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Dinosaur Provincial Park Review

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Dinosaur Provincial Park

Address: Rte. 544, Patricia, AB | Map It
Phone: 403/378-4342; 403/378-4344 for interpretive-hike reservations; 403/378-3700 for campground reservations
www.cd.gov.ab.ca

Category: Parks
Location: Dinosaur Provincial Park

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Fodor's Review:

190 km (118 mi) south of Drumheller, 240 km (149 mi) southeast of Calgary.

Dinosaur Provincial Park encompasses 73 square km (28 square mi) of Canada's greatest badlands, as well as prairie and riverside habitats. A United Nations World Heritage Site, the park contains some of the world's richest fossil beds—dating as far back as 75 million years—including many kinds of dinosaurs. Much of the area is a nature preserve with restricted public access. Self-guided trails weave through different habitats, and a public loop road leads to two outdoor fossil displays. The Royal Tyrrell Museum Field Station has ongoing fossil excavations. Interpretive programs run daily from mid-May to early September and weekends until mid-October, but many require tickets; call for reservations. You should allow at least two full days for an in-depth experience. The campground has a food-service center. To get here from Drumheller, take Route 56 to the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) east, go north at Brooks on Route 873 and then east on Route 544, and follow the signs.

Cost: Park free, C$3 field station, C$8 hikes and bus tours
Open: Field station: mid-May-Aug., daily 8:30 AM-9 PM; Sept.-mid-Oct., daily 9-4; mid-Oct-mid-May, weekdays 9-4

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