Dinosaur Provincial Park Campground

This Alberta provincial park, located on the Red Deer River in the Alberta Badlands, is the location where dinosaur fossils were first discovered, leading to the creation of the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, AB. The campground is situated well below the prairie, and is surrounded by walking trails through the wind and water-worn landscape.

The 126 comfortably large well-spaced campsites offer different levels of service. Ours had electricity only, while others in another section ion the park offered water and electricity. The park offers 'comfort camping' sites as well, allowing those without an RV or tent to experience the park in a glamorous tent. There is a dumpsite at the exit, and a store & restaurant at the campground entrance including washrooms with showers. There are privies in the campground itself, for those not self-contained.

The interpretation centre hosts amazing displays about the fossil discoveries in the park, and there are a number of self-guided walks showcasing the discoveries as well as the Badlands ecosystem. If you have the opportunity, take the guided tour, which takes you behind the gate into the more interesting parts of the fossil beds.

There is no cellular service in the park, as it is so far below the prairie, but Alberta parks provided free wi-fi, and cellular service is available as soon as you climb out of the river valley.

We spent four days at Dinosaur Provincial Park and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet, the great walks, and a tour into the non-public area of the preserve. Would definitely stay here again.

This is a pretty cool place to visit. I would highly recommend taking one of the bus tours into the non-public areas. Looking for dinosaur fossils was a lot of fun and the kids on our tour loved it!

We have a 40 foot RV, so getting a spot for three nights in August was difficult. We ended up on one site for 1 night and another site for the remaining 2 nights. Having 30 amp electric was appreciated because it was so hot outside.

You can get cell service in the park in some spots, notably the north campsites and the parking lot of the cafe. The WiFi service was pretty decent, but could get overloaded at times. Still, we appreciated having it.

Sites were spaced out decently. The dry camping area had less trees, so that would be good if you were relying on solar panels.

Our only complaint was about the gnats that were biting when we were outside. But there isn't much you can do about that!

I was here for a "bone dig" (excavation), and unfortunately was put next to a family that was completely out of control. The parents shouting and screaming and their four young whining offspring followed suit...literally non-stop. IT WAS AWFUL but could not be moved (busy weekend) so I located another Provincial Park 30 minutes away (Steveville) and went there for the two nights they were staying. This other park was quiet and luckily it was also free! After they left, I returned to resume my reservation and found this campground quiet and enjoyable, well worth visiting.

Camped there this past easter weekend April 14-18, 2022.
We booked online, and arrived very late at night. Had no need to check in. The office was open the next morning.
Was cold on arrival (-10C). Warmed up as the weekend progressed. There were a good amount of campers given the weather conditions.
Sites are clean and they are already working on getting ready for the summer.
Our site had power 30A.
All the pit toilets have been torn down and replaced with brand new buildings.

Tips: I should better prepare :)

Made a same day reservation on the Alberta Parks website. No reservation fee.
Site S-28, said 20-30 feet but had plenty of length for our 22’ Micro Minnie FLX and Ram 1500. Very level.
Electric hook up, fire pit and picnic table.
Showers in main building $1/min
Laundry $2/wash $2/dry. Two machines each.
So much to explore. Tours offered as well and programming by the park staff.

I travelled here with a 35’ 5th wheel, long bed pickup and parked in site #S-4, an E only, PT site for $25. This park was a delightful surprise. It was like a little oasis set inside a combination of the Badlands and Dinosaur National Monument in the US. The roads were asphalt and the sites were gravel. It was pretty easy to navigate although I would not take a large rig into the overflow area. The site was level and had some shade. They do water the grounds so be aware of that. Bathrooms and showers were in the main building and there were vault toilets out in the campground proper. The showers were clean and bright, but there was no place to set your stuff other than the floor. Laundry had 2 washer/dryers each. $2C each which was quite a deal. The dryer gave you a very long time. The Visitor’s Center was also well done. I went around the scenic loop on my bike and hiked several trails. The overlook at the entrance to the park is fabulous. The cottonwood trees were starting to turn which was lovely. I would recommend sites 18, 34, 37, 49 and 58. Connectivity: 2 bars 3G with Verizon International plan at my site, calls were dropped and it was hard to open email. I got 2 bars of 5G at the Visitor’s Center and 3 bars 5G at the overlook. 127 mbps download speed at the overlook. I wish I’d had another day here to do the tour. There are no groceries for a very long way so come prepared. I would definitely stay here again.