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From our trip to the Calgary Stampede, we jumped at the opportunity to explore the surrounding areas. The Canadian Rockies are evidently iconic and are quite well-traveled. This is why we opted for something different and off the beaten path. Come along with us on today's adventure to Drumheller.
Getting There
A car is definitely essential if you wish to make a day trip to Drumheller, but we do understand that there are bus options for getting to and from Drumheller via Calgary—with seasonal shuttle services providing transportation to the most popular attractions in and around Drumheller.
Welcome to Drumheller
You'll know you have arrived at your destination once the wide plains of the prairies suddenly drop into a colourful layered geology known as the Canadian Badlands. The layers show distinct colours, and the most notable is that sliver of black that built this town—Coal!
Energize your day
Once we finally arrived in the center of town, we started off by grabbing some caffeine. We found Black Mountain Roasters Drumheller, a charming little cafe that leans into the dino culture, as most of Drumheller does! I got their signature Glacier drink, which is a flavoured lemonade-infused tea, and Anita got an iced vanilla latte! The coffee beans used were very rich in flavour, and the latte stood out to Anita as being very memorable, and she would return for more next time we’re in town! I, for one, usually prefer a good cup of coffee or cappuccino and decided to venture out. The lemonade-infused tea was certainly refreshing on this hot day, but I was not too fond of the added whipped cream. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea—pun intended—but it could be yours!
The Adventure awaits
The land before time
Looking out across the street from the cafe, you see a rooftop getting destroyed by a velociraptor—of course, not a real one, but a statue! This was the first little clue that we were in for a nice sightseeing day. Once you exit the cafe, you notice dinosaur statues styled in the same way as the happy characters from the animated show The Land Before Time, scattered around town—on park benches, along walls, near bike racks, and more! We spent about a half-hour walking around town finding these beautiful pieces of art that gave a little life to this once-booming coal-mining town. After chasing down one of the last of these Easter eggs peppered around the town, we stumbled upon Tyra!
The World’s Largest Dinosaur Sculpture
Roughly at the center of town, there is a T-Rex dinosaur sculpture, nicknamed Tyra. Tyra reaches a height of 25 meters and can be seen from pretty much any vantage point in the valley the town sits in. Did I also mention that you can enter it and emerge from its mouth?. You can climb its 106 steps to have a cool panoramic view of the valley and town!
Atlas Coal Mine
Our next destination sits south of Drumheller by a few kilometers—Atlas Coal Mine. Declared a national historic site in 2002, it was in operation from 1936 to 1979 and now serves as a tourist destination. The historical society maintaining this mine has done a very good job at preserving all of the site. Documents from the mine—ledger entries, employee schedules, and flyers—were all very legible despite their age! Other areas of interest that we experienced were the bathhouse and the lamproom. The former was not necessarily interesting for its obvious purpose of bathing, but for its surprising secondary use as a locker room. The bathhouse had a boiler, powered by coal—of course—in the center of the room generating heat for the hot water. In this room, miners would each have their own designated rope attached to a nail on the wall connected to a pulley hanging from the ceiling. The residual heat from the boiler was then used to keep their winter clothing dry and warm for when they returned from a shift. The other structure of interest was the lamproom where a technician would store and charge the battery-powered lamps. Oh, and bring bug spray! Mosquitoes were ubiquitous in this area.
Hoodoos
After your visit to the mine, head on over to the hoodoos, which you surely would have seen on the way to the Atlas Coal Mine from Drumheller. This was a nice short visit to get up close and personal with some unique geological structures that took millions of years of erosion to carve out what we see today.
Fossils? Yes Please!
Royal Tyrrell Museum—Just WOW—This was definitely the highlight of our visit! Whether or not you are a paleontology buff, you’ll enjoy your visit. There is something for everyone, and one can expect to spend several hours here. There are fully immersive exhibits ranging from massive fossil displays to seeing paleontologists in their preparation lab, to walking through time through each major extinction event, taking you to the next era of fossils! This is truly a unique experience and definitely one that should not be missed.
Post Day Cool down
A great place to wind down after a full day of exploring is Valley Brewing! They have a great outdoor patio overlooking a park, and even better suds. At this point, you must be hungry! Look no further, there’s a food truck parked out front serving South American food!
Honorable Mentions
Mari Bakeshop
Before setting out in the morning from Calgary, we grabbed breakfast at Mari Bakeshop. They have quite an array of delicious baked goods—from pastries to sandwiches to a good cappuccino or latte, depending on who you’re asking.
Wayne
On our return from the hoodoos, we had heard of a restaurant, Last Chance Saloon, that was described by the locals as a “must see”. Driving to Wayne takes you through a valley with a meandering river getting crossed by 11 bridges. It was impressive, to say the least, that there was so much infrastructure for such a small settlement, which gave us the sense that we were truly driving to something special. Once you pass the population sign of Wayne, you'll most likely see a very busy restaurant and ice cream parlour. Despite our best efforts at trying to be seated at a table, it was much too busy, and we unfortunately had so much to see and too little time. I can say that the experience would have been unique. It seemed like you were walking into a biker gang hideout, yet it was warm and welcoming as if it were simply themed this way. We would have loved to try their food, but it's all the more reason to come back!
