Some of you who have known me for a while know that I am a complete tulip nerd. I grew up in an area that had/has quite a few people with Dutch heritage. There, tulips were almost synonymous with the concept of Spring. Many folks planted tulips in their yards, went to a local tulip festival, and I even played and marched 5 or 6 years in my schools’ bands in the tulip festival parade.

I love the shape, the colors/patterns, and the various types of tulips. So the first Fall after my husband and I purchased our first house, I decided to plant 300+ tulip bulbs in our yard. My husband helped, of course, and it took about a two weeks of evenings and weekends to get it all done. I was so pumped to see them bloom the next Spring. Feeling accomplished and still pumped, I went to my local public library and checked some tulip books to learn more about the different varieties. I vividly remember sitting on the lovely gold and olive green hand-me-down couch (Hey, it was free and we had just put a down payment on a house) browsing through the books and looking at photos galore of beautiful tulips. Then, horror of horrors, I came upon an illustrated section in one book about planting tulip bulbs. I was a bit surprised to see them planting the tulip bulbs upside down. Hmmmm…I paused briefly and casually mentioned this to my husband. He didn’t say too much but he had sort of a weird look on his face. So, I looked at another illustrated book and, sure enough, they were instructing folks to plant the bulbs upside down. Huh….🤔

It was about that time I realized (with a jolt) that my husband and I had just spent all of our free time for two weeks planting 300 tulip bulbs upside down. 🤯😱🥴

After panic-calling no less than 7 greenhouses, three told me to dig them up and replant all 300 bulbs. ☹️☹️☹️ Four of them, however, said the bulbs would self-correct and most would still grow. 😙😙😙 So…what to do… (This was a few years before the web was available to average folks and YouTube likely hadn’t even crossed anyone’s mind yet. Yes, I’m that old. It wasn’t that long ago. 😉)

I decided to hand-dig up the bulbs in the front of the house and replant them. I decided to leave the 200 or so in the backyard and see what happened. Well, you’ll be happy to know most of them came up regardless of which way they were planted. Whew!!! You learn something new every day! 🤓

I hope you enjoyed my background story. Suffice it to say, I am really passionate about tulips! 😏 So after learning that Washington State had acres and acres of tulip fields, I added it to my bucket list. This past April I had the opportunity to go to the Skagit Valley (Washington) Tulip Festival with a dear friend I’ve known since preschool and it was a wonderful trip I will cherish forever.

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival happens every April and, if the weather is right, extends into the month of May. Skagit Valley is roughly an hour or so north of Seattle on Washington’s western side. It is an enchanting area (especially in the Spring) with snow-capped mountains, fertile farmland, winding rivers, beautiful harbor and bay views, and lush flowering trees and plants of all types. And all the flowers seemed to be blooming all at once when we were there. I instantly fell in love with the place. 😍

While we had limited time, we were able to do three things regarding the Tulip Festival. The first morning we were there we drove to a museum and were absolutely amazed to drive past charming small farms and rows and rows of brightly colored daffodils, along with some early-blooming tulips. My friend humored me while I pulled over occasionally to snap some photos. That afternoon we we to the first of two tulip farms, appropriately called Tulip Town. Link below. ⬇️

https://tuliptown.com/

Tulip Town was lovely and a great introduction to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Just past the entrance there is a lovely area with a fountain, large windmill, flags, and a number of tulips and other flowers. It’s a great spot for those initial photos. Also in that area is a large building selling food, drinks, and gifts. A bit further into the farm, there is a lovely pond and small waterfall area with move tulips.

The best part of the experience, though is taking a tractor-pulled wagon ride out to the tulip field. The tractor picks you up and drops you off near the lovely pond and the ride is included in the entry fee. The tractor and wagon make a giant trek around the outside of the whole tulip field and will drop you off wherever you wish to get out. You can then get on another wagon as it circles around again. There are several photo ops (spots) set up around the outside of the field so you can take photos of yourself and companions on swings with the tulip field in the background. Makes a wonderful backdrop!

A few tips before visiting any tulip farm or attraction as part of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival:

If you plan to stay in the area, book your lodging as soon as possible, particularly if you plan to stay overnight on a weekend.
Most tulip farms allow you to purchase entry tickets online ahead-of-time. It’s a great idea to take advantage of this, especially if you are visiting on a weekend.
Do your research and plan which farm/venue will be best for you and your companions. For example, a huge tulip field may be too far for little legs to walk and strollers and wagons are not as easy to maneuver in fields.
Don’t give in to the temptation to do too much in one day. Both adults and kids get tired and subsequently, cranky. I would not attempt more than two fields or attractions in one day. Allow yourself time to sit and enjoy the beautiful flowers, eat the fun and delicious food, and recharge. People-watching can be fun too. You can only do some much in the name of fun and then, well, it just isn’t. If you don’t pack in everything in one day, you will allow yourself to feel more joy in what you did do and hopefully make the experience a fun and positive memory to look back on.
If you don’t wish to partake in the tulip festival festivities like the parade, etc…, I would highly recommend going during the week and not on a weekend. Traffic, crowds, and parking will be much lighter during the week. If you must go on the weekend, try to arrive at the biggest and busiest farm a bit before the tulip fields open up for business in the morning. Pick up some breakfast and coffee somewhere and enjoy that while parked in the first row or two of parking spaces. Get in line five to ten minutes before opening. You will feel like you have the venue to yourselves for about 30-60 minutes and your kids won’t get tired before you even get to the entrance. Yep, I’m a mom too. 😉

Tulip Town has been operating for 40+ years and it is the only place I’m aware of that provides a ride out to the tulip field. Keep in mind, it is still a farm and there may be mud puddles, uneven ground, and the porta-potties are plentiful but most are located near the entrance. So be sure to plan accordingly. If you are a bit wobbly on your feet, you may wish to bring some walking sticks. You may also wish to bring a bottle of water with you, and if it looks like it might rain, it probably will. A fold-up, compact umbrella may also be helpful. And, although Washington in the Spring is rumored to be cloudy, we experienced a number of beautiful sunny days and I got a bit sunburned.

So, as with most of life, plan ahead but prepare to go with the flow. 😊 That approach will serve you well wherever you go, but especially at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

On a final note, you can also take some of the tulip festival with you in the form of souvenirs, flowers, and flower bulbs. I plan to order a few bulbs myself to plant this Fall. It won’t be 300 bulbs, though. And I sure won’t plant them upside-down! 😉

More photos, because I’m both a tulip and photography nerd! 👏