Dinosaur Trips in Alberta, Canada
7 Days / 6 Nights
September 19th-25th, 2023
Exclusive small group experience for 6-16 guests total
TRIP IS NOW FULL
Rates for 7-Day / 6-Night Itinerary starting at:
Adults (over 16 years) – USD$3,690 + taxes per adult based on double-occupancy
Kids (under 16 years) – USD$1,875 + taxes per child
All prices based on double occupancy (two adults per room/comfort camping tent/tipi). Solo adult + children supplement options available.
Badlands Family Adventure
Join Dinosaur Trips for a family-friendly adventure welcoming guests as young as 5-years-old for a vacation experience that will inspire young and old imaginations alike with an itinerary crafted to educate, entertain, and enthrall as we explore the world of dinosaurs across this epic western Canadian province.
Additional add-on dates for Banff, Canmore & Kananaskis available as well for caving, horseback riding, and cowboy cookouts in the shadow of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Bethany Burke of BK Bones is our dinosaur expert host for the duration of the program. Bethany chatted with Dinosaur Trips earlier this year for our “How to Become a Paleontologist” series of posts. She brings an exciting approach to science communication and education by making questioning, exploration, and creativity the heart of her approach. She’s put together a really fun program experience for our week-long adventure.
Bethany is also a certified fossil preparator and member of the Paleontological Society of Austin, the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Association for Women Geoscientists. She spent her second official dig season as a Summer 2022 Field Intern at The Montana Dinosaur Center, and in March of this year was made Lead Researcher for Texas Through Time’s marine reptile dig site. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
See below for a complete Badlands Family Adventure day-by-day trip itinerary.
Dinosaur Provincial Park | Credit: Travel Alberta / Mike Seehagel
Badlands Family Adventure: Day-by Day Itinerary
Sept. 19 - Day 1: Calgary
Welcome to Calgary, Alberta, Canada! Our group will be converging on Calgary throughout the day today. Dinosaur Trips will pick you up at the airport and take you to your accommodations for the evening; the Deerfoot Inn – with a two-story waterslide, hot tub, and a kid’s pool area with water toys and structures – located on the Deerfoot Trail, making it easily accessible to the Prehistoric Park at the Calgary Zoo; a six-acre park that’s home to life-size replica dinosaurs in their re-created geographical environment, including an inland sea and a volcanic mountain, and more than 100 species of living plants!
We’ll gather as a group at the hotel that evening for our welcome party.
Calgary Zoo | IG: @calgaryzoo
Sept. 20 - Day 2: Drumheller
Our family-focused adventure will hit the road in the morning as we make our way to “The Dinosaur Capital of the World” aka Drumheller. On the way we’ll stretch our legs as we go on a walk through Horseshoe Canyon with a paleontologist. In Drumheller, we’ll visit the “World’s Largest Dinosaur” and peer out of its mouth across the town and out into the famous Alberta Badlands. We’ll also explore Fossil World Dinosaur Discovery Centre, and visit The Fossil Shop before settling into our hotel for the evening.
Photo courtesy of Travel Alberta | Credit: Mike Seeghal
Photo courtesy of Travel Alberta | Credit: Neil Zeller
Sept. 21 - Day 3: Royal Tyrrell Museum
After breakfast, we’ll arrive at the museum fresh and early for an extensive day of museum-based activities, kicking things off with an outdoor fossil prospecting hike! Following the hike, we’ll spend some time exploring the museum’s legendary gallery, participating in an indoor Express Dig Experience, and wrapping up with an outdoor Raptor Assembly presentation. We’ll return to our hotel for the evening, which will include special host-led activities.
Sept. 22 - Day 4: Royal Tyrrell Museum / Dinosaur Provincial Park
We’re back at the museum this morning for an outdoor Dinosaur Dig Experience, a Seven Wonders of the Badlands guided hike, a Fossil Casting class, and an exclusive interactive presentation! There will also be more free time to fully explore the Museum’s awesome gallery. We’ll depart Drumheller in the afternoon and head towards Dinosaur Provincial Park for an evening of roasting marshmallows around the campfire and a comfort camping experience under Alberta’s incredible starscapes.
Sept. 23 - Day 5: Dinosaur Provincial Park
The Royal Tyrrell Museum | Credit: Travel Alberta / Mike Seehagel
Hoodoos in Dinosaur Provincial Park | Photo courtesy of Travel Alberta | Credit: Mark Jinks
In the morning we’ll head deeper into the Park and its paleontology lab in the Visitor Centre to create an authentic fossil cast and to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site through the eyes of First Nations people, the early 1900’s fossil hunters, and modern paleontologists.
After an incredible day in the Badlands, we’ll start making our way west across the province back towards Calgary with a stop at Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park where we’ll participate in an in-depth Blackfoot cultural experience, camping overnight in a tipi on the Park grounds.
Sept. 24 - Day 6: Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park | Credit: Travel Alberta / Katie Goldie
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park | Credit: Travel Alberta / Katie Goldie
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Siksika Nation’s language, culture and traditions and we’ll take the morning to explore the Park and its stunning eco-friendly museum, and here we’ll learn how Siksika First Nation culture developed through interactive exhibits and enjoy traditional Indigenous foods tasted at the restaurant before heading back to Calgary in the evening for the final night of our adventure and a very special party and presentation.
Sept. 25 - Day 7: Calgary
We’ll gather in the morning for one final group breakfast before everyone catches their flights home from the Calgary airport throughout the afternoon and evening.
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Dinosaur Trips also offers tailor-made, private itineraries. Interested in private or self-driving options for Alberta? Email or call for a quote.
