Jacques I.
Yelp
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is just one of those events ya gotta see at least once if you're a Washingtonian. Located about an hour and change from Bellevue, it's a great day trip for some spring time fun.
I don't know what Tulip Town was like before the pandemic, as I had never been before. But with COVID-19, tickets were required to purchase online ahead of time, as you must reserve a slot. The tickets were about $15 per person, and is good for a three-hour slot. You will not need three hours!
A friend told me that it's best to not go right at your reserved time, as that's when traffic is at its worst. So we came about 45 minutes after our 2pm reserved time, and yes, traffic was traffic. But knowing that traffic exists around here, I didn't think it was all that bad. We mostly experienced traffic because of an accident on the way versus tulip traffic. Parking wasn't too hard to find. There were many staff members around who direct traffic. Dogs are not allowed.
Inside Tulip Town I actually didn't think it was too crowded. Perhaps this was due to the limitations of how many people can enter at a certain time due to COVID-19. We only saw a long line at a particular photo opp in the festival. Throughout the fields, there were stands where people could stand or sit for posing. You are not allowed to go inside the fields to be amongst the tulips. And also, you shouldn't be an asshole and do it anyway because it ruins the growth of the bulbs. So if you care at all about the tulips, please do not do this. There were staff members monitoring violators, but I still witnessed assholes that did this. Just don't!!!
Other than the fields, you can ride a trolley that takes you around the fields, but for three adults, we didn't think it was worth it since the fields aren't that large to walk around in. This was more so for kids. They also had an area where you can purchase food, gifts, tulips and there was a beer/wine garden. I especially liked the area where they showed the different tulips, which was a great review of what we saw in the fields.
It is pretty picturesque to see the bright, colorful tulips in bloom. But with that said, if you're not a flower and/or garden person, I can see why this may not be for you. It was nice to finally explore this annual springtime tradition.