Exploring The Skagit Tulip Festival: Dog Friendly Guide

If you haven’t been to the Skagit Tulip Festival in Washington, this is a springtime bucket list item. Located in beautiful Skagit Valley an hour north of Seattle, this annual event celebrates fields of tulips in full bloom. It’s an easy day trip, perfect for photographers, nature lovers, and families who want to enjoy a rainbow of colors. 

While in the past, there were no dog friendly fields in Skagit Tulip Festival, this changed a few years ago; now the majority (3) allow well behaved pups. We are so excited to share our dog friendly Tulip Festival Guide!

GARDEN ROSALYN 

Garden Rosalyn opens the earliest out of all the gardens (8am) so you beat the infamous Skagit traffic to the bigger gardens. When we arrived here at opening, we were one of two cars and enjoyed the nearly the whole garden to ourselves for almost an hour.

The is best place if you hate crowds and want a more peaceful experience. Garden Rosalyn is the smallest out farm and has the least amenities, but it is quieter/more secluded compared to the other gardens. I also think this is the best option if you’re looking to take solo, couple, and family (both two and four legged) photographs due to the smaller number of visitors, and the red and green windmill is very striking.

There’s no gift shop, food, or bathrooms so plan accordingly.

Unlike the other gardens which are mostly rows, the tulips are planted in intricate patterns and curves, so it’s more like a garden than fields. They also have other flower types, notably daffodils in March/April and Dahlias between May and early fall.

The gardens feature a lake with ducks, and beautiful windmill, and a mountain backdrop.

Additionally, the tulip garden is perfect for events and available for rent for weddings, birthday parties, photography sessions in spring, summer and early fall.

Dogs are FREE here. This is a great farm for dogs who want more space.

Make sure you check out Garden Rosalyn’s Instagram Account.

TULIP TOWN

Tulip Town is one of the original Skagit Tulip Festival Fields (along with Roozengarde). I’ve been here in the past, but recently, they changed their policy to allow dogs, so I was so excited to come back with Nike.

Tulip Town was established by Tom and Jeanette DeGoede and run by them until 2019, when Spinach Bus Venture Groups (whose goal is to preserve Skagit Valley) bought the farm and sadly Tom DeGoede passed away. The owners of Tulip Town continue to have a great relationship with Jeanette and consider it an honor to carry on their legacy. 

This is biggest dog friendly tulip farm, which makes it also most popular/crowded. Traffic here can get bad, and parking can be challenging, so come early in the day or on weekdays when possible. Entry times are staggered to help manage capacity throughout the day so make sure you come at your ticket time slot.

There is an iconic red barn with dense rows of tulips. Please note you cannot walk through the tulip rows, but the dense rows create amazing rainbow photos. There’s a lot of fun photo opportunities with swings, signs, and arches to take cute photographs. 

Tulip Town has the most attractions and amenities – there’s food and drinks for a quick bite with picnic tables, a beer and wine garden, and a truck selling some amazing kettle corn by Ma & Pa Kettle Corn. We bought hot dogs for lunch and kettle corn for a snack (we get the kettle corn every time we come). There’s also a gift shop, a flower shop, indoor flower displays as well as Honey Bucket bathrooms. They are also known for their trolley ride, which is free and allows visitors to ride around the fields.

Dogs are FREE here. If you bring your dog here, they’ll get lots of love – Nike enjoyed so many pets and belly rubs from people.

Tulip Town has a wonderful Instagram Profile. You can go look at all the pretty flowers here.

TULIP VALLEY

Tulip Valley is the newest farm (just opened in 2023), and the only U-PICK tulip farm in Skagit. They grow 75 varieties of tulips and you can get 25 stems for $20 for prepaid or $2 per stem at door. Our kids loved picking the tulips and I highly recommend trying the U-PICK option.There’s a lot of fun photo opportunities (we loved the I ♥ TULIPS sign), lookout towers with colorful rainbow stairs) and gorgeous mountain backdrops. The more spread out layout allows you to walk between tulip rows, and the grass allows you to picnic by the tulips. The large acreage is also a great opportunity for photos without people in the background. I think Tulip Valley is the best option for people who want to be up and close to the tulips since you can “tiptoe through the tulips” and pick the tulips.

This is very much a mom and pop family business; there is a free twice-daily Tulip Talk with Farmer Andrew, the owner, and you can often see him at the checkout line helping visitors wrap their freshly picked bouquets for home. Our kids also enjoyed the adorable farm animals (they love eating the extra tulip leaves), including highland cows, a donkey, and bunnies. They also have a unique Night Bloom experience where you can enjoy a laser light show and fire pits on Fridays & Saturdays 7-9pm, which I definitely want to check out in the future.

Please note there is a $5 pet pass (one pass covers multiple dogs), and this encourages respectful dogs. Tulip Valley is a great option for dogs who like more space.

Tulip Valley’s Instagram account will give you some behind the scenes views of the entire operation.

Planning Your Visit

Before embarking on your adventure to the Skagit Tulip Festival, be sure to check the festival’s website and each garden’s website for updated information on ticketing, opening times, and pet policies. Remember to pack essentials such as water, snacks, sunscreen, and poop bags for your furry friends.

Whenever we have out of town guests visit in April, the Tulip Festival is one of our go to spots! With its beauty and family-friendly atmosphere, the Skagit Tulip Festival promises an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages. So bring your pup and come visit Skagit’s beautiful fields of tulips.