Tulip guide ·
Tulip Farms 2026: Where to Pick Tulips and Visit U-Pick Tulip Fields
The U.S. has roughly 15 commercial U-Pick tulip operations spread across eight corridors, with bloom windows tracking spring south-to-north from late February in Texas to mid-May in the Upper Midwest. The largest U-Pick farm by bulb count is Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge, New Jersey (8 million bulbs on 100 acres); the largest commercial bloom is the Skagit Valley in Washington (1,500 acres, walk-through). Most U-Pick farms charge $1–$2 per stem with provided cutters, run timed-entry tickets that sell out on April weekends, and have a 2-to-3-week active window. Below is the state-by-state list with bloom dates, U-Pick vs. walk-through status, and notes on each farm's specialty.
Quick answer
- U-Pick tulip season runs late February (Texas) → mid-May (New England, Midwest), tracking spring south-to-north.
- Largest U.S. tulip farm: Holland Ridge Farms (NJ) — 8 million bulbs, 100 acres, peak first 3 weeks of April.
- Most-photographed: Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (WA) — 1,500 acres of commercial bloom, peak the 2nd and 3rd weekends of April.
- Earliest tulip pick in the country: Texas Tulips, Pilot Point TX — opens late February most years.
- Tulip-field bloom windows are short — typically 2 to 3 weeks per farm. Timed-entry tickets sell out on April weekends; book the week before.
Tulip farms by state
Sorted by region, west to east, then south to north within each region. Bloom dates are 5-year averages — actual opening dates shift up to 10 days year-to-year with March–April weather.
| Farm / Festival | City | Region | Bloom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skagit Valley Tulip Festival | Mount Vernon, WA | Pacific Northwest | April 1–30 | The largest tulip festival in the U.S. — Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde anchor a 1,500-acre bloom across the Skagit Valley. Attracts 500,000+ visitors annually. Peak color is typically the second and third weeks of April. |
| Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm | Woodburn, OR | Pacific Northwest | Late March–early May | 40-acre family-run tulip farm with a 6-week festival, a windmill, and a designated U-Pick field at the back. Peak bloom is typically the second week of April. |
| Tulip Time Festival | Holland, MI | Great Lakes | Early-to-mid May | 8-day festival anchored by 6 million planted tulips at Windmill Island Gardens, Veldheer Tulip Gardens (U-Pick), and city-wide street plantings. The U-Pick option at Veldheer makes it one of the few Midwestern tulip farms where you can take blooms home. |
| Veldheer Tulip Gardens | Holland, MI | Great Lakes | Late April–mid-May | Michigan's largest U-Pick tulip operation: $1 per stem, walk the rows, cut your own. Adjacent to DeKlomp Wooden Shoe & Delft Factory. |
| Chiles Family Orchards — Tulip Field Days | Charlottesville, VA | Mid-Atlantic | Early-to-mid April | Carter Mountain Orchard and Chiles Peach Orchard run tulip-pick weekends featuring 70+ varieties. The single most-trafficked U-Pick tulip page in the U.S. — owns top 5 Google rankings for "tulip field" and "tulip farm virginia". |
| Burnside Farms | Haymarket, VA | Mid-Atlantic | Early-to-mid April | Northern Virginia's Festival of Spring features 1.5 million tulips on a 23-acre cut-your-own field 45 minutes west of Washington DC. Timed-entry tickets recommended on weekends. |
| Texas Tulips | Pilot Point, TX | South | Late February–late March | The earliest U-Pick tulip farm in the U.S. — North Texas Hill Country opens in late February most years. 100+ varieties planted Dutch-bulb style. |
| Sweet Berry Farm | Marble Falls, TX | South | March | Hill Country U-Pick tulip field paired with a strawberry season that opens at the same time — a single-day double-pick opportunity. |
| Pella Tulip Time Festival | Pella, IA | Midwest | Early-to-mid May | Dutch-heritage festival running since 1935 with 250,000+ tulips planted in city parks and on the Pella Tulip Toren. Walk-through gardens; no formal U-Pick. |
| Orange City Tulip Festival | Orange City, IA | Midwest | Mid-May | Northwest Iowa Dutch-heritage festival with 75,000 tulips citywide. Smaller and less crowded than Pella; falls 1–2 weeks later. |
