Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

With its rich loamy soil and mild weather, the Skagit Valley [1] is Washington’s primary bulb-growing region and home to Washington Bulb Co., the largest producer of bulbs in America. From late March through April, more than 2,000 acres of the valley are carpeted with flowering daffodils, tulips, irises, and lilies; more than 40 million bulbs are produced annually. The first commercial tulips were test-planted here in 1908, but commercial success did not come until after World War II, when Dutch immigrants brought their bulb-growing skills to the valley.

The 17-day countywide Tulip Festival (360/428-5959, www.tulipfestival.org [2]), held annually in early April, corresponds with the blooming of the tulip and daffodil fields and includes bus tours, Skagit River trips, bike rides, street fairs, foot races, llama exhibits, antique shows, a salmon bake, volleyball tournaments, and art shows.

Tour buses dump hundreds of sightseers on the area, and many more drive up from Seattle [3] to photograph the colorful fields. Daily shuttle buses help alleviate some of the congestion, but with several hundred thousand visitors, it still gets crazy, especially on weekends between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

After mid-January, get maps of the floral fields from the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Office. Or, just head west from Mount Vernon [1] toward La Conner [4]; most of the fields are in an area bounded on the north by Memorial Highway 536, on the west by La Conner-Whitney Road, on the south by Chilberg Road, and on the east by the Skagit River. Crops are rotated to preserve the soil and to keep insect pests down, so last season’s field of yellow daffodils may be home to a crop of flowering broccoli this year—more nutritious, but not nearly as photogenic.

Fuji sponsors an official photo platform at Tulip Town (15002 Bradshaw Rd., 360/424-8152) along with music, art, pony rides, kite flying, espresso coffee, cut flowers, and refreshments.

In Mount Vernon itself, the Tulip Festival action centers on a downtown Street Fair that includes more than 200 art and craft vendors, plus live entertainment and food.