Rosedale - Home of the suspension bridge  |
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Located 8 km southeast of Drumheller, Rosedale is home to the Rosedale Suspension Bridge. The bridge was once used by miners to access the Star Mine but is now a favourite among locals for fishing, sight-seeing, and as an access point to great Badlands terrain. |
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| Wayne - The Last Chance Saloon |
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| Located 14 km southeast of Drumheller, Wayne is one of the Badlands' quirkiest places. Parts of the movie "Shanghai Noon" with Jackie Chan were filmed there, hundreds of Harley Davidson riders meet there every summer for the Wayne Rally, its saloon is one of Alberta's only operating cowboy relics, and lastly, you have to cross one-way bridges just to get there. When you arrive, plan for a meal at the Last Chance Saloon. Tobacco smoke in air, bullet holes in the walls, and if you order a steak, you barbeque it yourself on one of their outdoor grills - you really can't get more Albertan than that. | ||
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| East Coulee - Where history lives |
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Located 23 km southeast of Drumheller, East Coulee is home to the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site and the East Coulee School Museum. Here is where you'll see what life was like for the early coal miners and their families who immigrated from eastern Europe to establish the Drumheller Valley as a coal mining hub. |
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| Morrin - Buffalo and a sod house |
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| Located 26 km northwest of Drumheller, Morrin is home to the Sod House and Historical Park as well as Morrin Corner Buffalo Tours. The replica pioneer sod house was constructed in 1980 entirely out of prairie sod. Morrin Corner Buffalo Tours operates from May to August each year and takes you on a tour of a real working buffalo ranch. To set up a sod house tour, phone 403.772.3870 and for a buffalo tour, phone 403.772.3843. | ||
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| Michichi - The place to camp and fish |
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| Located 28 km northeast of Drumheller, Michichi is home to the Michichi Dam and Recreation Area. Here you can camp at the campgrounds, hike through the prairie scenery, and fish from the stocked dam. | ||
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| Carbon - Village in the valley |
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Located 34 km northwest of Drumheller, Carbon is a quaint Badlands village. Two campgrounds, walking trails, The Farmer's Exchange, the Prickly Pear Gallery, an outdoor swimming pool in the summer, and an outdoor skating rink in winter make Carbon a great place to stay on your way to or from Drumheller. |
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| Dorothy - The photographer's muse |
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| Located 36 km southeast of Drumheller, this tiny hamlet is surrounded by classic Badlands landscape and is home to a church that is one of the most photographed abandoned buildings in Alberta. While you won't find any services in Dorothy, the drive from Drumheller is well worth the trip for the scenery alone. | ||
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| Rosebud - The village where theatre lives |
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Located 36 km southwest of Drumheller, the village of Rosebud is home to Rosebud Theatre - Alberta's only rural professional theatre. You won't find a gas station in Rosebud but you will find a gift shop, an art gallery, a golf course, and a museum. For more information, see Rosebud, Alberta. |
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| Rowley - Pizza in a ghost town |
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| Located 40 km northwest of Drumheller, Rowley is a preserved western ghost town and its monthly Rowley Pizza Night is a favourite among Badlands locals. Visit Rowley on the last Saturday of any month (except December) and get homemade pizza in Sam's Saloon - complete with swinging saloon doors and sawdust on the floor. | ||
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| Delia - A charming prairie town |
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Located 45 km northeast of Drumheller, Delia is home to the Delia Historical Museum where you'll see an early century schoolroom. You can also visit the fully restored and functional Gould & Shapley Grist Mill before stopping for lunch at the Mother Mountain Tea House & Restaurant - residing in a restored 1912 Crown Lumber store. |
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| Rockyford - Home of the "big" rodeo |
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| Located 56 km southwest of Drumheller, each July Rockyford is home to an annual FCA Rodeo known as "the biggest little show in Alberta". Rockyford also has several visitor services including camping, a restaurant, and several small shops. | ||
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| Three Hills - Great services |
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Located 60 km northwest of Drumheller, in Three Hills you can tour the Prairie Bible Institute – Alberta's largest Bible college, play a round on the 9-hole golf course, or visit the Kneehill Museum. Three Hills also has five motels, ten restaurants, the Three Hills Recreation Park and Campground, and a waterslide at the Aquatic Centre. |
