Important Information: Some Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival activities and events may not be offered in 2022 due to the current pandemic and social distance constraints. Visit their website for additional details.
The greatest time to visit tulip fields in the Portland, Oregon area is during the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. The event is hosted every year at the 40-acre tulip farm known as Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. The Wooden Shoe Farm is a fantastic location for viewing tulip fields in the spring and is well worth the trek from Portland!
I made sure I didn’t miss the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival since we were unable to travel to the Netherlands the previous spring. (Can you blame us for choosing Paris over Amsterdam?) But as a result, I was quite eager to see some tulips! I mean, how could you not, especially after learning (later) during your visit to Amsterdam that the Dutch Golden Age’s economic collapse was caused by tulip bulbs.
Fun Fact: Tulips were originally from central Asia but didn’t find popularity until they reached the Netherlands.
On my subsequent trip to Portland, I made sure to stop by the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival! It’s a fantastic stop if you’re heading to Portland on the weekend (or for a few days), and it’s especially ideal for a half-day or day excursion from Portland, as you’ll learn in this post.
PRO TIP: Visit the Woodburn Premium Outlets for some bargain shopping if you’re hoping to make a day trip out of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival!
Do you enjoy admiring lovely flower fields? Visit the Californian Pageo Lavender Farm.
How long do Oregon’s tulips bloom?
Online ticket sales are required for the 2022 festival. At the entrance, tickets are not available. Please check the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm website for the most recent information.
Although the Waterfront Park in downtown Portland experiences a spectacular cherry blossom bloom every year, Woodburn, located just 32 miles (51 kilometers) south of Portland, experiences an even more vibrant flower display every spring. Each spring, hundreds of people flock to view the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, which blooms acres upon acres of tulips in full bloom.
What months do tulips bloom?
Bulb flowers that bloom in the early to mid-season include tulip bulbs. This indicates that the blooming season in the Portland area lasts from March to May. The majority of the tulips bloom during mid-April during the Tulip Festival, which takes place from mid-March through early May. Do not wait too long to play in these fields because the blooms only remain for around 2 weeks.
How much does it cost to get into the tulip festival?
Individual day passes cost $15 on weekends and $10 during the week. Individual season passes start at $40, while family car permits can cost between $35 and $50. Please check the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival website for the most recent information as details are subject to change.
Can I bring my dog to the tulip festival?
The farm requests that you clean up after your pet and that you keep friendly pets on a leash. Please be considerate and make sure your pet enjoys being around others because many people opt to bring their furry pals.
Is food sold at the festival?
On weekends, there are a few extra vendors who add to the daily variety of food selections. The majority of the shops accept debit or credit cards, however if you need cash, there is an ATM on the premises. There are picnic tables available for use, and families are invited to bring their own food. The tasting room sells local beer and wine from Wooden Shoe Vineyards.
Does the festival close during rain?
Rain is practically a given in the Pacific Northwest, so the festival is held rain or shine. However, many kid-friendly activities, like bouncy castles and balloon artists, depend on the weather. Remember that rain produces mud puddles, so make sure to carry an umbrella and wear footwear that may get dirty.
Beyond the lovely tulips, the proprietors of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm have added a gift shop, a café, and family-friendly entertainment in the shape of a kids’ section (complete with a “cow train for rides through the flower fields, rubber duck races, and pony rides). Gardeners can acquire bulbs for fall planting in addition to fresh-cut flowers and potted tulips, and even the most inexperienced photographers can produce stunning images. You just can’t go wrong when you have 40 acres (16 ha) of tulips, a windmill, and Mount Hood in the foreground. For a complete listing of festival offers and activities, visit the family farm’s website.
Daily field reports highlight conditions (whether muddy or dry) and provide bloom updates (early to in full bloom).
Where can I see tulips at their best?
The Bollenstreek, or bulb district, is the greatest location to visit in the Netherlands if you want to enjoy the tulips.
Between Leiden, The Hague, and Haarlem is a region known as The Bollenstreek. The cities of Lisse, Hillegom, Katwijk, Noordwijk, Noordwijkerhout, and Teylingen are located in this region, and the flower industry is thriving there.
The Dutch town of Lisse is where you can also locate the Keukenhof. Although it is commercial, I nevertheless urge you to visit at least once in your lifetime. The park is truly a tulip heaven with over 7 million tulips!
Go to the countryside between Hillegom and Warmond to find more tranquil spots. Amazing flower fields can be found there. Rainbow-patterned flower fields are waiting, ranging in color from blue to white or stunningly purple to orange.
