Calgary’s next vacation spot

By Maya Grinevitch on April 22, 2026

Looking for somewhere else to go during the summer? Craving to get into the wildlife and out of the city? Maybe even out of Edmonton? The Horsethief Canyon is a cool spot if you’re on a Calgary vacation. It’s part of the Red Deer River valley, is about 19 minutes from Drumheller by car, and is located in Starland County. It’s a stunning spot for photography. It looks like a giant bumpy crater, features a lake, and plenty of greenery. No matter where you are, every single picture is something beautiful. The area is kid-friendly, allows leashed dogs, and has a parking lot at the top.

What’s the deal with the name?

It isn’t exactly clear what the real story is, but both local folklore and the large sign at the beginning of the canyon state horses would enter the hills, freely roaming and branded to certain ranches. They would then disappear, having been stolen by horse thieves who would use the canyon’s nooks to hide the horses between transport. Horses would be given different branding, then be sold or moved to different areas. Sometimes, horses would later reappear in the canyon, now carrying their different branding. That would make their origins untraceable.

What else does it hold?

Horsethief Canyon isn’t just famous for its wild west folklore. Being so close to Drumheller, the same city that holds a massive dinosaur fossil museum, the canyon is also a ripe place for real fossils, having credit for holding up to 35 different species of dinosaurs, including: