All Things Skagit County Tulip Festival

The perfect Spring adventure, the slam-dunk romantic date, the must-have photoshoot, the event where 75% of the Nation's Tulips originate, and the event that everyone in the Pacific Northwest is talking about right now has officially blossomed: the Skagit County Tulip Festival.  300,000 people on average make it out to the much-coveted tulip and daffodil fields annually. 

What You Need To Know About The 2022 Tulip Festival

While the flowers typically peak in mid-April, Mother Nature ultimately decides whether they bloom on schedule or not.  We made a trip up there ourselves on Saturday April 2nd, the second day of the festival, and were greeted with a 15% bloom at Tulip Town. Roosengaarde's tulips and (and daffodils), however, were at their peak, pleading with us to spend the majority of our time there. 

This year,  you can buy tickets online in advance, or at the gate for Roozengaarde, Tulip Town, and Garden Rosalyn.  Pick a day and a time, and know you can stay as long as you like once you enter.  Roozengaarde tickets cost $15 per person; tots ages 2 and younger enter free.  Tulip Town tickets cost $16.29 for ages 12+, $7.60 for ages 6-11, and kids ages 5 and younger enter free. The brand new Garden Rosalyn tickets cost $13 per person. Parking is included at all three locations.  You are also allowed to change the day and time of your visit up to 48 hours before your ticketed time. 

This past November, Skagit County experienced historic flooding, drowning out 2 acres of Tulip Town's fields. 

Tulip Town boasts 3.5 acres worth of Tulips, while Roozengaarde's fields are 25 acres of tulips, 20 acres of daffodils, and a five-acre garden display. Brand new this year, Garden Rosalyn features tulip gardens planted in design shapes, as well as a duck pond with waterfowl residents.  More than 1,000 acres of tulips and daffodils are grown in Skagit County altogether. That's a whole lot of flowers. 

For best results in 2022, check the bloom status prior to making the trip, and go ideally on a weekday, morning, or evening to enjoy the fields without people.  At the back end of the bloom, the flowers will be cut to preserve the health of the plant. 

Food Options

Both farms have food on site for sale.  Roozengaarde has a concession stand offering burgers, hot dogs, kettle corn, and fudge. Tulip Town offers a cafe with hot dogs, soup, local ice cream, specialty espresso drinks, and a beer and wine garden for the adults. 

In the town, we like the Skagit Valley Food Co-op for grab-and-go deli items.  The Chuckwagon Drive-In is a good spot for really cheap burgers and watching a model train chug through the dining room.  On the west side of the Skagit River, try The Net Drive-In for old-school burgers and shakes, or find family Mexican cuisine at Mexico Cafe. And no trip to the Skagit Valley is complete without a stop at Snow Goose Produce, a family-run farm stand that is famous for its super-sized ice cream cones.

For more information, we learned a lot from visitskagitvalley.com's blog, so give it a read :)