4 Awesome Things to do in the Canadian Badlands

What are the Canadian Badlands and Where Are They?

The Canadian Badlands are located in the prairie provinces of Canada.

While Saskatchewan does have a small area of “Badlands” the most well-known Badlands and the largest area of Canadian “desert,” is located in Central and Southern Alberta along the Red Deer River, with the heart of the Badlands lying around the city of Drumheller. 

The Badlands were formed approximately 13,000 years ago when a mix of weather, steep baron slopes, and melting glacier runoff eroded away the bedrock of the southern Alberta landscape.

The weak landscape made up of Shale, weak sandstone, and siltstone made these conditions idea for the creation of the Badlands and some of Alberta’s best hikes. The Canadian Badlands is also home to Dinosaur Provincial Park, where over 35 species of dinosaur fossils have been found. It is also home to the now endangered Short-Horned Lizard, Prairie Rattlesnakes, and the Small-Footed Bat.

What’s there to see?

OK! Now to the fun stuff!

There are so many things here to see that it became one of the best Canada road trip destinations. I will just list off a few of my favorite spots and a little bit about them!

1 – Hoodoos

The hoodoos, located about 15 minutes outside of Drumheller, are an iconic natural geological phenomenon that is unique to Badland areas. 

They are formed when a hard piece of rock sits on top of the soft eroded sandstone like a cap, protecting the sandstone underneath it from eroding away. As you may have noticed, the word “hoodoo” sounds a lot like the word “voodoo.”

The word actually originates from Western Africa and translates to “arousing resentment or practicing retribution.” The indigenous people of North America adopted this word around the 1800’s and used it to refer to evil or the supernatural.

The Cree and Blackfoot tribes believed that the Hoodoos were petrified giants that came to life at night and protected their land by throwing large stones at any intruders.

If you have time, take a trip out to see “Writing on the Stone”, a historic site where you can see carvings in the sandstone that date back thousands of years! 

2 – Hiking!

There are so many great hikes for around the Dinosaur Provincial Park! Most of these hikes can be done by anyone from kids to adults, to beginner to expert. One of the must do hikes is Horsethief Canyon.

You can find here different hikes you can do in the area:

I suggest going later afternoon and stay for the beautiful sunsets. Oh yeah, did I mention the entire Badlands region is an excellent spot for astronomers and photographers!? The conditions give photographers an almost guaranteed gorgeous sunset and astronomers can usually expect clear night skies!

3 – Royal Tyrell Museum

As mentioned Dinosaur Provincial Park is home to one of the largest Dinosaur fossil finding areas around, so it’s a given that there would be a huge museum dedicated strictly to paleontology!

This is one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been too and very informative and interactive! You don’t want to miss out on this one! Take a hike through the badlands before or after you enter the museum for even more adventure! 

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Admission Fees:

• Adults $19
• Seniors $14
• Youth $10
• Children under 6 are free.

The museum is open from 9:00AM to 9:00PM from May 15 – August 31 and 10:00AM to 5:0oPM for the remainder of the year.

4 – Drumheller’s Little Church

This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a little church about 15 minutes outside of Drumheller on your way to the Royal Tyrell Museum.

Erected in 1968 by a local contractor and with the help of the Ministerial Association, Trygve Seland constructed a small church with 6 single person pew’s and a pulpit.

It at one time had a real brass bell along with stained glass windows. In 1991, it was reconstructed by inmates of the Drumheller Institution. Though now a large tourist attraction, when originally built it was designed as a place of worship

There’s a sign in front of the church saying, “This little church holds 10,000 people, but only 6 at a time.” Definitely a must sees, and the kids LOVE it! Plus its FREE to visit!

When to go?

The best time to visit the Badlands depends on what you are going for, as there are tons of different things you can do in the Badlands. Here are the best times to go depending on what you want to do:

If you want to:

• See dinosaurs and fossils: then early June is the best time for you as there is a massive “Dinofest” that happens every year in Drumheller around this time
• Go on adventures: the best time to explore this area of Canada is between late June and late August. Make sure to bring lots of water and sunscreen as temperatures can get into the high thirty degrees!

Where to Stay?

You have a couple of options on where to stay while visiting this unique landscape. You can choose to stay in one of the hotels inside Drumheller, my personal favorite being the Ramada or Canalta, or choose to camp out under the stars inside the Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Do you want to make sure you’ll take wonderful photos when exploring the Canadian Badlands? Then check out these guides below 😉

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