Discover hoodoo rock formations and dinosaur fossils in the Canadian Badlands of Alberta. On this day trip by coach from Calgary, travel through the lunar landscapes of Drumheller, known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World, and visit Horseshoe Canyon. Walk a pedestrian suspension bridge built for coal miners, and learn about the region’s unusual geology from a guide. At the world-class Royal Tyrrell Museum, chat with scientists about how fossils are collected and assembled, and even stumble upon a few dino bones on a guided trail.
Meet your guide and board your air-conditioned coach near Calgary Tower for your day trip to the Canadian Badlands of Alberta. Traveling east, take in views of expansive golden prairies before the landscape shifts to Drumheller’s striated hills and hoodoo rock formations.
Forming over millions of years, these fragile sandstone pillars capped with large stones stand anywhere from 16 to 23 feet (5 to 7 meters) tall. Find out from your guide about where the name ‘hoodoo’ comes from, and which indigenous tribes regard them as petrified giants that attack intruders at night.
Disembark for views of Horseshoe Canyon, one of Drumheller’s most popular sights, and learn about its geology, history, and native plants and animals at the Interpretative Centre.
Next, head to the town of Drumheller, aka Dinosaur Capital of the World, and visit Royal Tyrrell Museum, home to 130,000 fossils of more than 300 different species, many of them dinosaurs. Weave through impressive exhibits and watch scientists assemble a raptor skeleton. You'll receive a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to fossils after they’re unearthed from the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Want to find fossils yourself? Try the museum’s Dinosite tour (own expense), a guided 2-mile (3-km) walk on hilly terrain through the badlands, where you’ll spot dinosaur bones in the ground and learn about ancient Alberta.
After time for lunch (own expense) at the museum, leave Drumheller and head to the Atlas Coal Mine for a guided tour of Canada's most complete historic coal mine. Home to the country's last standing wooden coal tipple, this national site gives insight into the dirty, and sometimes deadly, work of coal miners before returning to Calgary.
We arrived the departure point on time only to wait for 25 minutes. Nobody contacted us from the agency so we called the agency only to found that we would have to wait for another 10 minutes for the tour guide to come. Did not visit the Hoodoos and we suspect that it's due to the late start of the day. The tour guide said almost nothing during the entire tour and is more like a driver than a tour guide. The guided tour at the Atlas Coal Mine and the Royal Tyrrell Museum are great though. Will consider tours from other agencies next time we visit Calgary.
Review by: Marje, October 2017
A great and insightful tour to learn about the Badlands, which is about a two-hour drive from downtown Calgary. The hoodoos were magical, and also included a stopover at the Atlas Mines not recommended if one is claustrophobic and/or afraid of the dark, and this tour involves a lot of walking on an incline, so wear sturdy hiking shoes. The last stop was at the impressive Royal Tyrell Museum -- worth the entire trip alone! Their dinosaur fossil collection is absolutely the best in the world not to miss to visit when you are in Calgary.
Review by: Sharon F, October 2017
Terrific day! Great guides!
Review by: Richard M, October 2017
This tour was offered by Anderson Vacations. The driver arrived on time at the Calgary Tower. He did not introduced himself. He did not wear a name tag. We drove off to the Badlands WITHOUT any commentary stopping at Horseshoe Canyon. It was like looking at something prehistoric. Next stop was the Atlas coal mine. Our NO-NAME driver gave us the sticker for the tour and pointed over there. We were not provided any guidance as to where to meet and what would be involved in the tour. The coal mine guide was a former miner. We scaled up the hillside next to the coal conveyor. It was cardio time! We were shown how the miners lived. At the end of the tour, there was a train ride. Our group of FIVE were not told that this excursion was not part of our tour! When the train stopped, I was informed that our no-name tour guide was waiting for me. The coal mine personnel radioed ahead. As I proceeded down the hillside, I could see our NON-PROFESSIONAL tour guide drive off!!!!!! Never in all my years of travel with tour companies had I encountered such a situation. Once at the ticket area, the visibly distressed coal mine personnel tried to find the Anderson Vacations employee. After 45-60 minutes of stress, this so-called professional returned. It's all good, he stated. You just left me! There were five people on the tour. We continued to the Royal Tyrrell museum and subsequently back to Calgary. On my last day in Calgary, Anderson Vacations was called. I spoke to someone of authority, Shannon, who was given an earful of my disastrous encounter with their organization. Not only did this so-called professional guide leave me, but he also sucked on cigarettes then came into our small van as the second-hand smoke permeated the vehicle. I would recommend this tour with a professional guide, but hope that Anderson Vacations puts this tour guide clown in the unemployment line!!!!!
Review by: Megan V, September 2017
Good day trip to do while in Calgary. Was a bit disappointing because the driver didn't know a lot of the history to the areas we went, which a lot of my Viator tours they have. Plenty of signs to read though. Mine tour was great as an ex miner was our guide. Worth doing
Review by: Paul C, September 2017
A really interesting tour - everything as advertised: Drumheller, the Atlas Coal Mine, the hoodoo rock formations and the Dinosaur museum were all well worth a visit. Compared to other tours we have taken, we were surprised at the lack of commentary on the way out of Calgary - we learned a lot at the various stops - but not much about the area as a whole. hence the 4 stars.
