Drumheller lies in the Red Deer River valley, roughly a ninety-minute drive east of Calgary, and it is the best-known town in the Alberta badlands. The sights are spread along the valley rather than packed into one street, so a little planning goes a long way. Most visitors come for the Royal Tyrrell Museum, but the landscape and the odd roadside stops are just as much of the trip.
Start with the museum
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is the headline, about six kilometres northwest of town on Highway 838. From 1 September to 14 May it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last ticket time at 3:30 p.m., and it is closed on Mondays except holiday Mondays. It will be closed on 21, 24, 25 and 28 December 2026 and on 1 January 2027, so plan around those dates. Buy tickets online and allow about two hours, more if you travel with dinosaur-mad children.
Know the seasons
Summer is the busiest and brings the longest museum hours, but autumn and winter have their own appeal: fewer people, snow on the hoodoos and sunrise over Horseshoe Canyon. Some seasonal places are closed. The Atlas Coal Mine in East Coulee is closed for the season and reopens in May 2027, apart from its Christmas in the Coulee evenings on four dates in early December 2026. Horseshoe Canyon and the Orkney Viewpoint are shown by Travel Alberta for spring to fall, so treat them as dry-weather stops in winter, and expect icy paths.
What to check ahead
Tyra, the World's Largest Dinosaur, has climbing days that change by season and two different schedules on her website, so look before you go. The Last Chance Saloon in Wayne is shown as a year-round business, but we could not confirm winter hours, so phone before the drive. Everything else on this list is an open-air stop with no ticket, though some places publish no hours at all.
Getting around
You need a car. Calgary is the usual starting point, and the route is Highway 2 east, then Highway 72 and Highway 9 east, which passes Horseshoe Canyon on the way into Drumheller. The museum, the Hoodoos, Rosedale and Wayne are all different directions from town, so group them: the museum, the Little Church and the Badlands Interpretive Trail on the northwest side, then the Hoodoos, the Rosedale Suspension Bridge and Wayne on the southeast side. Winter driving needs care, particularly on the narrow bridge road to Wayne.
How many days
A single long day from Calgary covers the museum, Tyra and one or two viewpoints, but two days is far more relaxed. Day one can be the museum, the interpretive trail, the Little Church and Tyra. Day two can be Horseshoe Canyon at sunrise, the Hoodoos, the Rosedale bridge and lunch at the Last Chance Saloon in Wayne. A night in town also lets you walk the pathways along the river.
Where the sights fit
Tyra and the visitor centre are a good first stop for maps and advice. The Hoodoos and Wayne are best in the afternoon light, and the canyon is best at either end of the day. The Little Church takes ten minutes, and the Rosedale bridge about the same.
Honest cautions
The Hoodoos are fragile and must not be climbed, the canyon trail is slippery when wet, and distances between stops are longer than they look on a map. Keep fuel in the car, carry water and layers, and leave a margin on winter days, when daylight is short and roads can be icy.
