Day Trip to Drumheller

Updated May 10, 2023

By Kathryn Wright

What does every 4 year old know way more about than most adults? Dinosaurs, of course!

I found myself alone with 4 kids aged 1, 4, 7, and 11 for two full days last week and wanted to find an activity that was age appropriate and interesting for all of them. I decided that a day trip to Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum would be a great way to spend one of our days together.

After picking some top stops from the list of things to do in Drumheller, I was ready to go.

Our day started at 9 am. I loaded up my new-to-me minivan with lots of snacks, a picnic lunch, DVDs, water bottles, swim suits and towels, sun hats, sunscreen, bug spray, diapers, wipes (I triple checked that I had them!) and of course keys, phone and wallet.

Getting to Drumheller

The drive from Dead Man’s Flats (a wonderfully named hamlet 5 minutes from Canmore) is about 2.5 hours to Drumheller. The kids watched Spy Kids in the back while the baby slept. The drive there was peaceful and fun. It was easy to distract them by asking them to make the various sounds of each dinosaur species – hilarious because they all sounded the same.

World’s Biggest Dinosaur

We got to the World’s Biggest Dinosaur right around 11:30 and settled in for a picnic before a splash in the water park. My one-year-old watched blissfully as the kids ran all around and came around to say hi every few minutes. The park is large and lovely, it was an overcast day but still hot out and there was tons of lawn space and picnic tables for everyone. It’s great little spot to hang out for an hour or so before we headed to the museum.

Royal Tyrrell Museum

The museum is such a fantastic resource to have in our province and ever better that we are able to day trip there. It’s also affordable, the two little ones were free and the 7 & 11 year old were only $10 each. A regular adult admission was $18. So the 5 of us only cost $38, a steal if you ask me!

Next trip we might pick an Alberta History Annual Pass which gets us into a dozen spots around the province.

We wandered through together and laughed, and roared and took photos at most of the fun photo stops and generally had a wonderful time. We somehow missed the garden area and I assume other parts but the kids were tired and we got out before anyone had a meltdown. So a success in my books!

Be sure to check out these five Alberta dinosaur facts that will make you look like a Dino Boss!

My first visit to the Royal Tyrrell was just a few years ago and I was frankly in awe. I couldn’t believe that these were once living creatures, it was the first time I related to them as animals instead of cartoon-ish monsters. I hope the kids felt the same way, but I’m ok if they just thought it was cool.

Our drive home was a little long and exhausting. The last hour of the drive both of my kids (the 4-year-old and the 1-year old) screamed until we got home. That was not especially fun. But I suppose during 5-6 hours of driving that is a possibility. The older two were lovely and helpful and it was probably a much better trip than it might have been if it was just me and the little ones.

We tried some of these no-tech road trip tricks, but the littles were just done.

Highly recommended if you are looking for a way to pass a summer day, we give it 5 roars out of 5.

Over-Night Trips

If you find yourself spending the night in Drumheller, I highly recommend one of these hotels with a waterslide. Don’t forget to pack a bathing suit!

More road trip ideas

Why not check out these other road trips:

Hi! I’m Kat, the mom of a wild, beautiful, truck and adventure-loving little four-year old boy and a fair, flexible, sweet pea girl who is almost one. I live in the beautiful hamlet of Dead Man’s Flats in the Rocky Mountains about 5 minutes from Canmore. Originally from BC, I have lived in the Bow Valley for the past seven eventful years: I fell in love, moved in together, had a baby, bought a home, bought a second home, had a second baby and started a business and I have loved (almost) every second of it. Visit my Etsy shop or see my work on Instagram.