and the local golf course.
Address - The Little Church, Murray Hill Rd, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
The Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology is probably one of the most outstanding informational museums we have had the privilege of visiting. We highly recommend planning a special trip to view all the incredible exhibits of evolution which span over millions of years.
Fun fact - It’s actually the only museum in Canada specifically dedicated to the study of ancient life featuring one of the largest dinosaur displays in the world!
The Museum exhibits offer approximately 800 fossils to view as well as numerous options for hands-on & interactive learning for people of all ages. The layout of the exhibits are organized by the various geologic eras to learn about the evolution of our planet providing outstanding detail for each era.
Some of the exhibits include:
- “Terrestrial Palaeozoic” dating back 542-252 million years describing how plants and animals moved from the seas to inhabit dry land.
- “Cretaceous Alberta” featuring a diorama of the Albertosaurus and its history.
- The newly added “Learning Lounge” for knowledge about the Albertosaurus with the option to participate in interactive & hands-on learning.
- A “Cretaceous Garden” with living relative vegetation which grew in the Alberta region 70 million years ago.
- The “Preparation Lab” where people can view fossils being prepared for research and display.
- “Cenozoic Era Gallery” describing the history of the “Age of the Mammals.”
- “Dinosaur Hall” displaying one of the worlds largest displays of dinosaur remains including a Triceratops, the ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex, the herbivorous Camarasaurus, plus many more.
The Royal Tyrell Museum is open year-round to host the 430,000 visitors it sees every year and have provided the hours of operation below for easy reference.
An astronomical amount of work & dedication has gone into creating this museum. We want to thank everyone who was & still is involved in providing the avenue to learn about the amazing eras of our planet's history.
Looking for additional information?
The link below is directed to the Royal Tyrell Museum's website. Everyone we have chatted with has been exceptional with a wealth of knowledge.
2025 Hours of Operation:
From September 1 – May 14th
- Open from Tuesday – Sunday
- 10:00 - 5:00pm
(Closed on Mondays with exception to any holiday Monday’s during that time frame)
From May 15 – August 31st
- Open 7 days a week
- 9:00am - 9:00pm
Admission Rates (2025)
- Adult (18 – 64) $21.00
- Senior (65+) $14.00
- Youth (7 – 17) $10.00
- Children (6 and under, ticket required) - Free
- Family (2 adults and their children 7 – 17, max. group size 8) - $50.00
- Members - Free (click on this link for membership information)
Atlas Coal Mine Museum
Did anyone know the Atlas Coal Mine is actually a National Historic site? Yep, it is Canada’s last standing & complete wooden coal tipple that is considered to be the most historic in our nation's history.
The Atlas mines operated from 1911-1984. The still standing No.3 tipple was built in 1936 for loading and sorting the coal coming out of the mine until its eventual shut down in 1979.
The Atlas No.3 building also provides options for tours to learn about the Atlas Coal Mine & mining industry before permanently closing its operations.
Tour Options
The locomotive for the train ride is 90 years old and takes guests around the surface areas of the mine site providing incredible historic stories with some really neat fun facts about the mine.
- 25 mins in length – Little to no walking and considered green/easy
- $8.55 per person (requires a site admission ticket & does not include the underground mine tour)
- Children under 5 are free yet still need to have a ticket booked due to the limited seating on the train.
This tour offers the option to explore the last wooden tipple in Canada providing information on how the coal was stored, sorted and shipped all across Canada. Just a heads up, there is a gradual ascent of 125 feet which includes some stairs.
- 45 mins in length – The walking difficulty is considered blue/medium
- $16.25 per person (requires a site admission ticket & does not include the underground mine tour)
- Children under 5 are free yet do still need to have a ticket booked for guest numbers for the guide
And last but definitely not the least….
This tour offers an actual look inside the underground mine and the upper site areas. Having the ability to view the Drumheller valley up there, walking through the mine experiencing mining life first hand, and the other unique spaces is incredible to say the least.
- 75 mins in length –The walking difficulty is considered "black/hard"
- $18.45 per person (requires a site admission ticket & includes hard hats & lamps for safety)
- Children under the age of 6 are unfortunately not able to make this journey due to the difficulty of the terrain.
***Please note ***
Sturdy fully enclosed shoes are required due to the nature of the landscapes for safety purposes.
Looking to head to the coal mine?
