Calgary 
Even if you can’t plan for a trip to Drumheller this summer, you can plan road trips or drives around some of the area’s best badlands lookout spots.
Fortunately, there are a few excellent options for viewpoints along Alberta’s Badlands which are easily accessible from the main highways.
Once you turn and park, you are met with stunning views at each of these locations, most of which are 360, and all of which show you the badlands from a different angle. These rounded mountain formations are breathtaking to behold all at once, as these viewpoints all you to do, but many of them also allow you a detailed and close-up look with trails leading you into canyons, over hillsides, and past the unique foliage. If you do venture for a hike, be sure to stay on the marked trails and follow the signs.
Horsethief Canyon
The prairies seem to just fall, or drop, into Horsethief Canyon. This roadside stop on the North Dinosaur Trail lets you get up close to that drop where the badlands begin, as well as sweeping canyon views. Horsethief Canyon shows off the sprawling green on the bottom, with the badlands and their coloured layers surrounding it all. It is a stunning sight that will make you feel like you’re in a foreign country.
Orkney Viewpoint
Get a look at Horsethief Canyon from the other side! The Orkney Viewpoint faces east over the Red Deer River where it takes a sharp bend through the badlands. The lookout allows you to see for what feels like forever over southeastern Alberta. Look at the area more closely and in more detail, and you’ll see cacti, small forests, or the sunset over the layers of rock.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump
The badlands are well-known for their sedimentary formation, and the colourful layers we can see within the rock. But the viewpoint at Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park is the start to the Alberta badlands, where the hills are a bit lusher and greener. You can still see unique geological formations if you follow the trail, but these Red Deer River Valley views are best appreciated from above.
Horseshoe Canyon
Unlike other viewpoints or the badlands in general, this area does not follow the Red Deer River. It sort of appears out of nowhere. You can access it a short drive from Drumheller or Calgary and stop for pictures or for a short hike into the canyon.
From The World’s Largest Dinosaur
They don’t call Drumheller the dinosaur capital of Canada for nothing, and the giant T-Rex at the centre of town is further proof of their claim to fame. Tyra the T-Rex offers incredible views of Drumheller and the surrounding Badlands from 25 meters up (106 steps). It is $5 to climb Tyra, or $15 per family.
