The Absolute Best Way to Spend a Weekend in Drumheller, Alberta - 2 Day Drumheller Itinerary - Alina's Field Notes

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Even though it’s known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World, a road trip through Drumheller, Alberta still makes for an underrated experience. This is a must-do trip if you love dinosaurs, but there’s definitely more to Drumheller than that!

With such historical sites like the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Atlas Coal Mine, and the Last Chance Saloon, not to mention the badlands nature like the Willow Creek Hoodoos and Horseshoe Canyon, Drumheller offers something for everyone!

We spent 2 days in Drumheller as part of our longer Canadian Badlands road trip and immediately fell in love with the town and the surrounding valley. This itinerary includes all the main highlights in and around Drumheller, but you could definitely spend even more time here!

Scenery along the Badlands Interpretive Trail. There are many rolling hills with layers of different coloured rocks.

Table of Contents

Day 1: Back to the Time of the Dinosaurs

Your first day in Drumheller is all about experiencing the number one thing Drumheller is known for – DINOSAURS! After all, it’s called the Dinosaur Capital of the World for a reason.

Horseshoe Canyon

If you begin your Drumheller road trip from Calgary, you’ll most likely be driving along Highway 9 which will bring you to your first stop – Horseshoe Canyon.

Horseshoe Canyon is an absolutely gorgeous piece of Badlands scenery. From the top there are numerous viewpoints looking down into the canyon. And you can also walk down into the canyon itself to see it from below. You can also see the canyon’s distinct horseshoe shape, which gave it its name.

There have been numerous dinosaur fossil discoveries made in Horseshoe Canyon, like this Hadrosaur specimen first found by a 12 year old boy hiking through the canyon. Maybe you’ll find one too! If you do come across what you think may be a fossil, follow this procedure from the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Please be aware that it is illegal to excavate a fossil in Alberta.

There is a 3km trail you can hike here if you have more time, (it takes about 1.5 hours to do the loop) but if you’re just here for the views, 15-30 minutes is plenty. It costs $2 to park at the trailhead, you’ll see a ticket booth with an attendant as you drive in.

Horseshoe Canyon is just 15 minutes outside of Drumheller, so if you don’t visit on your way into town, please make sure you pop in on your drive back to Calgary or sometime during your stay!

Overlooking Horse Shoe Canyon in Drumheller, Alberta. There are many coulees dotting the landscape. — Horseshoe Canyon from the main viewpoint

Drumheller Welcome Sign

As you continue into Drumheller from Horseshoe Canyon along Highway 9, you’ll see the “Welcome to Drumheller” sign featuring a big gold Albertosaurus (or maybe it’s a t-rex?), so pull in here for a quick photo!

The Albertosaurus and tyrannosaurus rex are close cousins, and I’ve been finding conflicting information on which specific species the sign dinosaur is. It’s either a nod to Albertosaurus being discovered in the province, or a nod to Tyra the T-Rex – the World’s Largest Dinosaur that’s located in town.

If you miss this one, there is a second identical sign on the other side of town along Highway 56.

Alina and Justin standing with their arms up in front of the "Welcome to Drumheller" sign. There is a big gold t-rex on the sign.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum

The rest of the road trip stops on Day 1 may involve a bit of back tracking depending on the order you’d like to do it in, but nothing is more than a 20 minute drive from each other.

Our next stop was the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which is home to Canada’s largest collection of dinosaur fossils. If you’re only going to do one thing in Drumheller, the Royal Tyrrell is it. The museum website allows you to prebook an entry timeslot when purchasing tickets in advance and ours were for 12pm.

During the summer season, the Royal Tyrrell is open until 9pm with the last entry time being 7:30pm. So you can absolutely visit the museum any time of day that suits your plans. Mornings and evenings will be much quieter than afternoons.

The entry sign outside the Royal Tyrrell Museum. On top there is a yellow velociraptor.

Despite visiting the museum at 12pm, we didn’t find it to be super busy, but we visited on a Sunday in early June. Saturdays will of course be busier, and the museum is also much busier come July and August.

We spent over 3 hours exploring the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and I felt like this was plenty to see all the indoor displays, and we even managed to do a short hike next to the museum called the Badlands Interpretive Trail.

Make sure you don’t miss famous finds like Black Beauty and borealpelta markmitchelli, and you can read my full guide to the Royal Tyrrell Museum for more!

"Black Beauty" one of the most complete tyrannosaurus rex statues in the world. She is mounted on a stone wall in the "death pose", with an arched neck, back, and tail. In front is the real t-rex skull. — Black Beauty – one of the most complete T-Rex fossils ever found

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is also great to visit before checking into your stay, even for campsites, as parking is free and there is ample space for trailer and RVs. After our time at the museum we headed straight to Bridgeviews Drumheller to check in to our glamping site.

DinoArts Statues

After wandering around the Royal Tyrrell, head back into downtown Drumheller where you’ll find some amazing restaurants and an abundance of colourful dinosaur statues scattered around the town!