| Albany Tulip Festival | Albany, NY | Northeast | Mid-May | Washington Park's 140,000 tulips; the longest-running U.S. tulip festival (since 1948). Walk-through only; no U-Pick. |
| Cherry Creek Tulip Festival | Cherry Creek, NY | Northeast | Late April–mid-May | Western New York's largest U-Pick tulip operation: 250,000 bulbs, cut-your-own. |
| Holland Ridge Farms | Cream Ridge, NJ | Mid-Atlantic | Early-to-mid April | 8 million tulips on 100 acres in central New Jersey — the largest U-Pick tulip farm on the East Coast. Timed-entry tickets sell out April weekends. |
| Mt. Cuba Center | Hockessin, DE | Mid-Atlantic | Mid-April | Public botanical garden with 30,000+ tulips; walk-through, no U-Pick. |
| Tulipalooza (Garden Glory) | Niantic, CT | New England | Late April–early May | New England's largest U-Pick tulip farm. |
How to time peak tulip bloom
Tulip farms plant in waves so bloom peaks roughly 14 days after the field's first early-variety bulb opens. The single best signal is the farm's social media: most post a daily bloom-percentage update during peak season. As a fallback rule of thumb, the second weekend after a farm opens is peak fullness across most varieties — early bulbs are still upright, late varieties are starting, and mid-season Triumph and Darwin hybrid tulips (the workhorse U-Pick varieties) are at full color. Mornings before noon photograph best; afternoon wind on open fields is the #1 complaint in farm reviews.
Other spring U-Pick guides
Frequently asked questions
When do tulip farms open in 2026?
U-Pick tulip farms open earliest in Texas (late February) and the Pacific Northwest's Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm (late March). The major mid-Atlantic and East Coast farms — Holland Ridge in New Jersey, Burnside Farms and Chiles in Virginia — peak the first three weeks of April. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington runs the entire month of April. The Midwest closes out the season in early-to-mid May with Tulip Time in Holland MI and Pella Tulip Time in Iowa.
Where is the best tulip farm in Virginia?
Two farms dominate Virginia tulip-picking: Chiles Family Orchards' Tulip Field Days in Charlottesville (70+ varieties, runs mid-April weekends) and Burnside Farms' Festival of Spring in Haymarket (1.5 million tulips on 23 acres, 45 minutes west of Washington DC). Both run timed-entry tickets that sell out on April weekends — book the week before.
Are there tulip fields near me?
Tulip fields are concentrated in eight U.S. corridors: the Pacific Northwest (Skagit Valley WA, Woodburn OR), Mid-Atlantic (Cream Ridge NJ, Charlottesville and Haymarket VA), Great Lakes (Holland MI), Upper Midwest (Pella and Orange City IA), Texas (Pilot Point and Marble Falls), New England (Niantic CT), Western New York (Cherry Creek), and the upstate New York Albany Tulip Festival. The state-by-state list below shows the closest farm to most U.S. metros.
How big is a tulip-picking field — and how should I time my visit?
Most U-Pick tulip operations plant between 100,000 and 8 million bulbs. The largest by bulb count is Holland Ridge Farms (NJ) at 8 million; the largest by acreage is the Skagit Valley commercial bloom at 1,500 acres (display only — not U-Pick). Time your visit to the second weekend after a farm opens: bulbs planted in waves bloom over a 2–3 week arc, and the second weekend hits peak fullness across most varieties. Mornings before noon photograph best — afternoon wind on open fields is the #1 complaint in farm reviews.
Can you cut your own tulips at these farms?
Most listed farms run cut-your-own pricing at $1–$2 per stem with provided cutters. Walk-through-only botanical festivals (Pella, Albany, Holland MI's Windmill Island, Mt. Cuba) charge admission to view but do not allow cutting. The state-by-state notes column above flags which farms are cut-your-own vs. walk-through-only.
Sources: each farm's published 2025 and 2026 schedules, state tourism boards, and 5-year averages of opening dates. Tulip-bloom timing varies up to 10 days year-to-year — confirm with the farm before driving. List compiled and verified May 2026 by UPick Atlas.