Best Tulip Fields near Vancouver
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Are you looking for activities to do in Spring in Vancouver?
Spring is fast approaching and you know what that means! Tulip fields! The tulips will start to blossom and soon you will begin to see photos of rows and rows of gorgeous tulip fields all over your social media! Colourful tulip fields are the definition of a flowery dreamland and they make great photo ops. If you are in Vancouver during Spring one of the best things to do, is to visit a tulip field.
The Netherlands gets all the attention when it comes to tulip fields, but there are several places in and around Vancouver that also hold tulip festivals! There’s two major tulip festivals located in the Fraser Valley around 1 hour from Vancouver and there are also a few spots right in the middle of Vancouver where you can take photos with the tulips.
Here is everything you need to know about the best tulip festivals near Vancouver as well as information on some others located right here in Vancouver, two of which are free!
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Tulip Fields Map
Click here to open the map in Google Maps!
What to wear at a Tulip Festival
At a tulip festival, you are going to want to look nice (you will probably be taking lots of photos) but you also want to be able to walk around comfortably.
❗ Tip: Don’t wear your favourite white shoes! Tulip fields can be extremely muddy and they WILL be ruined.
Throw on a nice outfit with a warm jacket to take some photos with amongst the flowers with your shoes being the exception. You will want to wear some practical shoes that you can easily wash off when you get home.
Tulip Fields in the Fraser Valley
There are two major tulip fields located in the Fraser Valley, around a 1 hour drive from Vancouver. These are The Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival and the Chilliwack Tulip Festival. The Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival is actually owned by a Dutch family from the Netherlands who immigrated to Canada.
We have only visited the Chilliwack Tulip Festival so far, so have included our own experience here.
The Chilliwack Tulip Festival
The Chilliwack Tulip Festival is located in the Fraser Valley with jaw dropping views of the mountains. It is open for a few weeks during Spring and the opening times are announced on the Chilliwack Tulip Festival webpage a couple of weeks prior to opening day. The Chilliwack Tulip Festival is a fun outing for the whole family, even your dog! We saw so many cute puppies getting their pictures taken with the tulips.
We visited the Chilliwack Tulip Festival at the end of April and the tulips were in full bloom but the timing could easily be different every year depending on the weather.
We recommend pre-purchasing your tickets as it will save you some money. If you buy the tickets on arrival at the gate, you will pay slightly more.
How long to spend at the Chilliwack Tulip Festival
We spent about 1.5 hours wandering around the tulip field taking photos and enjoying the flowers. Having bought tickets for 6am and arriving at 6:30am, we got to enjoy the most beautiful light without the crowds!
6am is the earliest time slot on the weekends and the latest is at 6pm. Anyone entering the tulip field at 6pm is allowed to stay until around 7:30pm. During the week, the festival is open from 10am – 6pm. There were probably around 15 – 20 cars there already when we arrived, however, as we were leaving at 8am, there were more like 50 or 60 cars! Although it was an extremely early start to the day, we were glad that we chose the earliest time we could to beat the crowds!
We can imagine that the week days would be another great option if you wanted to enjoy the field in a quieter setting.
There are loads of different colours of tulips lined in rows. As you walk along the rows, take some photos with the swing sets, the old car, and more!
Is there any food at the Tulip Field?
We brought our own lunch, snacks and water, but there are a couple of food trucks next to the gates and the toilets (port a loos).
Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival
The Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival has been closed for a couple of years due to COVID but they are now back! They have a gorgeous field of tulips, food trucks, a hay bale playground for the kids, a covered picnic area and stunning views of Mount Baker!
They also have cheaper tickets online and have different rates for their low bloom period (which is when the tulips are only just starting the bloom), and their high bloom period (when the tulips are in full bloom). Even though it is more expensive, we would always choose to visit at high bloom over low bloom.
The Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival also offer early access for any photographers wanting to capture the sunrise in the fields.
What else is there to do on a day out in the Fraser Valley?
Visiting one of the tulip festivals will only take a little time out of your day and having driven all that way from the city you may as well make the most of your time. Below I have listed a few different things to do after your time frolicking amongst the tulips.
1. Visit the waterfalls in the area
There are some really beautiful waterfalls in the Fraser Valley that you shouldn’t miss! All these will require you to walk a short way from the carpark to the falls. See the map below for a pin of each of the waterfall locations.
Click here to open the Map in Google Maps!
Bridal Falls
Bridal Falls is the most popular and well known waterfall in the area, located in Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park. Reaching the falls by car will take you about 20 minutes from the Chilliwack Tulip Festival. Once you have parked, the falls are a 15ish minute walk up hill and are absolutely beautiful! You will see why they are the most popular falls in the area.
Flood Falls
I actually enjoyed Flood Falls more as unlike Bridal Falls, you can walk right up to the falls without the threat of being fined. These are lesser known and the carpark is much less official. It is about a 10 minute walk to the falls from the carpark. Flood Falls is another 20 minutes further than Bridal Falls towards the town of Hope.
Cascade Falls
Cascade Falls is my personal favourite, however much more out of the way. They are located 50 minutes from the Chilliwack Tulip Festival, towards Mission. The walk from the car park is about 10 minutes and uphill. Cascade Falls is special because the falls are overlooked by a suspension bridge which is quite fun!
2. Visit Chilliwack Lake or Lindeman Lake
Both of these lakes are near each other, a 50 minute drive from the tulip festival. Chilliwack Lake you are able to drive right up to and would be a great place to have a picnic lunch.
Click here to open the map in Google Maps!
Lindeman Lake is a short hike that starts at Chilliwack Lake and is a 3.4km roundtrip. The hike will take you about 2 hours. If you are looking for a longer hike, you can choose to walk further to Greendrop Lake. This will take you a total of around 3.5 hours and is 10.9km return.
Vancouver Tulip Festivals
If you don’t feel like making the journey to Abbotsford or Chilliwack, there are a few different places in Vancouver to see the tulips as well.
Queen Elizabeth Park
Queen Elizabeth Park is not only located right in the middle of Vancouver but it is also free to visit! You can wander around the 130-acre garden and look out for the stunning tulips.
Stanley Park
Seeing the tulips in Stanley Park is also free plus Stanley Park is a fantastic place to go for a walk!
VanDusen Gardens
The VanDusen Gardens have a large variety of Spring flowers, including tulips. Tickets for the garden are sold at the gate only and cannot be purchased online. They are around $12 for an adult during Spring.
Our Thoughts
We absolutely loved the Chilliwack Tulip Festival. Neither of us had been to a Tulip Field before but it was something that I have been wanting to do for years. The Chilliwack Tulip Festival makes for a great day out especially when paired with another activity in the area!
We haven’t been to the Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival yet but from their website it looks amazing so we hope to visit this year.
Happy Frolicking!
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