Arizonan from Phoenix, RJ
Here are some tips to plan your visit.
Make your travel arrangements now to Nelis’ Dutch Village and the charming city of Holland, Michigan in time for Tulip Time. Tulip Time 2022 will take place from May 7 through May 15, 2022. Many of the well-known events from previous years are expected to return this year.
The Holland, Michigan, Tulip Time celebration, which celebrates flowers and enjoyment, has drawn visitors from all over the world since 1929. Since the commencement of the festival, Nelis’ Dutch Village and the Nelis family farm before it have been honored to participate.
Holland, Michigan received tulips along with Dutch settlers. At a meeting of the Woman’s Literary Club in 1927, a biology teacher from Holland High School suggested holding a day festival. The concept gained popularity, and the city began selling bulbs to locals for one penny in 1928. This led to the first Tulip Time celebration in 1929. The Detroit News of 1933 reports that Nelis Tulip Farm was used to buy the tulip bulbs during these early years.
The beautiful tulip
Tulips are a spring-blooming flower that only blooms for about 3 to 4 weeks before being replaced by annuals. Many visitors to Nelis’ Dutch Village expect to see tulips there all year round.
Tulips historically came from the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) and were brought to the Netherlands by Dutch traders in the 16th century.
The blossoms grew so well-liked that garden break-ins and bulb thefts became frequent occurrences. A financial bubble known as “Tulip Mania” that occurred in the middle of the sixteenth century resembled the recent crashes of the tech and real estate markets.
Tulips at Nelis’ Dutch Village
Each year, we plant more than 30,000 bulbs in more than 100 different tulip types for Tulip Time. The park is covered in beds with tulips.
While you can see a few lovely tulips from the outside of the park, for a truly unforgettable experience, you need enter the park.
Nelis’ Dutch Village stays open later during Tulip Time to accommodate visitors. During this wonderful week, come early or stay late.
When to Visit
May 7–15, 2022, are Festival days. It starts on May 7 and lasts until May 15 on Sunday.
With the reintroduction of parades, klompen dancers, shows, and performances, Tulip Time 2022 plans to recreate the thrilling event of previous years.
The two busiest days of the festival are always the Saturdays. We strongly advise visiting during the week if you can because you will escape the vast majority of crowds. You will have the best opportunity to see and appreciate the festival’s beauty queen, The Tulip, during the week.
Best Tulip Locations
Right here in Dutch Village, you can find one of the best places to watch tulips. However, we are aware that you’ll want to check out the other stunning tulip displays in the area.
Tulip Time, in contrast to other festivals, takes place all across Holland, Michigan, not simply in a fair park in the city center. Holland’s roadways are lined with Tulip lanes for six kilometres. There are numerous locations where you can see the amazing blooms.
During Tulip Time, Windmill Island Gardens, Riverview Park, and Kollen Park all feature breathtaking tulip displays. These bigger parks feature impressive displays and are less crowded than Centennial Park or Tulip Lane downtown.
Another notable tulip attraction is Veldheer’s Tulip Farm, which is on US-31 north of Nelis’ Dutch Village.
When are tulips in Holland, Michigan, blooming?
The park opens at 9 am and is open until 7 pm during Tulip Time, with tickets being sold until 6 pm. Only visitors who have purchased admission by 6pm will be permitted in, so please plan ahead. Due to the high volume of visitors on the weekends, there may be lineups to park in our lot and pay for entrance. Entry inside the park is not guaranteed without paying for admission. The remainder of our season, from April 18 to October 2, is from 9:30 am to 6 pm, with tickets being offered until 5 pm.
Our park is highly busy during Tulip Time, so to ensure access, we recommend going during the week or outside of Tulip Time. Tulips typically blossom both before and after the festival. Tulip Time weekends are particularly crowded, and our parking lot will be full. Weekdays are typically a little less hectic.
Our tulips typically start blooming in late April and continue until mid-May, however it is too early to determine when they will reach their peak. Instead of all blossoming at once, our tulips flow into color because to their variety.
To track the development of tulips throughout the city, go to the City of Holland’s Tulip Tracker HERE!
Adult admission costs $12, while children aged three to fifteen pay $6. To avoid dealing with actual cash, we advise visitors to use a credit card to make their payment.
Yes, we have a parking lot for 250 cars. Our causeway blocks incoming traffic when it is full until space becomes available. There is additional free parking in Downtown Holland, including a building on 7th Street between Columbia and College Avenues (just past our entrance on the right). It is a short distance from there to our ticket booth.
We are collaborating with Zeeland Public Schools to offer a FREE shuttle service on our causeway from 10 am to 7 pm on the Saturdays and Sundays of Tulip Time (May 7/8 & 14/15). Visitors won’t have to walk the entire two and a half miles to our entry location because a bus will pick them up at the top of our causeway (behind Freedom Village and the bus/train terminal). After their tour, it will take visitors back to the causeway’s top. In order to prevent congestion and harmful conditions on our causeway, we advise walkers to use this bus. Please be aware that only guests parked in the downtown area are eligible for this service (NOT our parking lot.)
