Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, located near Trochu, Alberta, is a lesser-known destination in Alberta’s Badlands. The park offers extensive, meandering hiking trails through coulees and grasslands along the Red Deer River Valley. It also protects a unique natural landscape that is rich in Indigenous history and culture.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump: What’s in a name?
The area gets its name from two significant landmarks.
Dry Island
A dry land-island carved out by ancient streams and surrounded by deep ravines. The island is large and covered with healthy, native grassland. The streams are long gone, but left behind the largest uncultivated and ungrazed piece of grassland in the park.
Buffalo Jump
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples harvested buffalo by driving herds off steep cliffs. People used the cliffs in this area for this hunting technique, and archaeologists have found bone, tool, and ceramic artifacts dating back 3,000 years. The steep drop caused a quick death for the animals, and people on the Great Plains used every part of the bison for food, clothing, tools and ceremony.
The park does not identify the exact locations of the buffalo jumps. Keeping the location hidden helps preserve the natural environment and protects remaining artifacts.
Fact: The cliffs along the valley drop up to 50 metres, making it Alberta's highest buffalo jump. The most visited buffalo jump is Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in southwest Alberta, which has a 10-11 metre drop.
Things to Know Before You Go
Dry Island Buffalo Jump is remote and offers day-use recreation only. The Day Use Area is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., from mid-May to mid-October.
The road is very steep with hairpin turns, and not passable when wet! Because of the high amount of bentonite (clay-like material), the road becomes extremely slippery when wet. If there has been even the slightest amount of rain, do not attempt to descend the hill in a motor vehicle. Also, if it starts to rain while you’re in the valley, drive out as soon as you can.
If the gate is closed or it’s too wet to drive down, you can park your vehicle at the lookout and walk down into the park.
The trails are slippery when wet! Just like the road, the trails and hillsides become slip-n-slides when wet. Hiking is not recommended in these conditions.
There is no water available. This park has no water pumps or taps. Bring your own water.
Leave No Trace. This beautiful valley is rich in natural and cultural history. Please visit respectfully and follow Leave No Trace principles. Stay on trails when possible, pack out what you pack in, and leave rocks, flowers, bones, and artifacts behind for others to enjoy.
Things to Do at Dry Island Buffalo Jump
If you love wild places, you’ll like it here. It’s remote. In fact, you might think you’re lost until you see the park’s sign! When you arrive, expansive views greet you, with the Red Deer River meandering through a deep valley. It’s a hidden gem in the Alberta badlands for hikers, paddlers, fishers, history enthusiasts and picnickers.
Hiking
A wandering network of informal trails runs throughout the park. They wind through grassland, up and around hoodoos and coulees, and into thickets of spruce, willow, and chokecherry trees. Most trails are deer tracks or wash paths, and they can easily disappear as you walk. Fortunately, the area is wide open, and you can see the river snaking through. It’s hard to get lost, but offline GPS maps are useful if you have a specific destination in mind.
The Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park website says a 2 km long trail leads from the day-use area to Dry Island. We may or may not have been on that trail, but we made it to the general area of the land island via many a trail.
AllTrails has a GPS Route of the Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park Loop. It is about 7.6 km with a total elevation gain of 240 km.
Bird Watching
The Red Deer River supports a thriving ecosystem of plants, trees, and over 150 bird species! Depending on the season, you might spot turkey vultures, golden eagles, Swainson’s hawks, prairie falcons, belted kingfishers, red-tailed hawks, mountain bluebirds and warblers. Along the river, look for great blue herons, marbled godwits, and willets.
Canoeing & Kayaking
A canoe launch on the park’s east side is open May through September. It makes a good put-in or take-out location for one-day or multi-day canoeing trips. Easier routes that would make for a convenient vehicle shuttle include:
- Mackenzie Bridge to Dry Island: Paddle downstream along this14 km section transitioning from lush valley slopes into the rockier badlands, ending at Dry Island Provincial Park.
- Dry Island to Tolman Bridge: Starting at Dry Island, paddle this cruisy 14 km stretch leading straight to Tolman Bridge Campground.
These paddle routes are generally beginner-friendly and offer a scenic paddle through the Alberta badlands. However, the river can get low in the late summer and autumn, making it shallow in spots. You might have to dodge rocks and pull through gravel bars. Check flow rates via the RiverApp before heading out.
Picnicking
We were there on a beautiful fall day, and the day use area was full of picnickers! The Day Use Area has several private picnic sites, each with a picnic table and fire pit. Pit toilets are nearby, and trails start at the picnic area.
Camping – Nearby
There is no campground or camping permitted within the Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park day use area. 30 minutes down the highway, you can camp at the Tolman Bridge Campgrounds (East or West). They are on either side of the Red Deer River at Tolman Bridge and are operated by Starland County and Alberta Parks.
Tolman East: Features 39–40 unserviced sites shaded by cottonwood trees, a playground, and a group camping area. Facilities include pit toilets, picnic tables, fire pits and potable water.
Tolman West: Features 25 unserviced sites well-suited for RVs, a cook shelter, and hand-launch boat access. Facilities include pit toilets, picnic tables, fire pits and potable water.
Both campgrounds are about $25/night and have first-come, first-served sites as well as reservable sites.
Which is better? East Tolman or West Tolman?
Our personal favourite in the summer is the East Tolman Campground. The east side has far more trees, providing much-needed shade and the privacy we prefer on those hot prairie days. It also has a playground
However, a few sites in West Tolman offer wide-open views of the Red Deer River. If you don’t care too much about shade and privacy, and prefer a view, this side might be for you!
Getting to Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park takes about 2.5 hours from Edmonton and just under two hours from Calgary.