These dinosaur statues are maintained by the Drumheller DinoArts Association and there are over 40 to find throughout Drumheller and the wider valley. It’s pretty fun to stumble across them but there is a map to all the statues if you want to collect photos of them all.

A statue of a triceratops in downtown Drumheller. It is royal blue with many yellow spots. — Spot the Triceratops

The World’s Largest Dinosaur

With all the dinosaurs around town the one you won’t be able to miss is Tyra the T-Rex, who also happens to be the World’s Largest Dinosaur. She is an iconic fixture of Drumheller’s skyline.

If you aren’t afraid of heights, I highly recommend climbing Tyra. Inside her T-Rex body there are 106 steps that take you right into her toothy jaws and you’ll get a gorgeous view overlooking the town.

There is a small gift shop at the base of the World’s Largest Dinosaur and from there you can purchase a ticket to climb her for $5. Keep in mind there is also a fee to park in the lot next to her.

Tragically, the Drumheller Chamber of Commerce who owns Tyra is planning on closing the attraction at the end of 2029, so you only have a few more years to visit her!

Alina inside the jaws of Tyra the T-Rex. There is railings and glass protecting people from falling out of the World's Largest Dinosaur.

Tyra, the World's Largest Dinosaur. She is a giant green T-Rex statue with a yellow belly. Inside her jaws you can see people looking over the town of Drumheller.

Horsethief Canyon

Here’s where the backtracking may come in. Horsethief Canyon is located 20 minutes outside of Drumheller and about 10 minutes past the Royal Tyrrell Museum. While you could head there right after the museum, I’d highly recommend waiting until sunset to drive out here!

At sunset, Horsethief Canyon lights up with a golden hue, and you can see the distinct stripes of rock layers that make up the canyon. This canyon is technically private property, so you cannot hike here. But the view from the top is phenomenal and better yet parking here is free!

Horsethief Canyon got its name from outlaws hiding stolen livestock in the canyon. This area is also abundant in fossils like much of the Drumheller Valley. I even read that the local Indigenous people believed the dinosaur bones in the area were the remains of the buffalo’s ancestors.

Horsethief Canyon at sunset showing beautiful badlands scenery.

Day 2: Drumheller Valley’s Coal Mining History

On Day 2 of our Drumheller itinerary, it is time to fast forward a few million years and leave behind dinosaurs and the main town and focus on the coal mining history just southeast of Drumheller.

Atlas Coal Mine

During the coal mining boom, the Drumheller Valley had 139 active mines. The Atlas Coal Mine was active from 1936 to 1984, but nowadays you can explore the near-complete mine without having to mine coal.

The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site preserves the last wooden tipple (coal sorting structure) in Canada, and you can actually go inside it. There are also numerous old buildings and machinery scattered throughout the coal mine’s grounds. And you can also ride a 1930s mining train, and hike into the actual mine. Here’s my Atlas Coal Mine guide for all the details.

It costs $16.95 for adults to visit the Atlas Coal Mine with general admission, but if you’d like to ride the mine train, or enter the tipple or mine, you’ll need to book a tour for an extra fee.

We spent about 3 hours at the Atlas Coal Mine, as we took our time exploring all the buildings, and also went inside the tipple and rode the train.

Side view of the wooden tipple, a coal sorting structure. — The wooden tipple at the Atlas Coal Mine

We missed it on our trip, but close by the Atlas Coal Mine is the East Coulee School Museum. Originally built for the coal mining families in the area, the museum focuses on home life and schools during the coal mining era and would pair well with a visit to the Atlas.

Willow Creek Hoodoos

Heading back towards Drumheller, make sure you stop into see the Willow Creek Hoodoos, Drumheller’s most famous landscape.

The hoodoos are smaller than the appear in photos, so this actually makes for a rather quick stop. It only takes a few minutes to walk around the formation. There is paid parking here, but you really don’t need more than 15 minutes.

Keep in mind that the hoodoos are extremely fragile to erosion, so remain on the designated trail and please do not ever touch the hoodoos!

Drumheller's famous hoodoos. There are 5 visible hoodoos, some with the mushroom capped tops, and some that have eroded.

Star Mine Suspension Bridge & 11 Bridges to Wayne

Continuing back to Drumheller you’ll next come across the Star Mine Suspension Bridge. This bridge crosses the Red Deer River and was build to allow coal miners access to the Star Mine.

On the bridge itself you’ll see a sign with quick facts on the Star Mine Suspension Bridge. Here’s a quick summary of the sign:

In 1912, workers at the Star Mine had to cross the river in rowboats!
In 1919, a cable car system was built to transport the workers and coal
In 1930, a bridge was built 1.6km up river, and a tipple was built at the Star Mine
In 1931, the original Star Mine Suspension Bridge was finally built and was used until 1957
In 1958, to commemorate the Drumheller Valley’s coal mining history, the Star Mine Suspension Bridge was rebuilt and continues to be maintained by the Alberta government

Instead of continuing back to Drumheller from the Star Mine Suspension Bridge, if you head southwest, you’ll come across the 11 Bridges to Wayne.

This is a 6km stretch of road from Rosedale to Wayne, where you’ll drive across 11 one-lane metal bridges. They were originally used to transport coal over the winding Rosebud river.

