Background
At the heart of Alberta's badlands, Dinosaur Provincial Park contains some of the most important fossil discoveries ever made from the Age of Reptiles. UNESCO lists about 35 species of dinosaur dating back some 75 million years, in particularly beautiful scenery.
The park lies 220 km east of Calgary and 48 km north-east of Brooks in the Red Deer River valley; Wikipedia counts 58 dinosaur species found here and more than 500 specimens in museums around the world, among nearly 500 species of fossil life. It was created in 1955 for Alberta's 50th Jubilee; until the Royal Tyrrell Museum opened 100 km upstream in 1985, every find had to be shipped away. Wikivoyage describes the visitor centre's fossil prep lab and the two display houses on the Public Loop Road.
- 75 million years agoDinosaurs are buried in the river sediments
- 1955The park is established to protect the fossil beds
- 1979Inscribed as World Heritage
- 1985The Royal Tyrrell Museum opens upstream at Drumheller
Find Your Way Around
The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them
- 1Visitor CentreExhibits, a video theatre and a working fossil prep lab.
- 2Display House 1A near-complete duck-billed dinosaur skeleton on the Public Loop Road.
- 3Display House 2A recreation of the Centrosaurus bone bed.
- 4Public Loop RoadThe drive through the badlands, open all year.
- 5John Ware's CabinThe restored cabin of the Black cowboy and early Alberta rancher, open on summer days.
- 6Royal Tyrrell MuseumThe palaeontology museum 100 km upstream at Drumheller.
Know Before You Go
From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides
Badlands Loop
Not yet in a GoGo guide
- 09:00Visitor Centre90 minFossils and the prep lab.
- 10:30Public Loop Road and Display Houses2 hrsThe badlands drive and the bone beds.
- 13:00John Ware's Cabin30 minThe rancher's cabin by the centre.
Best Time to Visit
Best months: May–Sep. Freezing days in Nov–Mar.
Typical highs
Climate: NASA POWER
Pair It With
Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance