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| Linden - A rural industrial capital |
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Located 64 km northwest of Drumheller, Linden was established by Mennonite farmers and their quiet way of life remains today. Sample the famous peanut butter pie at the Country Cousins Restaurant, then take a 16 km drive west to Custom Woollen Mills where you can see how wool products are made using 1860's machinery. |
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| Beiseker - Home of Squirt the Skunk |
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| Located 66 km southwest of Drumheller, Beiseker is home to a 1910 CPR Railway Station that houses the village's museum, library, and village office. The Beiseker campground features 48 serviced sites with showers and is also home to the village mascot, Squirt the Skunk. | ||
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| Big Valley - Jimmy Jock Boardwalk |
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| Located 68 km north of Drumheller, the village of Big Valley is the primary destination for the Alberta Prairie Steam Train. Attractions include its railway station and museum, a nine-hole golf course, St. Edmund's Blue Church, the Jimmy Jock Boardwalk, the restored Alberta Wheat Pool elevator, as well as several visitor shops and services. | ||
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| Trochu - Spending time with nature |
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Located 70 km northwest of Drumheller, Trochu is home to the Trochu Arboretum, which features 100 different species of trees and many varieties of perennials and annuals. Attracted by the flowers, the Arboretum is also home to many species of birds and butterflies. |
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| Irricana - Pioneer Acres Museum |
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Located 75 km southwest of Drumheller, Irricana is home to Pioneer Acres Museum, which features antique farming artifacts. Irricana also has an RV campground, which is located in Founders Park. Irricana's main street buildings feature murals depicting different country themes and the village's symbol: a white picket fence. |
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| Hanna - The hub of goose country |
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| Located 78 km northeast of Drumheller, Hanna features giant replicas of the Canada Grey Goose at the town's boarders. In Hanna, you can visit the Pioneer Village and Museum, play 18 holes of golf, fish at Helmer Dam, and camp at Fox Lake Park. And each September, Hanna hosts the Canadian Professional Indoor Rodeo. | ||
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| Torrington - Stuffed gopher anyone? |
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Located 85 km northwest of Drumheller on Highway 27, Torrington is home to the whimsical Gopher Hole Museum, which features costumed gophers posed in 47 different scenes. The museum is open daily from June 1 to September 30, 10am to 5pm and by appointment. For more information, phone 403.631.2133. |
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| Bassano - Home to a giant dam site |
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| Located 93 km southeast of Drumheller, Bassano is home to a massive dam that irrigates over 200,000 acres of farmland. The town also features several large campgrounds, hunting, fishing, and a golf course. | ||
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| Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park |
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Located 94 km northwest of Drumheller, Dry Island Buffalo Jump is a Provincial Park with spectacular scenery and camping. "Dry island" refers to the unusual flat-topped mesa that rises 200 metres above the Red Deer River. The Cree aboriginals once used this ridge to hunt bison by driving them over the island's cliff edge. |
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| Stettler - Prairie railway excursions |
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Located 97 km north of Drumheller, Stettler is home to Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, where you can take a historic train ride complete with horseback-riding bandits. Stettler also features the Town & Country Museum, many businesses, and two 18-hole golf courses. |
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| Strathmore - Chuckwagon Finals |
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| Located 97 km southwest of Drumheller, Strathmore is home to the World Professional Chuckwagon Finals and Rodeo each Heritage Day long weekend (the first weekend in August). Strathmore also features two arenas, tennis courts, golf courses, and the Kinsmen Park with a lake fountain. | ||
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| Siksika Nation - Showcasing Aboriginal culture |
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| Located 99 km south of Drumheller, Siksika Nation Reserve is home to the Siksika Arts Cooperative and several times each summer, Siksika's hosts the Piiksa-Pi Pow Wow. Also in Siksika is Okan Trail Rides, a working ranch that offers activities such as overnight teepee lodging and drum-making. For more information, phone Siksika Tourism toll-free at 1.800.551.5724. | ||
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| Big Stone - Blood Indian Dam |
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| Located 126 km southeast of Drumheller, Big Stone is home to the Blood Indian Dam, the Trading Post service centre, and the Big Stone Annual Rodeo. | ||
