Alberta badlands

Understand

Southern Alberta is lined to the west by the Canadian Rockies and their foothills, while the rest of the region is dominated by the semi-arid prairies where farms and ranches have been built, often with the help of irrigation.

The Alberta Badlands, a kind of weird and wonderful eroded landscape, are in the northeast of the region, prominently along the Red Deer River. Badlands are also found to the south in North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. The best single destination for viewing the Alberta badlands is the world heritage listed Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks. There are a number of good fossil beds and exhibits in this region. Top among them are the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, and Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks. They are 177 km (110 mi) apart, and each demands a day or two of attention, so allow at least three days to see them all. Both feature interpretive tours, that are also easy to moderate hikes, during the summer months.

Cypress Hills, in the east, at the border with Saskatchewan, are the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador.

Getting there

By plane International flights are available to the Calgary and Edmonton airports. There are regional connections to Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

By car

From the United States There are four main land border crossing points, between the Southern Alberta and the Northwestern Montana and Central Montana regions of Montana, USA. They are referred to by different terms in Canada and the US.

Major crossings

Other crossings There are three other crossings between Montana and Alberta, check ahead as hours will vary by season.

From other places in Canada Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) − connects to Vancouver, Kamloops, Calgary, and Regina; passes through Medicine Hat Highway 2 − connects to Calgary and Edmonton; continues into Montana as US Highway 89 Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) − connects to Cranbrook, BC; passes through Lethbridge and Medicine Hat Highway 9 − connects to Calgary and Saskatoon (becomes Saskatchewan Highway 7); passes through Drumheller Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) − alternate route from Calgary which passes through the foothills

By bus Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service, ☏ +1-778-382-7729, [email protected]. Weekly service between Calgary and Kaslo with stops in Okotoks, High River, Claresholm, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, Sparwood, Fernie, Cranbrook, Creston, Salmo, Nelson, and Balfour. This service provider also offers a twice per week service between Kaslo and Vancouver via Nelson. (updated Mar 2022) Red Arrow, toll-free: +1-800-232-1958, [email protected]. Operates premium service in Alberta featuring spacious seating (only three seats to a row) and workstation seats with electrical connections for business travelers and their computers. Operates a route between Lethbridge and Calgary International Airport including stops in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and downtown Calgary. (updated May 2022)

See

If you're interested in dinosaurs, the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, and Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks must be on your list. At the other end of the spectrum, science fiction fans are drawn to Vulcan for its Star Trek kitsch. Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their importance in understanding the Indigenous peoples of the region. The Fort McLeod Museum of the North West Mounted Police and the Fort Walsh National Historic Site in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park explore the history of Canadian policing in the West in the late 19th century. Medicine Hat is home to the World's Largest Teepee, and is an international centre for ceramic arts, focused on its Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District. The Hoodoos Trail near Drumheller takes you out to see a collection of fantastical stone columns with caprocks.

Do

Go hiking or take a lake cruise in the spectacular Waterton Lakes National Park on the border with the United States, or go hiking in the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, which spills across the border into Saskatchewan. There are many national and provincial parks that allow a wide range of recreational pursuits in beautiful settings, from hiking and camping to fishing and golfing to swimming, canoeing, kayaking, or tubing in the Milk River. Vul-Con, in Vulcan at the end of July, is the local Star Trek convention.