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During the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, boys play amid stunning tulip fields. JiaYing Grygiel is to blame.
It is tulip season! The popular annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington will take place again in 2022, and tulip hotspots RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town will again welcome guests to see their stunning fields. Rosalyn Garden is a recent arrival on the tulip scene. The daffodils are in full bloom, and the tulips are coming. Online tickets are currently available. The celebration is held every day of April, seven days a week.
What you need to know about the 2022 tulip festival
This year, tickets for RoozenGaarde, Tulip Town, and Garden Rosalyn can be purchased in person or in advance online. However, farms are urging guests to purchase tickets in advance. As they discovered the previous year, it greatly aids in traffic management. Choose a day and time for your online ticket, and once you enter, you are free to remain as long as you wish.
The state has removed the mask requirement this year, but dogs and drones are still not permitted on farms.
The cost of admission to RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town remains basically unchanged from the previous year. Tickets for RoozenGaarde are $15 per person; children under 2 are admitted free. Ages 12 and above pay $16.29 for Tulip Town tickets; those aged 611 pay $7.60; and those under 5 are admitted free. Tickets for Garden Roslayn cost $13 per person. In addition to the admission fee, parking is available.
If the weather permits, a trolley trip is included with Tulip Town admission. Three acres of flowerbeds, a café with a beer and wine garden, and a sizable field for kite flying are also available (bring your own or buy one on-site).
In contrast, RoozenGaarde offers a five-acre display garden, 20 acres of daffodils, and 25 acres of tulips.
Tulip gardens grown in artistic shapes may be seen at Garden Roslayn, along with a duck pond home to various waterfowl.
Dressing for the weather
The tulips are always lovely, rain or shine. But bear in mind that this festival is an outdoor event, these are working farms, and ticket sales are final. Tickets are understandably non-refundable; otherwise, image the returns nightmare the farmers would experience. This year, however, you have up to 48 hours before your scheduled entry time to change the day and time of your visit.
Parents in the Northwest are aware that farms and spring may both bring mud. both jointly? You should pack all the necessary supplies and a ton of dry clothing.
You won’t see this anywhere else in the country
According to Washington State University’s Skagit County Extension, the Skagit Valley is home to three-quarters of the country’s commercial tulip farms. Skagit County grows more tulips and daffodils than any other county in the nation, on an area of more than 1,000 acres. There are a lot of flowers there.
Regardless of the numbers, the flower fields are stunning. You could drive 60 miles north from the Seattle region to Mount Vernon, which is floral nirvana, or you could take a flight to the Netherlands.
The best time to go
The fields are a brilliant yellow with daffodils before the tulips. Around the beginning of April, tulips start to bloom, and mid-April is usually when they reach their height. Mother Nature will ultimately determine that, so for updates, check the festival’s bloom status information.
Before midday on a weekday, reserve a ticket if you prefer less crowded times. The days with the worst weather are the ones that are least busy.
Tough times for tulip farmers
Every April, the festival draws about 300,000 people to Skagit Valley. The entire festival was abruptly postponed until 2020.
According to Brent Roozen, his farm generates between 80 and 90 percent of its annual revenue during the spring bloom. He is a third-generation tulip producer; his grandfather, William Roozen, founded RoozenGaarde after leaving Holland in 1947.
In order to comply with pandemic laws for the 2021 season, the farms reopened to the public with mask requirements, sanitizing stations, and a constrained capacity. The border with Canada was still only open for essential transit, but Americans who like seeing tulips got to enjoy the stunning scenery.
The Skagit Valley was then ravaged by unprecedented flooding in November. Two acres of field tulips were lost in Tulip Town, two miles to the west of RoozenGaarde.
According to Kristen Keltz, CEO of Spinach Bus Ventures, which manages Tulip Town, “Mother Nature packed a hit for us.”
This year, it will still be a fantastic experience. Just a tiny bit diverse from earlier years.
You may relax knowing that your festival ticket purchase this year will benefit small, family-run companies in Washington when you do. You’ll return home with a ton of Instagrammable pictures no matter what.
Snack time
Both farms have food available for purchase in case the troops go hungry. A concession stand serving burgers, hot dogs, kettle corn, and fudge is located at Roozengaarde.
Hot dogs, soups, local ice cream, speciality espresso drinks, and a beer and wine garden are available in Tulip Town’s cafe.
If amenities are important to you, keep in mind that the farms only have port-a-potties with hand-washing stations.
In-town dining
For grab-and-go deli products in town, we prefer the Skagit Valley Food Co-op (202 S. First St., Mount Vernon). You can get incredibly cheap burgers at The Chuckwagon Drive-In (800 N. Fourth St., Mount Vernon) while also enjoying the model train that runs through the dining area.
When will the Skagit Valley be covered in tulips?
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.
How many days are there in the Skagit tulip festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which takes place from April 1 to 30, is a must-attend event for visitors to the Pacific Northwest. It honors the blooming of millions of tulips. The tulips bloom at their own time during the festival, as with other things controlled by Mother Nature. The tulips give us the chance to introduce the globe to our region and the agriculture of the Skagit Valley.
To administer our office and organize our festival activities, we rely on a large volunteer base.
Due to the lack of people, our festival is planned as a driving tour “a place to enter. Both the festival’s numerous events and activities, as well as the tulip fields, are dispersed throughout the Skagit Valley. Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde/Washington Bulb Co., Inc. grow tulips in the tulip fields. The fields are in various locations every year because of crop rotation. Visitors can admire and take pictures of displays of tulips in gardens at RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town.
We hope you take pleasure in participating in one of the numerous events and activities that take place exclusively in April.
As the event moves forward, we anticipate welcoming visitors from all across the United States and the globe. In a “We happily welcome guests from all 50 states and more than 85 international nations on an annual basis.
Are there tulips in Skagit Valley in 2022?
MOUNT VERON, Washington The Skagit Valley is once again covered with stunning fields of vibrant tulips and daffodils, signaling the arrival of spring in western Washington.
After the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival went virtual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, this is the second year that guests are let back onto the fields for the festival.
The festival attracts visitors from all 50 states as well as more than 85 other nations in a “typical year,” according to the festival website.
You should be aware of the following before attending the annual event:
How much does a trip to Tulip Town cost?
To provide you the best possible tulip experience, Tulip Town will be opening earlier and staying open longer in addition to transitioning to online ticketing.
General Admission, Experience Pass, and Photography Pass are the three available passes. $15 for those aged 12 and over, $7 for those aged 6 to 11, and free for those under the age of 5. The cost of a fresh Anytime ticket has increased to $25. (one full day admission, not time reservation necessary).
The Tulip Bloom field, tulip gardens, indoor tulip exhibit, and barn experience are all included in the General Admission price, along with parking and a trolley trip. The $50 Experience pass includes everything in General Admission as well as a mini-workshop and escorted entrance into the field where you will be shown how to pick your own bouquet. It also comes with a mini-workshop and a concierge service. Along with a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, you’ll return home with your prized blooms and insider knowledge from the Tulip Town pros! The Photography Admission, last but not least, costs $100 for a day pass and $375 for a season pass. The tulip field and gardens are only accessible with a Photography Pass between the hours of sunrise and sunset and throughout regular business hours.