The town of Drumheller and its surrounding valley hosts more than a half-million visitors annually and it is home to over 50 attractions, including the world-famous Royal Tyrrell Museum and the record-breaking World's Largest Dinosaur.

Follow these links to learn more about what makes Drumheller the best place for your next vacation getaway:

Attractions

Places to Stay

Places to Shop

Places to Eat

Summer (June to August) - Average Temperature 23C (73F)
Generally Drumheller enjoys warm and sunny summers with 109 frost-free days. Expect July and August to be particularly scorching with plenty of bright sunshine and highs of up to 38C (100F).

Precipitation - Average Annual Rainfall 32.5 cm (12.8 inches)
Be sure to pack moisturizer because the Badlands generally experience very low levels of precipitation and almost no humidity. These dry conditions are fairly typical across Alberta.

Spring and Fall - Average Temperature 10C (50F)
Generally, spring occurs in April and May and fall occurs from September to November. Expect a lot of sun during the day and very cool temperatures at night. Daytime temperature can also fluctuate drastically, so pack for cold and hot weather - even for short trips.

Winter (October to April) - Average Temperature -9C (16F)
Winters can be quite cold in Drumheller and bring an average of 139 cm of snow (52 inches). Temperatures can get as low as -44C (-48F) but Chinook winds tend to moderate these chilly conditions (see below).

Chinooks are very warm and dry winds that cause sudden and drastic temperature increases in Drumheller throughout the winter months. During a Chinook, air temperature can raise by as as much as 30 degrees Celsius in just a few hours.

Chinooks typically last for a couple of days, during which time the snow melts very quickly. Once the Chinook passes, the water refreezes and the roads and sidewalks can get very icy. For this reason, sanding trucks are a common sight in southern Alberta during the winter months.

Safe Driving Tip: The best way to handle icy roads is to slow down well before stopping or turning, and to accelerate very slowly when starting from a complete stop.

The highways into Drumheller are paved and well-maintained. To those unaccustomed to driving in Alberta, you will find the roads unusually wide and straight thanks to Alberta's grid road system. This makes for very easy driving throughout the province. For downloadable and printable maps see Drumheller Maps and Guides.

Drumheller has a Greyhound bus station located downtown at 308 Centre Street inside Mom's News. For bus times and fares, visit the Greyhound website.

For taxi companies and rental car companies in Drumheller, see Shopping and Services and for companies that offer guided tours of Drumheller and the surrounding Badlands, see Tour Operators.

Drumheller's municipal airport is located 5 km northwest of the town. The lighted and asphalt runway is 3,500 feet long, 75 feet wide and runs north/south. There are tie-downs available at no charge and fuel is also available when pre-arranged. The terminal provides a waiting area, washroom and phone. Radio communications are hosted on Unicom frequency 1228.

The cities of Calgary Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Regina, and Saskatoon also provide gateway access to Drumheller and the Canadian Badlands.

For driving directions to Drumheller from the Calgary International Airport and other gateway cities, click Drumheller Driving Directions.

To learn more about the communities in the Canadian Badlands, see Drumheller Surrounding Communities.

The following dates are public holidays in the province of Alberta. You'll notice the list doesn't include Halloween on October 31, but don't let this fool you - while Halloween is not a statutory holiday in Canada, it is still widely celebrated by adults and children alike. For example, the Atlas Coal Mine hosts the Haunted Coal Mine event right before Halloween each year. To see details for this or any other Badlands event, just check the Drumheller Calendar of Events.

Drumheller has its own major hospital and health centre, as well as a walk-in medical centre in the downtown area. Drumheller also has three major grocery stores, a large Wal-Mart discount store, as well as many services and businesses. For listings of businesses, click Restaurants and Shopping or Accommodations in Drumheller.