In other words, if you don’t mind paying, go to the Keukenhof; if you can’t afford it, go to the fields nearby. You can be sure that you’ll see lots of those lovely tulips with either of these alternatives!
Where in Oregon are tulips grown?
Tulip festivals are enjoyed by tulip enthusiasts around. Travel to Woodburn, Oregon if you ever have the chance to attend one of my favorite events, the annual Tulip Fest at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. It occurs between the end of March and the beginning of May, with many types blooming at various times creating a constantly shifting color spectacular.
The Farm is a family-run enterprise, and the Iversons have been cultivating tulips in Oregon’s Willamette Valley for 40 years. This region is renowned for its moderate climate and rich soil. The festival features a number of kiosks offering regional crafts, a kids’ play area, a train trip with special wooden shoe cars, cutouts for selfies, and a selection of savory and sweet meals. The field excursion, though, was by far the most thrilling (at least for me).
You can get closer and closer to a rainbow of vibrant hues by taking a short stroll. There is a different variety in each row. The beautiful Mt. Hood is visible towards the horizon where the fields appear to go on forever. As if it were possible, painters put up easels at one end to attempt to capture the splendor. Kids with limitless energy joyously run up and down the rows, testing the ability of their parents to keep up. A tall platform was built at the opposite end; if you climb to the top, a stunning view will be your reward. It provided you with a fresh viewpoint of the enormous, vivid fields below, although not being exactly bird’s eye.
After the foliage has faded down in June, tulip bulbs are collected. Bulb planting in nets is one method that facilitates harvesting. The nets are raised while digging, replete with bulbs. This technique keeps track of varieties, expedites harvesting, and removes less bulbs from the field after harvest.
Where can I go for free to observe tulips?
Here are some more free tulip fields in the Netherlands for you to enjoy if you’re looking for more locations to take advantage of the tulip bounty.
Tulips in Amsterdam
It’s likely that if you’re visiting the Netherlands for the first time, you’ll end up in Amsterdam.
The city does grow tulips in designated areas in honor of its annual tulip festival, which is held during the entire month of April, even if there aren’t any enormous, “far as the eye can see fields of tulips running through the city (one could hope, right?).
With over 80 participating venues, your chances of finding a display or two are good, but you can get a complete list on the festival’s website by clicking here.
- The Museum of Van Gogh
- Rijksmuseum
- Exhibit Van Loon
- Vondelpark
- The Tulip Museum of Amsterdam
PS: The renowned Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market) is another great place to get your fill of tulips, however I must admit that I don’t particularly enjoy how touristy it is.
Cycling the The Flower Strip
The Flower Strip, a funny name they’ve given the highway from Haarlem to Leiden, is another option to enjoy free tulip fields in the Netherlands.
There are signposted routes that, according to what I’ve heard, are fairly foolproof that take you past all the vibrant tulip fields you’ve always imagined over this 35 kilometer stretch of level terrain.
Many choose to take this trip beginning in Haarlem, which is about 20 minutes by rail from Amsterdam, while taking the route only in part is also an option (see below).
The free tulip fields around Keukenhof and Lisse
Here’s another lazy option if you don’t feel like cycling the full Flower Strip.
There are many stunning, vast tulip fields nearby Keukenhof that are free for you to admire. You can take public transportation to Keukenhof, rent bikes there, and then set off on one of the four clearly indicated cycling paths to see various fields.
Remember not to cycle through the fields destroying everything in your path if you lose all sense of reason. Respect the boundaries, refrain from trespassing, and exercise caution when taking pictures.
Free Tulip Fields in Kop van Noord-Holland
The location of the largest flower bulb field in the world and where many residents allegedly choose to go tulip hunting on their own.
This beautiful region, which can be reached by train from Amsterdam and is located north of the city, is home to beaches, cute tiny towns (like everywhere else in the Netherlands), and lots of flowers.
What season is ideal for visiting Tulip Festival?
The event, which is held every year throughout the month of April and occasionally, if you’re lucky, even into May, is sponsored by two of the valley’s biggest tulip growers: Roozengarde and Tulip Town. Garden Rosalyn is a brand-new addition to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival gardens for 2022!
Fun Fact: More tulip, iris, and daffodil bulbs are produced in Skagit County than in any other area in the United States.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival takes place in 2022 between March 25 and May 1 at Roozengarde, between April 130 and both Tulip Town and Garden Rosalyn. Having said that, the flowers are reliant on Mother Nature, so they might blossom at any point in April. If the blossoms occur early in 2022, the tulip festival may potentially get underway before April.