Wayne was also a coal mining town in the Drumheller Valley, but it became a ghost town when the coal mining boom ended and the workers left for employment elsewhere. Today it is still considered a ghost town and is well worth a visit because of the Last Chance Saloon.

Last Chance Saloon

The Last Chance Saloon is located between the 9th and 10th Bridges to Wayne and it was by far my favourite place we ate at during our Drumheller road trip.

The neighbouring Rosedeer Hotel was built in 1913 by the Rosedeer Coal Mining Company, while the saloon was added a few years later. This allowed the coal miners to have a place to sleep and a bite to eat after long days in the mine.

Nowadays the coal miners are all gone, but there’s still great food to be had and history to enjoy here. Inside you’ll see tons of coal mining artifacts littering the walls of the saloon, and if you look closely you’ll even see bullet holes in the wall. I had the Gouda 2 Meat You, a brisket sandwich with delicious gouda cheese.

Justin sitting at our table in the Last Chance Saloon.

Inside the Last Chance Saloon. There is a red neon sign that says "Smokehouse" and several antique objects like guns, old cameras, and glass coke bottles.

The outside of Last Chance Saloon. It is an old building with yellow slat siding.

How to Get to Drumheller

Drumheller is a part of the Canadian Badlands and fortunately it’s only a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary. Pretty much the same as the drive to Banff National Park, just in the opposite direction and with completely different scenery. If you had a lot of time in Alberta, you could definitely visit both in the same trip!

For those visiting from outside of Alberta I highly recommend flying into Calgary International Airport and renting a vehicle. This is what we did and having your own transportation gives you a lot more flexibility with your road trip. But there are other options, see all 4 Ways to Get to Drumheller from Calgary.

If you’re coming from Edmonton, the drive is about 3 hours. So if you’re flying in, it’s definitely more optimal to chose the Calgary airport.

Getting Around Drumheller

If you’re planning on visiting Drumheller, I highly recommend having your own vehicle. However, if this is not an option for you Travel Drumheller is offering a shuttle for the 2026 summer season called ValleyConnect.

Currently the ValleyConnect shuttle is only running Fridays and Saturdays 10am-6pm, and only from June 26th to August 29th. Some of the stops include the Downtown Plaza, the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Atlas Coal Mine.

This is a free hop on hop off service and is a pilot program, so it may offer more options in the following years.

Where to Stay in Drumheller

Despite its small geographic area, Drumheller and the surrounding valley are host to a wide variety of accommodations from traditional hotel chains, to locally-owned bed and breakfasts, to camping and glamping sites!

We decided to glamp and stayed at Bridgeviews Drumheller, in their Rainforest Getaway Geodome. Bridgeviews is located in Rosedale, just outside of the town of Drumheller, and was only a 10 minute drive away. We had an amazing time and enjoyed all the amenities, here’s some more information about our glamping experience.

Outside view of the Rainforest Getaway Geodome. There is a half-sphere beige tent on a wooden deck. — The Rainforest Getaway Geodome

Interior view of the Rainforest Getaway Dome at Bridgeview Drumheller. You can see the two double beds, and pellet stove, and jungle decor. — Inside the Geodome – a cozy yet spacious stay!

If you’d prefer staying in Drumheller itself, there are numerous traditional hotel options such as the Ramada by Wyndham Drumheller and Quality Hotel that are pretty centrally located.

For a more local option try out the The Tyrannosaurus Rest B&B, Canalta Hotel Jurassic, or the Heartwood Inn, all still located within Drumheller itself!

If you’re looking to camp there are also lots of options like 11 Bridges Campground and Horseshoe Canyon Campground. These are especially great options if you’re visiting Drumheller and already live in Alberta or have a trailer or RV with you.

Best Time to Visit Drumheller

We visited Drumheller in early June and felt like this was the perfect time to go. We had many of the tourist attractions completely to ourselves and the heat of summer hadn’t quite reached us yet.

Drumheller’s peak tourist season is in July and August, but the majority of attractions are open from mid-May to mid-October. If you like to avoid crowds like us while still having more favourable weather, May-June and September-October would be the best times to visit.

If you’re planning your visit in the off-season just be aware that many of the attractions will be closed, although the Royal Tyrrell Museum is open year-round.

Final Thoughts

I found 2 days was lots of time to see all of the main attractions throughout Drumheller and the Drumheller Valley. With one day dedicated to dinosaurs and another day dedicated to coal mining, I felt like we experienced all the history Drumheller had to offer, including its Badlands landscapes.

Drumheller makes for a great short road trip from Calgary, that you could easily tack on to a Canadian Rockies road trip for a change of pace and scenery.

If you’d like to extend your Drumheller road trip and explore more of the Badlands like Dinosaur Provincial Park, check out my 5 Day Canadian Badlands Itinerary.

No matter what you choose I know you’ll agree that Drumheller makes for an awesome little trip!

The Absolute Best Way to Spend a Weekend in Drumheller, Alberta – 2 Day Drumheller Itinerary