Although we don’t presently sell advance tickets, visitors can buy a membership online HERE, which grants free access to our website as well as free or discounted access to dozens of other American Horticultural Society reciprocal gardens across the US and Canada. Please give your membership card two weeks to arrive. Keep in mind that there can still be queues to enter the park and the parking lot. We are unable to promise entry to the park during peak hours due to visitor quantity restrictions.
All of our structures and attractions are currently open, including:
tours of “De Zwaan” windmills. Visitors are welcome to have a socially disengaged, self-guided tour of the mill. To prevent crowding, a certain number of visitors are only permitted at once, and some locations have restrictions.
Tulips and a variety of other flowers and plants can be found in our lovely gardens and grounds.
All day long, ‘The Four Columns’ Amsterdam Street Organ will be played.
To ensure sufficient social distance, the Welkom Movie and Virtual Windmill Tour was relocated to Celebration Pavilion.
We will keep an eye on state health regulations to see if any adjustments are required.
There are only a few food alternatives available to us, including weekday food wagons and snacks from our gift shop. Boxed lunches will be offered in our pavilion every day on the weekends. Check out the many eateries and specialty festival vendors in the downtown area for delicious culinary selections.
We will abide by all regional, national, and local regulations that tell us how to operate and maintain our attractions.
Shared surfaces will be cleaned during the day by staff, with a complete cleaning done every evening and as needed. The park will have hand sanitizer available for both visitors and employees to use.
We kindly request that anyone who has COVID-19, has had contact with someone who has COVID-19 within the last two weeks, or is displaying any COVID-19 symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of sense of taste or smell) avoid going to our park at this time.
Yes, our gift shops have a variety of regional and Dutch mementos. Please be aware that at this time, mill products like flour and grits are not accessible.
Please consider becoming a member HERE to support our work. They provide free or discounted entrance to several gardens participating in the reciprocal arrangement with the American Horticultural Society, in addition to the Windmill Island Gardens. Donations are gratefully accepted HERE to support our future activities.
What month is ideal for viewing tulips in Holland?
To view the tulips at their best, visit The Netherlands in the middle of April. The tulip growing season lasts from the end of March to the middle of May, but the blossoms are often at their peak in the middle of April. At the Keukenhof near Lisse, more than 7 million flower bulbs emerge in the spring. It is among the best locations to find a wide variety of tulips. To see the tulips in all their splendor in rural fields, though, you really just need to board a train or grab a bicycle at this time of year.
Are tickets required for the Holland Michigan Tulip Festival?
The festival is held where? The Tulip Time Festival does not take place in a single, guarded area. The majority of the events and activities take place within a 4-mile radius of Downtown Holland over the course of 8 days in May. Public parks and the streets in the city’s center are free places to admire tulips.
No tickets are required to visit Holland, explore the area, or take in the sights. Even though the specific Tulip Time activities and events are over for 2022, there are still plenty of other things to do and see nearby.
Throughout the festival week and beyond, there are tulips and events at a lot of independent sites. Their own set of operation hours and admission conditions apply. Visit the Area Attractions page to learn more.
The fall of 2023 will see the announcement of information on shows and activities. Follow updates!
Holland’s Tulip Time Travel Guide
In West Michigan, springtime is synonymous with the Holland Tulip Festival, sometimes referred to as Tulip Time. The Holland Tulip Time Festival’s dates for this year are May 7–May 15, 2022.
This entails eight full days of a carnival, festivities, and events in and around Holland, Michigan, all set amidst tulip blossoms.
Holland Michigan Tulip Time Interactive Map
An interactive map of the Holland Tulip Festival activities and events is available at the bottom of the page. Along with restaurants, lodging options, and more, you’ll discover the best tulip viewing locations.
Celebrate Spring
There is no better way to mark the arrival of spring in Michigan than to witness more than 6 million tulips in full bloom. Tulips can be viewed for free in public parks and along downtown streets, and events and activities take place in various areas.
You won’t want to miss the Holland Michigan Tulip Festival, one of the most popular tourist attractions in North America. This enjoyable spring event has everything for everyone, including kid-friendly outdoor activities, Dutch dancing performances, endless tulip fields, and even a real Dutch windmill.
For the travel idea you were looking for, continue reading to learn more about organizing a trip, day trip, or road trip to see the more than 6 million tulips that decorate Holland, Michigan, during the Holland Michigan Tulip Festival.
Where in Holland can you see tulips the best?
Keukenhof. Keukenhof is the best location in Holland to view tulips. A 7 million flower bulb park called Keukenhof is encircled by tulip fields.
Is a trip to Holland, Michigan worthwhile?
Holland, Michigan, is a year-round community. Holland is a charming and extremely cultural town that is well worth a visit. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan (across the lake and a little to the north of Chicago).
Let me give you seven reasons why you HAVE TO go during Tulip Time before you book your vacation to the Holland Tulip Festival, also known as Holland Tulip Time. But first, some background information about the city I call home.