Running in Dinosaur Provincial Park

On our way to Whistler, we had to stop to visit the Badlands in Alberta. The scenerie is breathtaking and the abundance of dinosaur bones and smaller fociles is overwhelming. We spent three days here to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Dinosaur Provincial Park.

The first day we walked the trails at the Dinosaur Provincial Park and booked a guided tour for Sunday.

If you think you see lots of focils when you follow the public paths, the guided tour is an absolute must-do here at the park. We booked the Centrosaurus Quarry Hike and visited a bone bed. The tour was very informative and lots of fun thanks to our guide Erika.

Spending three days in one place without looking for a trail to run is not possible. I had my mind set after driving the Public Loop in the Dinosaur Provincial Park, I MUST RUN THE LOOP. It's a short loop, only about 3.3km with one way traffic. The road is gravel and only few cars drive the loop.

I ran the loop three times on a Saturday afternoon and was passed by 5 cars. Most of them are parked at one of the four scenic trail heads. The sky was clear and I got torched by the sun. A steady wind gave some relieve, but not at all places. You run in the washed out gully. So, if you decide to run here, you will need the following
good sunblock that is not disolved by sweat
water
shower utensils and loonies
Shower Utensils? Yes, there is a shower at the Concesion Store. Two Loonies will give you 5 minutes of nice refreshing water.