Dinosaur Provincial Park is located about 48 km from the town of Brooks, Alberta. It is about 2.5 hours southeast of Calgary. It is located in the heart of the Alberta Badlands.
Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The property is unmatched in terms of the number and variety of high-quality specimens that represent more than 44 species of dinosaurs dating back 75-77 million years.
Site Review
Dinosaur Provincial Park campground has 126 sites, 94 of which are serviced with electricity. All have fire pits and picnic tables. There are no sites with water hook-ups or sewer, but there is a dump station. The best sites are the ones that back onto the creek and have a view of the Alberta Badlands.
These sites also tend to have some larger trees that will offer some shade. Sites #S-49, #S-51, #S-52, and #S-53 are a few of the best ones, but there are quite a few good sites in the park. We stayed at site #S-51.
There are some shared sites- that are 2 campsites in one. Site #S-53/54 and #S57/59 are shared sites that I found to be rather poor sites. They were narrow and uneven and very close to the road.
I am reluctant to mention bugs in a camping review, because it’s camping and there are going to be bugs but the mosquitoes here deserve special mention. They will suck you dry and leave you bloodless. A citronella candle isn’t going to cut it. You need a repellent that is 100% Deet like Repel 100. You take your chances with anything less (I would certainly not venture out with anything less than 30% Deet and even that only buys you 15-20 minutes before you are going to need to reapply).
John and I have done many a canoe trip when blackflies and mosquitoes were at their very worst, and I’m highly recommending the 100% Deet stuff. Once that was applied, the mosquitoes were a non-issue.
Activities
It’s all about the dinosaurs at Dinosaur Provincial Park. This is a major extinction site. Palaeontology excavations and research continue to be conducted here. More than forty dinosaur species have been discovered at the park. Portions of the park are restricted to authorized personnel only.
Dinosaur Provincial Park has a Visitor’s Centre that contains a small museum which features a nice selection of dinosaur artifacts and information about discoveries made at the park. At the information desk, you can book a tour. (Tours can be reserved ahead of time as well).
There is a large assortment of tours to choose from at Dinosaur Provincial Park. You can participate in anything from a 2-hour trip where you can experience the stunning views of the Natural Preserve from the comfort of a park tour bus; to a 3-day once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a fully authentic dinosaur dig with an experienced paleontologist technician as your guide.
Let your inner paleontologist run wild! Fees vary from $15 CAD to $700 CAD. There are age restrictions for some activities.
Hiking:
There are 5 self-guided trails around the campground, as well as trails around the hoodoos near the entrance of the Natural Preserve. You can pay for guided hikes that take you into the restricted area of the Preserve.
Biking:
There is a 3.5 km driving loop that takes you through the unrestricted area. I rode the loop on my bicycle and stopped at the marked sites where there were information displays.
There is a playground area, but there is no designated swimming area. There is a muddy creek that meanders along the edge of the campground that is accessible from some of the campsites which people were using to swim in. This is not maintained in any way by the campground for this purpose. In fact, there were signs discouraging people from swimming in the creek. People did anyway.
Things To Know
- Dinosaur Provincial Park is NOT the same as Dinosaur RV Park.
- Dinosaur Provincial Park is NOT near the Royal Tyrell Museum which is 170kms away in Drumheller, Alberta (If you wanted the full dinosaur experience you could make a day trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. It would be a 2 hour drive each way).
- The Royal Tyrell Museum is a world-class dinosaur museum. There are no actual digs conducted at this location. It is surrounded by Midland Provincial Park which is also in the Alberta Badlands There is no camping though, it is a “Day Use” only park.
- At Dinosaur Provincial Park you can actually experience real paleontology digs at a major extinction site. The museum is small and gives you some brief information about dinosaurs.
- The Prairie Rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in the Canadian prairies. It’s not big enough to kill you, but its bite does pack a powerful punch. It would require a hospital visit. (A 9-year-old girl was bitten in 2015 and was airlifted to Calgary.) The snake is not particularly aggressive, but you should be cautious and vigilant. Have a good look around, we found one right under our picnic table!
IMO
I really liked Dinosaur Provincial Park. The tours were high quality- the focus was on dinosaurs and this park delivered. The park wasn’t all touristy and overcrowded. I liked sitting around a campfire as the sun was setting, a nice glow cast on the hills and the hoodoos, after a rewarding day of dinosaur fossil hunting. I would highly recommend Dinosaur Provincial Park as an RV Place to Go.
