Are you obsessed with beautiful valley landscape filled with millions of colorful tulips and flowers? You don’t want to miss this Festival of Tulips.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon, near to Seattle is perfect destination for one obsessed with fields of colorful tulips and flowers. It is one of the largest Tulip Festival in North America and most popular Instagram hot spot. I am big time fan of flowers and tulips.
I kept watching on Tulip Bloom schedule from few months for planning my trip to Skagit Valley. This is my third visit in row followed from last 2 years. And I hope to continue this. The tulip fields in Holland are on my bucket list but I never miss the chance of enjoying whats local to me and that is Skagit Valley Tulip Fields .
Tulip Bloom Festival in Skagit Valley is at travel time of 90 minutes in North of Seattle adjacent to I-5, 60 miles north of Seattle and 70 miles south of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Skagit Valley in Mount Vernon has the largest tulip fields in North America where Millions of Tulips bloom in variety of colors and mixed color and has more than 150 flower varieties grown for display.Tulip blooms are harbinger of Spring. Skagit Valley has great climatic condition perfect for Tulips to grow with adequate Sun light and cool climate.
Skagit County is famous for Tulip Festival, Wine/Beer Festival, Spur Festival, Bellingham Sea Feast Festival and many more. Among other festivals The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of biggest festival in Washington state, awaited events in Pacific Northwest starting from month of April, lasting for a month time, also depending on climatic conditions.
What to expect in Tulip Festival?
The Tulip fields are located centrally between La Connor and Mount Vernon with special other events scattered miles apart. The festival is spread across the valley with largest flower bulb growers like Washington Bulb Co, Roozengaarde and Tulip Town. There are many sites to view Tulips and Tulip fields are scattered through the Valley. Because of crop rotation,every year the Display garden and Tulip fields are completely redesign and planned to provide unique pattern, splendid floral sights and magnificent colorful scenes. So, if you visited last time some years back, it will be totally different this year.
Tulip Festival is well designed to accommodate various Special events and small-town fun packed activities – Arts, crafts fair, wine tasting, food vendors, live entertainment show, children activities that are accessible by bicycle or driving. Among other events, Mount Vernon Street Fair in Downtown Mount Vernon is one of the significant events full of fun for families and all age group people. Many small towns and farmhouses in the valley sell goods, fresh produce and flowers along the roads.
It is a small farm town with two lanes road so traffic can go crazy at peak times. There is small change in Admission/ Entrance fee compare to last year 2018. For 2019, It’s $10 on weekend, $7 weekday. Children 5 years and under are free.
When to visit Tulip Festival?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is a perfect destination for either a day trip or a longer stay in Puget Sound Region. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival starts from April 1st to April 30th with some fields opening from March 30 and can last till first week of May. The exact bloom dates are always according to Mother Nature. There’s no set date for flowers bloom as it depends on weather in late winter/early spring. The bloom status is updated on their website, so travelers can make plans to visit both the Daffodil fields and famous Tulips fields. Daffodil fields can be visited in month of March.
Important Tips to keep in mind if you planning to visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
- Dress in Layers. For changing weather, its always best to dress in layers. Carry Rain Coats or waterproof jackets or clothes. Pack extra clothes for small kids. Do carry your Umbrella, it helps if it starts raining or to have some good photos.
- Carry Back Pack or Cross Body Bag. I always carry my Cross Body bag whenever on walking tour as I find it comfortable to put my mobile, camera and pull it out when perfect spot for photo shoot. I also carry some protein bar to grab when ruining over meal time.
- Wear good shoes. Wear comfortable trail or walking shoes if you like to stroll each corner of Tulip field. If you are visiting the Tulip festival during Rain, make sure you carry your old shoes or Rain Boots and rain jacket with you. This year in 2019, there was break in the rain, so fields were not as muddy and slippery as during my previous visit. Last year in 2018 When I visited there, Tulip fields were very slippery and muddy due to rainfall in morning. At end of my trip in tulip fields, my black long boots turned out with nice yellow muddy stains. One good thing of visiting during rain is whole field is yours to photograph and you get beautiful photo shoots of rain drops on Tulips and other flowers. It’s photographers Paradise.
- Bring Cash. Entrance fee for Adults is $7.00 each on weekday. Children age 6 and under free. Pets are not allowed in gardens. No Drones too. Admission for the garden is only charged during the spring bloom period. RoozenGaarde tickets can-not be used at Tulip Town and vice versa. Cash is good to have to shop at food trucks or local baked foods, find parking spots by paying cash in nearby walkable distance to tulip fields. They do accept Credit/Debit card for entrance fee, but the queue is too big for it. Better pay cash and move in fast. Tulip fields open at 9.00 am daily in April.