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| Donalda - The world's largest lamp |
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Located 135 km north of Drumheller, Donalda is home to the World's Largest Lamp (it's 42 feet high!). Visit Donalda and spend an evening basking under the lamp's glow, and be sure to arrive before sundown or you'll miss the sunset view of the magnificent Meeting Creek Coulees. |
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| Calgary - Home of the Calgary Stampede |
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| Located 138 km southwest of Drumheller, Calgary is the largest gateway city to the Canadian Badlands region. As an extremely prosperous urban centre, Calgary features a giant international airport, thousands of shops, restaurants, and services, and of course, the world-famous Calgary Stampede held in the city each summer. | ||
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| Brooks - Lake oasis of the prairies |
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| Located 141 km southeast of Drumheller, Brooks features Lake Newell, a manmade recreation hot spot with camping, fishing, boating, sailing, swimming, and walking trails. Brooks also has a wide selection of hotels, motels, campgrounds, RV parks, golf courses, and restaurants. Brooks is also close to Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Brooks Aqueduct. | ||
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| Dinosaur Provincial Park |
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Located 141 km southeast of Drumheller, Dinosaur Provincial Park is chock-full of dinosaur bones and fossils. Seventy-five million years ago, the region was heavily populated by prehistoric crocodiles, sharks, and of course, dinosaurs. For more information about visiting and camping, visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park website. |
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| Red Deer - A Badlands gateway city |
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| Located 160 km northwest of Drumheller, Red Deer is one of the gateway cities into the Canadian Badlands. Red Deer features a myriad of shops, restaurants, and cafes, as well as a municipal airport. Sights to see in Red Deer include Heritage Square, Fort Normandeau, the Red Deer and District Museum, and beautiful Waskasoo Park. | ||
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| Vulcan - A Treker's dream |
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Located 166 km southwest of Drumheller, Vulcan is home to the Vulcan Tourism and Trek Station. There you can have your picture taken on the main bridge of the Starship Enterprise with the Captain and crew - and don't forget your set of Vulcan ears at the Galaxy Gift Shop. | |
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| Oyen - A prairie escape |
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Located 192 km east of Drumheller, Oyen offers all the grandeur of wide open blue skies in the heartland of Alberta's vast rolling prairie. Some of the attractions in Oyen include a 9-hole golf course and club house, RV park and camp kitchen, outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, fishing pond, museum, and an airport. |
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| Acadia Valley - Prairie Elevator Museum |
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Located 208 km southeast of Drumheller, Acadia features the Prairie Elevator Museum, housed in a restored grain elevator. There you can have afternoon tea, browse the museum, and then check out the rainbow trout fishing at the Acadia Valley Municipal Dam. And don't miss the annual Sausage Fry in October. |
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| Empress - The prairie artist's village |
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| Located 242 km southeast of Drumheller, Empress is a village devoted to the arts. There you will find the Knarls-n-Knots Art Studio with its espresso bar and handmade furniture, the Sage Brush Studio, and That's Empressive which sells Aboriginal art, fine Canadian crafts, and refreshments. | ||
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| Medicine Hat - Arts and culture |
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Located 248 km southeast of Drumheller, Medicine Hat's historic downtown features restored historic buildings, boutiques, restaurants, and quaint gas lamps. Among its many attractions are the Saamis Teepee, the Medicine Hat Cultural Centre, and the Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District. |
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| Lethbridge - A Badlands gateway city |
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| Located 261 km south of Drumheller, Lethbridge is one of the gateway cities into the Canadian Badlands. While in Lethbridge you can visit its multitude of shops and services as well as the Sir Alexander Galt Museum, the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. The Fort Whoop-up Interpretive Centre also has events and activities all year round. | ||
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| Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park |
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Located 308 km southeast of Drumheller, Writing-on-Stone features abundant First Nations carvings (or petroglyphs), and paintings (or pictographs), which cover the sheer sandstone cliffs. This land is protected as part of Blackfoot tradition and is its amazing scenery enhances the spiritual feel of this protected area. | |