The Best Time to Visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in 2022
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is held in Roozengarde between March 25 and May 1, 2022, and at Tulip Town and Garden Rosalyn between April 1 and 30, 2022, thus the best time to go would undoubtedly be in April.
The tulips were still stunning when we went in the last week of April in 2019, but my coworker said that the best time to go is in the middle of April when they will be at their best. However, keep in mind that these projections are just loose and heavily influenced by the weather.
You might even be able to see the daffodils in bloom if you go earlier in the month, in early April. They often bloom a little sooner than tulips, but sadly we missed seeing those.
ADVICE: If you have the chance to visit during the week, take it! There are fewer people and fewer crowds, and entrance to the display gardens is less expensive.
It is still possible to visit on the weekend, but you should arrive as early as you can to avoid traffic and congestion. When we got there around 10 o’clock, most of the tulip fields were deserted.
Fun Fact: If you leave the tulips blooming past their peak for too long, it ruins the bulbs. That’s why you might see cut stems in the fields if you’re visiting later in the season.
The tulips normally have passed their full bloom stage by the time you visit too late in the season and will soon be wilting. Read about our trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in May to see for yourself what happens if you visit tulip farms too late in the season, as I did.
Tulips normally bloom around April, though depending on the weather, they can begin as early as March and last as late as May.
How to Get to Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
When we went, we arrived early in the morning by a flight from San Francisco to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), rented a car, and then proceeded directly up to the Skagit Valley.
The distance is about 75 miles and the travel time via Interstate 5 North from the Seattle airport. It is approximately about 60 miles and a one-hour drive away from Seattle.
Without taking into account crossing the border (because, let’s face it, nobody really knows how long it will take), the trip from Vancouver to the tulip festival is south on Interstate 5 and should take about 1 hour and 45 minutes for a distance of 135 kilometres.
We encountered traffic on the way back into the city, making the trip home 2 hours long. You’ve been forewarned in writing about that weekend traffic!
ADVICE: If traffic is heavy, take exit 221 off I-5 North at Highway 534 in Conway to avoid it when entering the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Then take Fir Island Road to the west and ascend Best Road to reach the tulips.
What types of flowers can be seen at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival? Where can I see all of these flowers in the Skagit Valley?
Obviously, tulips! Otherwise, why are you going to the tulip festival? The majority of the tulip fields around Mount Vernon, Washington, are owned by Roozengarde and Tulip Town. Outside of the actual fields, each company has a display of its own.
Display gardens at Roozengarde are more akin to Keukenhof in the Netherlands. They spend a great deal of time and energy developing their floral arrangements. You’ll find well-kept, orderly-planted, and manicured gardens here. Tulips of various varieties, planted in various patterns around trees, as well as windmills used as decorations, may be seen. In the back of the property, however, there are also the customary rows of tulip fields.
ADVICE: At Roozengarde, pay your admission with cash! You might be able to move through the line more quickly. For the year 2021, all tickets must be ordered online and in advance due to regulations governing public health and safety.
Fun Fact: The crops get rotated annually. Because of this, the tulip fields will be different every year.
The tulip fields in Tulip Town are more open and come in a variety of colors. In addition, they provide tractor van rides, and kids were flying kites on the grassy area. By the entrance, there is a fantastic interior exhibit that details the development of tulip farming in the Netherlands.
The only restrooms available at Roozengarde and Tulip Town are portable toilets. You’ll need to travel into town if you’re looking for genuine restrooms.
Fun Fact: There are many varieties of tulips that are planted each year. Some variations bloom earlier or later than others, depending on when you visit you may be seeing different flowers.
Contrary to popular assumption, the fields don’t only have tulips; some of them also have daffodils. But to do that, you’ll need to go in March, early in the season. Additionally, there is the La Conner Daffodil Festival, which lasts the entire month of March.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival’s interactive map of various fields owned by various farmers is one of its outstanding features. You can usually identify which fields are about to bloom, in bloom, or past bloom from the map. The pre- and post-bloom fields are typically portrayed in gray, while the in-bloom fields are typically displayed in color.
View the Skagit Valley live bloom map in the section below! Daffodils and tulips are both represented by the flower emblems.
PRO TIP: When they are in bloom, you can easily find both types of flowers nearby because the map covers tulip and daffodil fields.