The Cactus Coulee Fun Park has just opened the newest addition to their park.
The fun park has entertained tourists with go-karts, euro-bungy, and mini golf. Now, they have introduced a new attraction for thrill seekers.
Alpine Helicopter Tours has partnered with Cactus Coulee in hopes of expanding their business. The tours offered in Drumheller, flies passengers in and around the valley to take in the unique landscape.
Head pilot of the Drumheller Alpine branch, Justin Graveline, reflects on his experience flying around the valley so far.
“So far it has been going really well. We see a lot of people who are very nervous at first, but we try to make their first time flying as easy as possible.”
Alpine Helicopter Tours has been set up at the park since mid June and will remain there until the end of September. The company is hoping to have a bigger setup next year.
Graveline, and his right hand man, Bryston Stanton run the show in Drumheller, taking passengers to new heights. Graveline flys the helicopter while Stanton is the man on the ground.
“It is really soothing to be up in the air, but my favourite part is being able to share it with others. Especially the little ones,” says Graveline.
Graveline, originally from Sudbury, Ontario, was inspired to become a pilot from his father, who also shared the same occupation. He earned his licence through the cadet program and has been with Alpine Tours for 2 years.
Graveline and Stanton start their day by doing daily maintenance and check ups to the Bell 206L-3. The helicopter seats six passengers and features a Rolls Royce 250-C30P engine.
“Our main concern here at Alpine is safety and passengers. So we make sure everything is up to standard,” says Graveline.
Then, it is off to the sky as Graveline tours the lucky passengers around the valley.
Alpine offers two tours of the valley. The first is a trip to Horsethief Canyon and back. This tour showcases the beauty of Horsethief Canyon that has been eroded into the earth by millions of years of water and wind.
The second tour, takes passengers to Horsethief Canyon and across to Horseshoe Canyon, showing off the beauty of Drumheller and it’s surrounding areas.
The Cactus Coulee Fun Park can be found west of Drumheller on North Dinosaur Trail.
