Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Red Deer River valley of southern Alberta, about 48 kilometres northeast of Brooks. Its striking badlands hold some of the richest dinosaur fossil beds in the world, with fifty-eight dinosaur species found here. The prairie, coulees and cottonwoods make it as rewarding for scenery and wildlife as for fossils.
Dinosaur Provincial Park Visitor Centre
Display House One
Display House Two
John Ware's Cabin
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The park was created in 1955 to protect its fossil beds and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Beyond the fossils, the scenery is dramatic. Layers of Late Cretaceous rock have eroded into badlands that glow at sunrise and sunset, and cottonwoods line the river below.
The rocks here were laid down in the Late Cretaceous, and the Dinosaur Park Formation, which holds most of the articulated skeletons, dates to roughly seventy-five million years ago.
For many years, finds had to be shipped to museums around the globe. That changed when the Royal Tyrrell Museum opened upstream in 1985, so a trip here pairs naturally with a visit to the museum near Drumheller.
Begin here for exhibits on dinosaurs, fossils, geology and natural history, plus a video theatre and a fossil preparation lab area. Public programs are offered in summer.
The visitor centre has exhibits on dinosaurs, fossils and geology. Photo: Qwexcxewq, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The first display house on the Public Loop Road holds a nearly complete skeleton of a duck-billed dinosaur that is believed to have been buried at least seventy-five million years ago.
Display houses on the Public Loop Road show fossils where they were found. Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
The second house recreates a Centrosaurus bone bed, one of the park's important quarries. Rather than one skeleton, you see bones from many animals together in the rock.
One display house recreates a Centrosaurus bone bed. Photo: Barnum Brown, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Near the visitor centre stands a restored early twentieth-century cabin that belonged to John Ware, a Black cowboy and one of Alberta's first ranchers. It is open on select days in summer.
John Ware was an early Alberta rancher whose cabin has been restored. Photo: Massachusetts. Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission, Pike, Stuart D., 1910-197…, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
This paved road runs from the visitor centre to the two display houses and back, and it is easy in almost any vehicle. Drive it slowly, stop at pullouts and look for mule deer and pronghorn.
Much of the park's fossil-bearing badlands is protected, and travelling through it is by guided tour only. Tours and hikes take you into the coulees to see exposed bones and learn how the area formed.
Guided tours lead visitors into the badlands of the park. Photo: Joanne Merriam, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The riverside cottonwoods form a green ribbon below the pale badlands and shelter birds and small mammals. The park is home to about 165 bird species, including curlews and Canada geese.
Cottonwoods line the Red Deer River through the park. Photo: edk7, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Above the coulees lie prairie grasslands where cottontail rabbits, mule deer and pronghorn graze. Prickly pear and pincushion cactus flower in the second half of June.
Brooks is the nearest town, about 48 kilometres from the park and roughly halfway between Calgary and Medicine Hat.
About 100 kilometres upstream, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Midland Provincial Park near Drumheller is Canada's only museum devoted to palaeontology. It pairs well with Dinosaur Provincial Park if you have an extra day.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum is Canada’s only museum devoted to palaeontology. Photo: Chris Woodrich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Food inside the park is simple. The Cretaceous Café is a small cafe with a convenience store, and Brooks has more restaurants, so pack supplies if you plan a long day.
Calgary is widely credited as the birthplace of ginger beef, a sweet, crisp dish of fried beef strips in a ginger and chili sauce that appears on menus across southern Alberta.
Popular dishes to try in Dinosaur Provincial Park
There is no lodging inside the park, and the only place to sleep is the Dinosaur Campground, which suits families and anyone who wants an early start and a quiet night.
Brooks is the closest town and the practical choice if you prefer a bed and a restaurant, about 48 kilometres away. Medicine Hat sits along the Trans-Canada Highway to the east and offers more choice.
Where to stay in Dinosaur Provincial Park
Late spring to early autumn is the best period, with the visitor centre on longer hours, public programs in summer and the widest choice of tours. Late June brings blooming prickly pear and pincushion cactus, and the evenings are long.
Summers on the prairie can be hot and dry, so plan outdoor time for morning or late afternoon. Autumn is quieter with cooler air and soft light on the badlands.
The park is about 220 kilometres east of Calgary and 48 kilometres northeast of Brooks. From Brooks, take Highway 873 north to Highway 544, then follow signs through Patricia toward the park entrance. Calgary International Airport is the nearest major airport, and a car is the practical way to arrive.
Inside the park, the main roads are the Public Loop Road and the road leading west from the visitor centre, both paved. Cycling is allowed on roads and marked trails, but there is no bike rental.
Arrive at the visitor centre, tour the exhibits, then drive the Public Loop Road to both display houses and John Ware's Cabin.
Take a morning hike or tour, then look for wildlife on the prairie. If time allows, drive to the Royal Tyrrell Museum near Drumheller, or finish in Brooks with a slice of saskatoon berry pie.
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