Every year InSide Drumheller holds the Great
Drumheller Dinosaur Challenge, not only a great way to spend an afternoon, it provides wonderful feedback from visitors on their valley experience.
Summer came to an abrupt end this week, with one day under a blistering sun and the next behind a blustery wind.
It was an exciting year for the valley. Many attractions saw record-breaking numbers. There was also the introduction of Tough Mudder weekend. Inside Drumheller had an exciting year, launching www.drumhellertourism.com, providing residents and visitors all the latest information on what is happening in the valley.
One aspect of the summer publication which has not changed, is our annual Great Dinosaur Challenge. This is a contest where visitors and residents can identify the locale of the valley’s famous dinosaurs for a chance to win a gift certificate from any of Drumhellertourism.com’s advertisers.
More than just a fun way to spend an afternoon in the valley, we provide a space for comments and perceptions of the valley. They are also a lot of fun to read.
This year, judging by the entries, while there were visitors from all over North America, it was an Alberta Break kind of season for the valley. The bulk of entries are from in-province.
While it appears that Calgarians are aware of what the valley has to offer, and come in droves, there were more entries than in previous years from northern points including Red Deer, Edmonton and Grande Prairie.
From outside the province we noticed the next largest group of entries came from British Columbia. And while throngs of Albertans head west to enjoy the unique landscapes of B.C., a group from Nelson, B.C., commented about loving the valley, and the river, while one from Vancouver described the area as ‘Awesome country and amazing history, hospitable folks.”
As usual, there were many youngsters who entered and the fascination with dinosaurs always ranks high. One visitor from, Odessa, Saskatchewan summed up the whole experience: “My favourite part of Drumheller was seeing the dinosaur museum, playing at the splash park and water fountain, going inside the big dinosaur and doing this scavenger hunt.”
The quality of events Drumheller puts on is certainly becoming an attraction in itself. One visitor from Cold Lake tells us “We’ve been to Drumheller every year since DinoFest started and we always have a wonderful time. The best part is we spend most of our time on foot because of all the great walking trails and scenery.”
And the valley continues to cultivate repeat visitors. A visitor from Calgary said, “Our family really likes Drumheller. We’ll be back to visit here again.”
Another from Edmonton, said. “We enjoyed our visit on the May Long Weekend very much. We’ve booked our cabin at River Grove for 2015!”
