Experience Alberta’s Badlands My family has been planning annual trips to explore Alberta’s badlands for several years and we’ve come up with creative ways to get out and explore on foot, on bikes, and on the water. An adventure awaits you around every corner of your journey. Below are the five best experiences we’ve had exploring the Alberta Badlands:
Explore Dinosaur Provincial Park by Bike
Go Fossil Hunting in Dinosaur Provincial Park
If you’re camping at Dinosaur Provincial Park Campground try hopping on your bikes and touring around the 3.5 km Public Loop Road – a multi-use gravel road open to driving, hiking, or biking. While riding the loop, stop at the Badlands Trailhead for an amazing 1.3 km hike through a landscape of hoodoos and sandstone ridges.
On a recent trip, we wanted to do some “off the beaten path” exploring through the badlands. We chose the Centrosaurus Quarry Hike because it promised to be the most adventurous half-day tour we could undertake as a family.
After the hike continue on your bikes to reach two fossil display houses. The second house is also the start of the Trail of the Fossil Hunters, a short interpretive 0.9 km, out and back, hike to a historic quarry site. The Public Loop Road ends with one final trail to explore on foot, the Cottonwood Flats Trail, a 1.4 km hike along the Red Deer River. There are bike racks at all trailheads so bring a lock with you, and don’t forget your water and snacks because this tour can take a few hours if you stop often.
It proved to be an incredible experience, a 2.5-hour tour to see fossils in the “wild” rather than behind glass. Hundreds of bones scattered the quarry site we hiked to, and we enjoyed the accompanying interpretive lessons. I recommend booking tours in advance and suggest choosing a morning tour when it’s cooler outside.
Paddle the Milk River We have used canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards on an 18 km stretch of the Milk River through Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park.
Biking in Dinosaur National Park
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Guided Quarry Hike