- Vehicle Parking. Free Parking is available at two gardens, RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town. It is hard to find parking spot at time of festival specially weekends. You can find parking spots if you arrive earlier than rest of the crowd. Do not park on side of road or anywhere you like, high chances of getting towed or damaging the fields or sidewalks.
- Private Parking. Nearby Landowners or Residential home owners provide parking space and charge for it. The money you pay cannot be used for admission to Tulip Fields or other parking.
- Charged up your Mobile and Camera batteries – To enjoy uninterrupted photoshoot, bring extra batteries or power bank to keep your mobile or Camera charged and keep them handy. You don’t want to run back to Car from the field.
- Pack enough snacks. With small kids always, carry some snacks and water in your back pack or Purse, when touring the Tulip fields. Once you get lost in colorful beauties, It may take hours to return to nearest food stop or your car. Weekends are crowded, and traffic jammed. Better to have snacks and water in your car.
- Have Field maps handy – Download map of the fields or you can visit Mount Vernon’s visitor center and pick one.
- Watch for Signs to walk & Do not damage the flowers– Entering the tulip row lanes in field is not allowed. Avoid entering tulip rows as it will damage the soil around the plants and may hinder the plant.
By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower. Rabindranath Tagore .
- Daffodils festival in March– If you are a Daffodil lover, then March is the time for La Conner Daffodil Festival. The three major varieties planted are Dutch Master, Flower Carpet and Standard Value – Dutch Master is the world’s most popular daffodil. Fields of daffodils are left intact through the bloom cycle and beyond, unlike tulips which are ‘topped’ toward the end of their bloom cycle. You can be lucky to find Daffodils and lilies in April if mother nature permits the weather.
- Tulip Bloom Map. To get the best view of the colorful bloomed tulips, Check out the Tulip Bloom Map before planning your trip to Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, Mount Vernon so you can plan for the fields to visit and find the parking options.
- Variety of Events during festival. There are many special events that are scheduled and coincides with Tulip Festival. Check out theList of Events so you can better plan your trip.
Famous Fields at Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
- The RoozenGaarde /The Washington Bulb Company. RoozenGaarde has a beautiful 5-acre display garden that is planted with million tulip bulbs and displays an authentic Windmill! It is located along Beaver Marsh Road. If you love Daffodils, there are many Daffodil fields that you can visit.
- Tulip Town, along Bradshaw Road. Another colorful tulip field with a windmill.
Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get. H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
To all dedicated hard-working farmers and staff behind creating these magical gardens at RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town.
Other Places to Visit in Mount Vernon
- La Conner. Many places to visit in this small town.
- Whale watching trips in nearby coastal towns.
- Big Four Ice Caves (Granite Falls). Hike to Ice Caves
- North Cascades National Park. Diablo Lake, Ross Lake. Many trails for hiking.
- Deception Pass (Whidbey Island). Deception Pass Bridge, Deception Pass State Park
Plan your adventure to Tulip Fields.
By Car. It’s easy to reach the Skagit Valley in Mount Vernon. Driving from Seattle or Bellevue its takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach there traveling the distance of 60-66 miles. The Tulip festival caters many other special events and attractions that are miles apart and scattered throughout Lower Skagit Valley. It is like a driving tour.
By Train – You can book your tickets and travel by Amtrak service and reach to Mount Vernon and this can be a very enjoyable journey to the festival. On arrival, one needs to rent a car from train station to Tulip fields. There are no shuttles or tours from the train station.
By Bicycle. Many travelers enjoy traveling the tulip route on bicycle. Most of the Events, attractions and Tulip fields, display gardens are easily accessible by bikes and cycles. There are facilities that offer rental bikes.
By Helicopter. To get a bird’s eye view of magical colorful Tulips and Daffodil fields.
By Guided Tours. Travelers coming from different places can opt for Guided tours. There are many guided tours starting from Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Renton. You need to meet at a specified point and board the tour bus. Some Tour Operators provide hotel pickup. Relax and enjoy you travel and the stops include lunch at La Conner and Tulip field stops.
Whether it rain or shine, Tulip fields are always pleasure to eyes and heart. Tulip Bulb Catalog is available for free at RoozenGaarde. You can choose your favorite tulips and buy for your home, garden or for your friends.
Stay and Accommodations
If you want to stay near Skagit Valley during the Tulip Bloom Festival, then there are many options of Hotels, Resorts and Bed & Break Fast.
Don’t worry if you cannot afford a flight to Netherlands for Tulips bloom, you can surely visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
Enjoy the Skagit Valley Tulip festival and have fun and capture beautiful moments in Tulip fields.! If you have any questions, please post in the comments below.
Tulips are bloomed for the season. I visited Skagit Valley Tulip Fields in April 2019.
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