Discover the Badlands this fall

There are some new road trips available this fall that will allow visitors to discover the Canadian Badlands. Here are just a few of the options: !!! Drumheller, Alberta- No wonder Tom Cochrane filmed his hit tune, Life is a Highway, in the Canadian Badlands of South-Eastern Alberta. Less-travelled roads crisscross a 90,000 square kilometre prairie intersected by river valleys with incredible badland formations. Stretching east from Calgary to the Saskatchewan border and south to the US border state of Montana, the Canadian Badlands is the perfect fall road trip. Guided day trips and overnight packages include ghost town tours, theatre, a wine and food festival, and fall hiking. !!! The Rosebud Theatre attracts 40,000 annually to the hamlet of Rosebud (population: 100), one hour northeast of Calgary. Tuesdays with Morrie, the theatre’s latest production, opens Sept. 7 and continues until Oct. 20. The play is based on the bestselling book by Mitch Albom that sold 14 million copies worldwide. A fall theatre package includes theatre tickets, dinner for two, and inn accommodation, and starts at $261, double occupancy. ( http://www.rosebudtheatre.com/visitor-info-stay-and-play-packages.html . !!! Echoes of the Badlands, a new pilot tour takes visitors to three ghost towns and the Atlas Coal Mine, a national historic site, in Drumheller Valley, a half hour east of Rosebud. The October 18, 2012 guided bus tour leaves from Drumheller and includes lunch and afternoon tea. The cost is $75 per person. ( http://www.canadianbadlands.com/cbl/tours/view_tour.jsp?id=31 ) . !!! In Cypress Hills, hike by day and enjoy wine-paired dining by night. Canada’s only inter-provincial park straddles the Alberta- Saskatchewan border, four hours east of Calgary. Fifty kilometres (31 miles) of trails run through the park including the TransCanada Trail. The 8th Annual Wine Festival in the Hills takes place on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, 2012 at the Elkwater Lake Lodge in the park. International wines are paired with lodge cuisine. Festivities begin Friday night. Packages include two nights of accommodation, meals and tastings.áBased on double occupancy, the packages areápriced from $395 per person.áZipline adventures, golf, and horseback riding excursions can be added. ( http://www.elkwaterlakelodge.com/promos-a-specials ) For more on the Canadian Badlands, go to http://canadabadlands.com/2012/08/hiking-in-alberta/ . The Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL) is a not-for-profit Alberta Corporation providing a new and innovative approach to creating an integrated, destination-based tourism industry in South-Eastern Alberta. CBL is the largest co-operative regional partnership of municipal governments in Alberta with 65 municipalities as its shareholders. ( http://www.canadianbadlands.com ).