Midland Provincial Park, Provincial park in Drumheller, Canada.
Midland Provincial Park is a protected area near Drumheller, Alberta, covering open grassland, wooded hillsides, and riverbanks along the Red Deer River. Walking trails wind through the grounds and pass the remains of a former coal mining operation from the early 20th century.
The area became an active coal mining district in the late 19th century, drawing workers from across Canada and Europe. After mining activity ended, the site was converted into a public provincial park.
The park occupies the former Midland Coal Mine, where an explosion in the mid-1920s killed several miners. The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology now stands on the site, and the old mine workings remain visible. The park is 6 km west of Drumheller on Highway 838.
The park is easy to reach by car and has a clearly marked entrance off the main road. Comfortable walking shoes are a good idea, as some trails cross uneven ground and slopes.
In several spots across the park, rock layers contain fossils from a time when the area lay under a shallow inland sea. These layers sit right beside the coal mining remains, making two very different chapters of the earth's past visible within a short walk of each other.
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