Routes · North America
London to southern Alberta: Drumheller and Waterton Lakes
London → Drumheller → Waterton Lakes
Dinosaur badlands & a lake where the Rockies meet the prairie Best season (general guide): Jun–Sep
Southern Alberta has two very different landscapes within a few hours of Calgary: eroded badlands full of dinosaur fossils, and a lake valley where the Rockies meet the prairies. This route spends three nights in Drumheller and three in Waterton Lakes. From London you'll fly to Calgary, then drive.
How to pace it: Drumheller, on the Red Deer River about 110 kilometres north-east of Calgary, sits in Dinosaur Valley, about 28 kilometres long. Give day two to the Royal Tyrrell Museum outside the town, with one of the largest collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world, and climb the town's giant model Tyrannosaurus rex. Day three is for the hoodoos, pillars of soft rock capped by harder stone. Dinosaur Provincial Park, further south-east, is listed by UNESCO for its fossils if you want a longer detour. The town was named after Samuel Drumheller, who bought a homestead in the valley.
On day four, drive south and stop at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO-listed cliff where Indigenous peoples hunted bison for thousands of years. Waterton Lakes National Park, formed in 1895 as Canada's fourth national park, borders Glacier National Park in Montana, and together they form the world's first International Peace Park, also listed by UNESCO. Take a boat on Upper Waterton Lake on day five, which crosses the border to Goat Haunt, and hike on day six. The Prince of Wales Hotel, built in the 1920s, stands on a bluff above the lake.
Practical notes: summer is the season for both parks; winters are long and cold. A car is needed for this route. The boat to Goat Haunt crosses into the US: the round-trip cruise needs no passport if you stay no more than 30 minutes and don't go past the Goat Haunt Ranger Station, but hiking on from there, or a one-way boat trip, needs a valid passport, a report of your entry to US Customs through the CBP ROAM app on the day, and a call to the Canada Border Services Agency on your return.
Safety: the US rates Canada Level 1 (5 Jun 2026); for Canadians this is a domestic trip.
Suggested outline
London
Drumheller
A town in the badlands of Dinosaur Valley.
"Hoodoos of Drumheller 2014.2.JPG" by Milorad Dimić MD, Serbia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence Waterton Lakes
A national park where mountains rise from the prairie.
Day by day
- Day 1 · Drumheller — Arrive; drive from Calgary· London → Calgary (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day, then Calgary → Drumheller (overland)
- Day 2 · Drumheller — Royal Tyrrell Museum
- Day 3 · Drumheller — Hoodoos and the badlands
- Day 4 · Waterton Lakes — Road south via Head-Smashed-In· Drumheller → Waterton Lakes (by road)
- Day 5 · Waterton Lakes — Lake cruise
- Day 6 · Waterton Lakes — Mountain hike
- Day 7 · Waterton Lakes — Travel home from Waterton Lakes· Waterton Lakes → Calgary (by road), then Calgary → London (by air)
A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.
Flights, leg by leg
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- London → Drumheller (LON → YYC) · Check today's price Search fares LON → YYC · 3 Dec ↗
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Drumheller
Nearest airport: Calgary Search fares · Calgary ↗
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