Drumheller sits about 135 kilometres northeast of Calgary, roughly 1 hour 30 minutes of driving, in the opposite direction to Banff. The main draws are the Royal Tyrrell Museum, one of the world’s leading palaeontology museums, the hoodoos on Highway 10, and Horseshoe Canyon about 17 kilometres west of town. Museum admission runs around $21 for an adult, and there is no scheduled bus service between Calgary and Drumheller, so getting there means driving yourself or taking a tour. A day trip runs 9 to 10 hours door to door.
Almost everyone who lands in Calgary heads west into the mountains. Drumheller is the trip in the other direction, and it is genuinely different: prairie that drops away without warning into striped badlands, a valley carved by meltwater, and more complete dinosaur skeletons in one building than most people will see in a lifetime. If you have a spare day, particularly with children, it is the one to spend it on.
Getting there
This is the part that catches out visitors without a car. There is no scheduled bus between Calgary and Drumheller. Unlike Banff, which has coaches and shuttles running all day, the badlands have no public transit link at all. Your options are a rental car or a day tour.
The drive is flat, straight prairie highway and easy in summer. It gives you nothing scenic until the last ten minutes, when the road drops off the prairie edge into the valley, which is genuinely startling the first time.
A tour takes 9 to 10 hours because the stops are spread out. Horseshoe Canyon is west of town, the museum is northwest, the hoodoos are southeast on Highway 10. Adding it up, you cover a lot of ground in the valley itself, and a driver who knows the order to do it in saves an hour of backtracking.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum
This is the reason most people come, and it earns it. The collection runs to more than 130,000 fossils, with complete skeletons rather than casts, laid out through the history of life rather than as a room of bones.
Practical notes:
- Admission is around $21 for an adult, less for seniors and youth, with under-sevens free. Prices include tax.
- Summer hours, May 15 to August 31, are 9am to 9pm daily. Last entry is 8pm and the final ticket time is 7:30pm.
- Allow two hours minimum. Ninety minutes is a rush. Anyone genuinely interested will want three.
- It gets busy midday in summer. First thing or late afternoon is calmer, and the long summer evenings make a late visit a real option.
- Closed December 21, 24, 25 and 28, and January 1.
Two 2026 discounts worth knowing. Under the Canada Strong programme, from June 19 to September 7, children and youth 17 and under get free general admission and 18 to 24 year olds get 50 per cent off with photo ID. Admission is also free on Alberta Culture Days, September 26 and 27, though tickets those days are walk-up only.
The hoodoos
The hoodoos on Highway 10, southeast of town, are the image people picture when they think of the badlands: mushroom-shaped columns of sandstone with a hard capstone protecting softer rock underneath. There is a boardwalk and a short trail, and half an hour is enough.
They are fragile and protected. Climbing on them is prohibited, and the reason is simple. They took millions of years to form and a boot can undo a good deal of that.
Horseshoe Canyon
About 17 kilometres west of Drumheller, and for many people the moment the trip clicks. You are driving across flat farmland when the ground opens into a horseshoe-shaped canyon of layered red and white rock. There is a viewpoint at the top requiring no walking at all, and trails down into the canyon for anyone who wants them.
Because it sits between Calgary and Drumheller, it is usually the first stop of the day rather than a detour.
The rest of the valley
- The World’s Largest Dinosaur, a 26 metre fibreglass T. rex in the middle of town. You can climb the stairs inside and look out of its mouth for a small fee. Photographing it from outside is free and most people do just that.
- The Little Church, a chapel seating six. A fifteen minute stop and a good photograph.
- Atlas Coal Mine, a national historic site preserving the last wooden tipple in Canada. Drumheller was a coal town long before it was a dinosaur town, and this is where that history lives.
- Horsethief Canyon, a quieter viewpoint north of town, worth it if you have time.
When to go
- Summer is busiest, the museum runs late hours, and the badlands get genuinely hot with very little shade. Bring water and a hat.
- Spring and autumn are ideal. Comfortable walking temperatures, thinner crowds, and the low light does good things to striped rock.
- Winter works too. The museum is indoors and the badlands under snow are striking. Shorter days mean tighter timing.
Drumheller or the mountains?
If you have one spare day, this depends entirely on who you are travelling with. Children who like dinosaurs will remember Drumheller longer than another lake. Anyone interested in geology or deep time gets more from the badlands than from a viewpoint. If the Rockies are the whole reason you came, spend the day out there instead.
On a longer trip, doing both is the better answer, because they are genuinely different landscapes rather than variations on a theme.
Common questions
How far is Drumheller from Calgary?
About 135 kilometres northeast, roughly 1 hour 30 minutes of driving, in the opposite direction to Banff.
Is there a bus from Calgary to Drumheller?
No scheduled public bus runs the route. Without a car, a day tour is the practical way to get there.
How much is the Royal Tyrrell Museum?
Around $21 for an adult, with reduced rates for seniors and youth and free entry for under-sevens. In 2026, 17 and under are free between June 19 and September 7 under the Canada Strong programme.
How long do you need at the Royal Tyrrell Museum?
Two hours is a sensible minimum. Ninety minutes is a rush, and anyone genuinely interested in the exhibits will want closer to three.
Can you do Drumheller as a day trip from Calgary?
Yes, comfortably. A full day trip takes 9 to 10 hours door to door, covering Horseshoe Canyon, the museum, the hoodoos and time in town.
Can you climb the hoodoos?
No. They are protected formations and climbing is prohibited. Boardwalks and trails let you get close without damaging them.
Is Drumheller good for children?
It is one of the best family days out in Alberta. Real dinosaur skeletons, a climbable T. rex, and short easy walks at the canyon and hoodoos rather than long hikes.
Going with us
Our Drumheller and Royal Tyrrell day tour runs from Calgary and takes 9 to 10 hours, covering the badlands, the hoodoos and the museum with a local driver. You are collected and returned, which matters on a route where there is no bus and the stops are scattered across the valley.
Heading west as well? Our Calgary to Lake Louise guide and car-free guide to Banff cover the mountain side of the trip. Questions about group size, timing or museum admission? Contact us and we will give you a straight answer.