There is the option to walk around the Atlas Coal Mine with self guided tour options.
These will be around the surface areas of the mine site to explore.
There are some really neat winter events happening at the coal mine as well. Be sure to look into those because they will be something to remember.
Seasonal Hours:
Outdoor tour options from Mid May - mid October
Winter Hours:
- Open Monday - Friday
- 10:00am - 4:00pm
- Saturday
- Closed
- Sunday
- Closed
Site admission prices:
- $15.95 per Adult (18-64)
- $12.65 per (65+)
- $12.65 per Youth (6-17)
- $8.75 per Child (3-5)
- FREE per Infant (0-2)
Contact information:
P: 403-822-2220
Old mining equipment used when the Atlas Coal Mine was in operation
A view from inside the Atlas Coal Mine
Hoodoos
The Drumheller hoodoos are natural rock formations that were created by erosion from wind and water dating back millions of years. These stunning and unique rock formations are up to 20 feet tall and have a mushroom-like structure because the stem like bases are made of softer clay/sand. The top “cap” is harder and less easily eroded stone creating the beautiful natural structures we see today.
Due to the softer compounds in the base, the elements cause the bases of the hoodoos to erode at roughly 1 cm per year and is known to be a faster erosion rate than most geological formations around the world. Hence why we believe they are something worth seeing before they are erased from time.
Fun Fact: Legend has it that the local Blackfoot & Cree believe the Hoodoos are petrified giants who come alive at night to protect the land by throwing stones at any trespassers.
The Hoodoos are free to visit and offer a nice viewing platform for people of all ages with interpretive signage to read along the way.
- Drumheller Hoodoo Loop – 0.2km loop with 5m of elevation gain and considered "easy /green" difficulty
There are also other walking trails in the area offering different view points while visiting these petrified giants. We chose to leave them out so each person visiting can try and find them for themselves. All part of the adventure, right?
Looking down on the hoodoos
The natural erosion of water drainage lines carving out these crevices'
Horseshoe Canyon
There are two coulees flowing into Kneehill Creek that helped form a very unique and beautiful landscape in the shape of a horseshoe, hence the name “Horseshoe Canyon.” The arms of the horseshoe shape are roughly 5km long extending from Kneehill Creek to the local Highway 9 and provide beautiful hiking trails inside the canyon.
Being inside the canyon feels like walking on another planet due to the layers of the strata & sediment. Both hikes should be roughly 2-3 hrs in length and highly recommend taking the time to complete both options. There are also some really amazing locations at the top of the canyon with many different view points along the trails for photography.
Heads up – There is a parking fee of $2.00 between mid May and the end of September. There are usually Kneehill County staff onsite from 11:00-5:00 pm to answer any questions people may have, to accept parking payments, plus provide other site seeing locations in the Kneehill County area. Thanks for all of their hard work!
Fun Facts:
- There used to be two former mining communities called Dunphy and Gatine. There was not a lot of information on either mining site yet did come across the Dunphy Cemetery dating back to 1915 and is worth taking a look at.
- In 2020, a boy by the name of Nathan Hrushkin and his father discovered a dinosaur fossil dating back 69 million years. This discovery helped fill in some gaps during the Cretaceous era because the local palaeontologists were unsure on which dinosaurs roamed around the Horseshoe Canyon area.
- The dinosaur fossil turned out to be a young “Hadrosauridae” which is also known as the “Duck-Billed” dinosaur.
- If anyone feels enticed to read up on Nathan's discovery, click on the following link from CBC Calgary for the article & video coverage.
Hiking trails in Horseshoe Canyon:
At the base of the canyon’s staircase, the main trails branch off also offering many unmarked single-track trails from people exploring inside the canyon.
It is fairly easy to get sidetracked off the main trails so we recommend following the map/navigator for easy reference getting back on the main trail.
Dogs on a leash and children are more than welcome on these trails.
- Horseshoe Canyon Trail (Loop) – 3.2km with 86m of elevation gain and considered to be "moderate/blue" difficulty.
- Horseshoe Canyon East Loop – 2.9km with 71m of elevation gain and considered to be “moderate/blue” difficulty.
**Recommendation**
Bring hats, sunscreen, water, closed toe shoes and maybe some snacks in the dead heat of the summer because there is little to no shade once you are in the Canyon. It can get pretty hot under the sun on the prairies and want to make sure everyone comes prepared.