Has it sunk in for you yet that it's spring? Though this year's spring equinox came on March 19, one of Washingtonians' favorite, and most visually exquisite, markers of the new season typically arrives in April: the tulips!
Each spring, crowds flock to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, one of the largest tulip celebrations in the U.S. The rainbow of blooms transforms the Mount Vernon area, about an hour's drive north from Seattle, into "the Netherlands of the Northwest," as festival executive director Nicole Roozen likes to call it.
"Outside of Holland, it's pretty rare to be able to experience this level of color and blooms," she said.
Tulip season, which began a little earlier than usual this year thanks to a mild winter and some warmer weather, is already underway. Here's how to make the most of it.
Picking the right tulip garden(s)
There's no one address for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Rather, the monthlong April festival features four main tulip show gardens, each with individual tickets and unique features.
Each garden replants its displays each year, "so it's never going to be the exact same design," said Roozen, who's part of the family that runs one of the gardens, Roozengaarde. The typical suggestion is to plan for one or two hours at each garden you visit, she said, though it's certainly possible to spend a whole morning or afternoon at one site.
Farthest south, those driving from Seattle may first hit Garden Rosalyn (16648 Jungquist Road, Mount Vernon). A pond with ducks and geese plus, of course, several varieties of colorful tulips give the 7-acre garden a storybook feeling. With $15 tickets, the garden is open 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m., allowing guests to get an early start to the day if they'd like.
Just over a mile away is Roozengaarde (15867 Beaver Marsh Road, Mount Vernon), the festival's largest site, with 50 acres of expansive tulip fields, allowing visitors to spread out. Tickets are $15-$18 (depending on when you go and whether you buy them online in advance), and the garden is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Children ages 2 and younger are free.
A little further north, Tulip Town (15002 Bradshaw Road, Mount Vernon) offers all sorts of ways to take your tulip excursion to the next level. General admission ($15 online or $20 at the gate, with senior, youth and military discounts) includes a trolley ride through the tulip fields, if weather allows, and access to a beer and wine garden and food options.
Among other special options, you can opt for the $50 Experience Pass, featuring a workshop taking you behind the scenes at the farm and showing you how to properly handpick tulips, or the $225 date night package, which includes admission for two, a bottle of wine, a cheeseboard and after-hours access to Tulip Town, through sunset. Tulip Town is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Night owls and DIY florists may be particularly interested in Tulip Valley Farms (15245 Bradshaw Road, Mount Vernon), the festival's only garden with a u-pick site and a special "Night Bloom" ticket option, allowing folks to admire the fields 7-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays when they're illuminated with lights and lasers. General admission is $13 per person when bought online or $19.50 when bought in-person, with child, military and senior discounts.
Unique ways to experience the Tulip Festival
How much you spend on the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is up to you. You can take a self-guided driving tour past the area's tulip growing fields for free or pay around $15 to hang out in one garden. But there are also some more structured ways to experience tulip season, if you don't mind paying extra.
Skagit Guided Adventures offers four-hour, small-group tours to admire tulips and daffodils and learn about their origins and impact on human cultures for $233 per person. If you need a ride from Seattle, Shutter Tours will pick you up from the Downtown Seattle Hyatt Regency Hotel for an all-day, $117 tulips tour that includes a drive through Mount Vernon's tulip fields, a visit to Roozengaarde and a dining and shopping stop in La Conner.
For a steeper price, you can avoid the crowds altogether and take in the fields from above. San Juan Airlines takes passengers for flights over the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, charging $424 for an up-to-three-person ride and $692 for an up-to-five-person ride of one hour, with pickup options available around the Skagit Valley.
Special events
Unique events are scattered throughout the festival month of April.
On Saturday, April 6, floats, horses, an antique fire truck and more will proceed through downtown La Conner for the annual Tulip Parade. All are welcome to register to participate in the parade, with the festival's website reading: "No entry is too small; wacky impromptu entries welcome."
The festival will also host its second pickleball tournament this year. Anyone can sign up for the Tulip Tussle Pickleball Tournament, which runs April 25-28.
Other events include a semitruck open house that lets families explore a PACCAR facility and see how trucks are made and tested, tea and barbecue events, a spring garage sale and more. For the Tulip Festival's full events calendar, visit tulipfestival.org/events.
Tulip travel tips
What should novice festivalgoers keep in mind when planning their tulips trip?
Firstly, keep track of tulip season if you want to catch the flowers in full bloom. Each garden plants early-, mid- and late-blooming tulip varieties in an effort to ensure there are colorful flowers on display throughout the season. Ultimately, however, "it is completely dependent on Mother Nature as to when they're going to bloom," Roozen said.
Visit tulipfestival.org/bloom-status to follow along with the tulips gardens' "bloom status."
With a mild winter and some recent warm weather, blooms have been arriving earlier than usual this year. Depending on weather patterns over the next month, it's possible that there won't be as many tulips to see during the last week of April, Roozen said. (So, to be safe, don't procrastinate your tulip trip for too long!)
Once you've picked a date, keep the following tips in mind:
For more information on the festival, visit tulipfestival.org or email info@tulipfestival.org.
