Canada
Dinosaur Provincial Park
Forty species unearthed from the same river bend — the densest fossil graveyard on Earth.
Forty species of dinosaur and over 500 complete skeletons have been excavated from a single river bend in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta — the densest fossil site in the world. Walk the guided trails and you'll see bones still half-embedded in the rock, exposed by last season's rain.
Dinosaur Provincial Park sits in the Alberta Badlands along the Red Deer River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 for its unrivalled concentration of Late Cretaceous fossils. The restricted Fossil Safari hikes take visitors into areas where bones are actively eroding from the canyon walls — guided by palaeontologists who point out specimens in situ. The badlands landscape is layered with 75-million-year-old sediment, each stratum a different chapter of the Age of Dinosaurs. The park's field station has contributed more specimens to the world's museums than any other single site.
Family
Walking among real dinosaur fossils emerging from the rock is the kind of experience that creates lifelong palaeontologists. The guided Fossil Safaris are designed for families and consistently thrill children and adults alike.
Solo
The Fossil Safari's palaeontologist guides share details that reward close attention — the solo visitor who asks good questions gets the richest experience at this extraordinary site.
- More than 40 dinosaur species and 500 complete skeletons have been excavated from this single river bend — the densest fossil site in the world.
- Guided hikes into the restricted zone let you walk among fossils still embedded in the rock, some half-exposed by recent erosion.
- The badlands landscape looks genuinely Martian — striated hoodoos, dry coulees, and exposed layers spanning 75 million years.
- UNESCO designated the park in 1979 for its unrivalled concentration of Late Cretaceous fossils.
Campground cooking surrounded by hoodoos — the only restaurant is the one you bring.
Alberta beef from the ranches that border the park, bought from the Brooks butcher.
Campfire hot dogs under a sky full of stars in the badlands — simple perfection.
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