One of the greatest sights during spring in the Pacific Northwest is the blooming tulips and daffodils in the Skagit Valley. Please read below for the best time to visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and other tips for your visit. These are a few things I learned after visiting the festival over several of my years living in the lovely Pacific Northwest.
Best Time to Visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
In the last few years, the best bloom time has been the first 3 weeks of April, although this varies from year to year.
Although there was a warm winter in 2018 and there were daffodils blooming by mid-March, the second half of March was cold and this delayed the tulip blooms. The prime tulip blooms in 2018 was the last 3 weeks of April. For 2019, due to snow and cold in February, the blooms were a little later.
Due to incredible traffic (more on avoiding this later), it’s best to visit mid-week.
I also recommend visiting early in the morning. You can arrive and photograph the free fields in the morning light, and then head over to one of the main tulip gardens for 9am opening time.
Another alternative is to do some hiking at Deception Point State Park, and arrive to the tulips in later afternoon (keep in mind the 5pm garden closure time). Then you can check out the free tulip fields and stay for sunset. Some of my favorite photographs are the tulips are from sunset time.
Prepare Your Visit
Get a copy of the printable map available at the very excellent official festival website http://tulipfestival.org/. Check their calendar for events that might be of interest.
What to See
The two main places to see tulips are at Tulip Town and Roozengaard. In 2018, both places open on March 30th. These places have huge parking lots and admission fees to see the best, most varied colored tulips along with displays, windmills, gardens, and activities. Here you can enter the field for as many pictures as you want (leave your drones at home). In the past years, there was another field on Young Road that also had great colors and a small parking fee. The best place to see free tulips is along Coleman Road, where there are some small parking areas and an ample road shoulder, but these tulips are limited to red, purple, and yellow hues. Bring your camera because you will take many photos at the tulip fields of Skagit Valley.
Avoiding Traffic
TRAFFIC IS BAD, BAD, BAD. Especially if you visit on the weekend. 1000’s of cars are looking for parking so they can enjoy the beautiful tulips. Be aware of the entry point into the main parking lots… you can only enter from the north to both Tulip Town and Roozengaard as the parking lots are on the west side of the road and no left turns are allowed. If you see a long line of cars…that’s the line to get into these places. If you’re just trying to move about the area, make sure you don’t drive southbound on Bradshaw or Beaver Marsh Roads or you will get stuck in these lines. It’s not unheard of to wait an hour to go a mile.
Exiting to return to Seattle causes another bad back up on the 2-laned Fir Island Road. Everyone sees that on the map and correctly surmises it’s the shortest distance to Seattle…but not the shortest time to Seattle. I recommend you either find something else to do to (See “Other Stuff to Do” below) or wait until the traffic dies down, or head north to Highway 20 to get on the Interstate from that 4-lane highway.
Bring Your Bike
A great way to visit the area is by bicycle. The roads in this area are super flat (it is like the Netherlands, you know!). If you do go by bike, consider going mid week and keep your eye on the traffic.
Other Stuff to Do
There is so much to do in this area in addition to the tulips. Within a 20-mile radius you have places such as:
- Wineries
- Gardens/Nurseries
- Antique Shops
- Farms (Alpaca, pigs, etc)
- Northern State Recreation Area. Go to this park just east of Sedro Woolley to do some easy walks in the woods and visit the abandoned buildings of the farm at the old Northern State mental hospital.
- Deception Pass State Park & Bridge. Here’s a bunch of hikes near Deception Pass.
- Padilla Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This was a new discovery for me on my last visit to Skagit. Take Bayview-Edison Road a few miles north of Highway 20 to this educational museum and aquarium and then take a walk out to the protected coastline of the bay.
What to Eat
If visiting the first three weeks of April, you can’t beat the Kiwanis Salmon Bake. $15 for wild Salmon and fixings and the proceeds go towards programs for the youth programs of Skagit Valley.
Where to Stay
Coming from out of town or want to stay longer? The closest town is Mount Vernon, but Burlington and Sedro Woolley are less than 10 miles away and Anacortes is a cute city on the sound. (check availability and prices).
Visiting Skagit Valley in March
If you hate traffic and love Daffodils, you might consider visiting in March. I visited on a Friday in mid-March and there were many more workers than photographers in the fields. Three of the Daffodil fields were in full bloom. Another advantage of March is the incredible winter bird life – tens of thousands of Snow Geese and hundreds of Trumpeter Swans. Fir Island, the bit of land sandwiched between 2 branches of the Skagit River, off I-5 exit 221 is an excellent place to view them. There are a couple gravel roads leading south from Fir Island Road and Maupin Road to state wildlife areas (Discover Pass needed). Additionally, birds may be found in the fields along Fir Island and Moore Roads.
Do You Love Tulips as Much as I Do?
Shop tulips at amazon…
When do you think is the best time to visit Skagit Valley Tulip Festival? Comment below.
If you love tulips but you’re in the midwest, check out the tulips in Holland, MI or Tulip Time in Pella, IA.
Or visit the other tulip fest in the Pacific Northwest – the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest in Woodburn, OR.
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1 comments
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