Review by: carnescassell, September 2017
We tagged this day trip onto a tour we were taking of Western Canada. Boy we were glad we did. The trip went smoothly thanks to our guide. The coach was comfortable and the sites we visited were worth it. The highlight for us was the Tyrrell Dinosaur museum. This is a world class exhibit and not to be missed if you are in the area. The other stops were picturesque Horseshoe Canyon, HooDoos. Mine tour was interesting and instructive thanks to our guide Sean. Great day. Money well spent.
Review by: Lisa B, August 2017
Rent a car instead! _br/_ The tour guide is not a tour guide, he made little to no commentary, he was just a bus driver. So you don't get any additional information, just like going there yourself._br/_ The tour says that you will have time to purchase and go on a Dinosite tour at the Tyrell Museum, that is incorrect. The Dinosite Tour starts to 2pm and the tour is 90minutes long, but you have to be on the bus by 2:40pm. Therefore you would not be on the bus in time._br/_ The Atlas Coal Mine is a very good tour - highly recommend that - but instead of getting this company to drive you there, just drive yourself._br/_ The Horseshoe Cannon and The Hoodoos, are a great site to see as well - but drive yourself so you have your own time frame of how long you want to spend there.
Review by: Bruce G, July 2017
We really enjoyed the day out. It was good to see a different part of Canada after a week in the Rockies.
Review by: ELEANOR E, June 2017
The tour took us to Horseshoe Canyon, Horse Thief Canyon, Atlas Coal Mine with a tour of the site, the Drumheller Hoodoos and the Royal Tyrrell Museum._br/_ It was a great day tour - just the right number of things to see and do - remember to take your camera! _br/_ I got my lunch at the museum and still had time to look at each exhibition.
Review by: BarbP, October 2016
Great visit! Tour operator was a great help
Review by: Richard L, September 2016
Visit to Royal Tyrrell Museum was rushed as only 2 hours were available for the visit. We liked the visits to the Ajax mine museum, the Hoodoos and Horseshoe Canyon.
Review by: aymongm, September 2016
all went well,driver experience was excellent,cater to my needs._br/_ Micheline Emond.
Review by: liz.goodman, September 2016
Disappointing ... as we spent far too long at a disused coal mine in the Badlands ... so only had a couple of hours left for lunch and to see the magnificent dinosaur museum ! .. Not nearly long enough. Would recommend an alternative tour that focuses on the museum and the Hoodoos only.
Review by: masavage48, September 2016
This tour was very informative and interesting. The visit to the coal mine was a new experience for me and while I thought the tour guide at the mine was excellent, I felt that on the web site people should have been advised to wear proper footwear for such a visit.There were a few occasions where a person could have tripped or fallen and unsuitable footwear might have contributed to this. I personally would have been hesitant in taking small children for that reason but that would have been for the parents to decide.The stop at Horse Shoe Canyon was also worthwhile and the museum in Drumheller was as good as the publicity said it would be.The Badlands landscape formation was well described by our bus tour guide and stops for taking photos were appreciated. All in all, this tour was well worth the dollar value and time it took.
Review by: Qinghua L, August 2016
Well arranged educational tour with a professional tour guide.
Review by: Rudolf G, August 2016
We had no idea there were so many dinosaur fossils in the badlands area. It was a most interesting tour. The Hoodoos were also a cool find.
Review by: Norma P, August 2016
Ray our driver was excellent and gave us local information as we were driving. The areas we visited were very interesting and well worth a day's travel if you have never been to the Badlands before.
Review by: David G, August 2016
Great tour museum and hoodoos were fantastic. Coal mine bit was ok. Don't forget to put on your most cream or spray..
Review by: Sabrina M, August 2016
I enjoyed this tour so much! Our tour guide Rey was very informative on our drive to Drumheller. The tour of Atlas Coal Mine was worth seeing. The Badlands were an absolute highlight of our trip. The Royal Tyrrell Museum turned out to be one of my favorite museums and there is a lovely trail to walk nearby.
Review by: kplehm87, July 2016
Great tour! Bus arrived early and was clean and cool air-conditioned! The driver/host was very nice and quite knowledgeable about the area and all the sites that we visited. I enjoyed seeing the Horseshoe Canyon, the abandonned coal mine, the Hoodoos and, of course the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Unfortunately, we missed out on the star mine suspension bridge which I was looking forward to. Again, great tour, I would definitely recommend it.
Review by: Sabiha K, September 2015
Great tour! bus was very new and clean!! I wish we had more time at each stop and returned a bit later though. 3.5hrs at the royal tyrell museum was not enough!! especially since we spent part of that time having lunch. In order to eat and explore some of the badlands trails, we had to skip part of the museum! I would have liked more time at horseshoe canyon as well. The stops at star mine suspension bridge and the hoodoos were both long enough
Review by: dataylor, June 2015
On time. Very good trip. A full day of seeing the area including all the sites I wanted to see. Good amount of time to view museum.
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