How to Visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

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With over 40 acres of flowers, Oregon’s Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm has some of the most stunning fields you can find outside of Holland. The farm’s Tulip Festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024 and it’s easy to understand the event’s longstanding popularity. For a brief window each spring, tulips spring up in vibrant colors from white to burnt orange to deep mauve. As you follow the paths around the flower fields, you’ll have about as many photo opportunities as footsteps. After seeing the tulips, check out the carnival-style games and food carts. On calm days, look for hot air balloons flying over the fields. On windy ones, the kites come out. Here is everything you need to know about visiting the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival — *The flower fields at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm*

Know before you go

To visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, purchase tickets online in advance. You cannot buy a ticket at the door.
Weekend days are the busiest and sometimes sell out.
Parking is free with admission.
Leashed dogs are welcome at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.
Photography is allowed and encouraged.
Make sure to stay on the walking paths to avoid damaging the flowers. You can’t pick tulips in the fields, but you can buy cut or potted flowers from the gift shop.
Wear shoes that can get dirty. The paths around the tulips can be muddy.
Look for restrooms (port-a-potties) spread out around Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, including the parking lot, the games area, and the flower field.
Wooden Shoe is fairly accessible and I saw people using wheelchairs without much difficulty. The paths are unpaved but flat and pretty even. It would be challenging to visit with some mobility devices. I’m thinking of walkers in particular. You can take a shuttle from the main building to the flower fields to reduce your walking.
The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is stroller-friendly.

When to visit

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival lasts from the end of March through early May. Different tulip varieties bloom at staggered times, which spreads out the season a bit. Peak bloom varies each year based on the weather, but April is usually the best time to visit. I went during the first week of April in 2024 and the blooms were looking great. Last year, a cold spring made the end of April a better time to visit. In most years, mid-April is a safe bet. To help with timing, check out Wooden Shoe’s bloom tracker.

In 2024, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival lasts from March 22nd to April 28th. The festival is ending sooner than usual due to an early bloom season. Hours are:

Monday to Thursday 9 AM-6 PM
Friday 9 AM-7 PM
Saturday 8 AM-7 PM
Sunday 8 AM-6 PM

You can buy sunrise admission tickets for a 5 AM-7 AM entry. It’s a little more expensive than general admission, but fewer people will be there that early and you’ll get to see the tulips in the early morning light. The sunrise entry hours are also the only time drones can fly on the property (for an extra fee).

To put it mildly, I’m not a morning person and am reluctant to be anywhere other than the airport or the emergency room at 5 AM. I think my pictures still turned out well mid-morning. I arrived at 10 AM on a cloudy Friday and, while there were plenty of other people on the farm, I wouldn’t call it crowded. It was a different story by the time I left around noon. It’s still cheerful and beautiful when the fields are busy, but photography becomes more challenging.

Cost and admission to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Admission to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival costs about $10-20 per person depending on when you go.

Adult (13+) tickets are $15-20
Senior (65+) tickets are $10-15
Children 12 and under can visit for free
Sunrise (5 AM-7 AM entry) tickets are $25
Seasonal passes for unlimited entry cost $65

Tickets include parking, the tulip fields, some of the games, and the shuttle between the main building and the flowers. Some of the carnival rides cost extra, around $3-5 per ride. Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm offers special events and tours with separate fees. Find details on the farm’s website here.

How do I get tickets to the Tulip Festival?

Buy tickets to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival online ahead of time, including tickets for tours and special events. You cannot buy them at the gate. When you arrive at the farm, show your printed or digital tickets to the attendant to enter. You’ll buy a ticket for an entry time and can stay as long as you want until closing time.

You can buy same-day tickets but know that weekends often sell out, especially during peak bloom. I’m seeing a lot of sold-out times on the weekends even for over a week away. I’d suggest reserving your tickets as soon as you know you’re going to the festival. Weekdays are more flexible, but it’s still a good idea to reserve in advance.

*One of many pairs of wooden shoes on the farm*

As a last-minute planner, I don’t usually like to make reservations but I have to admit that this system works well. The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival has grown in popularity over the past few years and the crowds had gotten overwhelming before the reservation system. One year, my friends and I waited in the car for about 30 minutes on a country road before giving up on reaching the farm. We hadn’t moved an inch. Local travelers were having to wait hours to get past the farm at peak times. Now, you drive right up to the entrance, wait a few minutes to show your ticket, and then go park.

*Look for the gift shop and cafe near the parking lot*

Things to do at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

*The highlight of the Tulip Festival is the flower fields*

See the flowers

First and foremost, visit the tulip fields. Wide paths make a circle around the perimeter of the fields with a few opportunities to walk among the blooms. As you walk, you’ll see neat rows of tulips in wonderful vibrant colors. Benches, vintage tractors, and a windmill along the way add variety to the photo opportunities. On the far end of the field, cows doze in the grass just behind a fence. Around the corner, look for the elevated platform where you can climb up to admire the colorful acres from above.

Food and vendors

*The gift shop sells everything floral and tulip-themed*

After you park, you’ll see a large red building with a bunch of tents out front. Inside the building, there’s a little cafe with coffee drinks and pastries, a wine-tasting counter, and a gift shop. You can buy cut or potted tulips at this building on your way out. Outside are food carts with snack options like pizza slices, BBQ, and apple cider donuts.

*Look for cut flower bouquets outside the gift shop*

The drinks tent has beer, cider, and the farm’s Wooden Shoe-label wine. Most of the wine grapes grow on the farm. You’ll see the vines as you walk toward the tulip fields. Wooden Shoe also sources some grapes from Yakima Valley for their bigger reds. Many of the wines are on the sweeter side but the pinot noir I tried was light and dry and a bit floral. If you find yourself get thirsty as you walk, look for a tent at one corner of the flower fields with drinks (and potted flowers) for sale.

*You can have a drink by the flowers at this tent*

Beyond the food cart area are rows of tents with a variety of local products from honey to jewelry to leather goods. When I visited, one memorable tent had a man demonstrating how to make wooden shoes.

Rides and games

Next to the vendor tents are carnival rides and games. I consulted an expert, a 5-year-old who had tried them all, and he told me that the bouncy castle was the best one. Some of the activities are free, like the duck races and the hay tent. Others, including the larger rides and much-praised bouncy castle, cost extra.

Balloons

One of the highlights of visiting the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is watching the hot air balloons flying over the fields. Buuuut…seeing them is largely a matter of luck. I’ve managed to miss them every time. The balloons only fly when the weather is good and the wind is minimal. On calm days from Thursday - Sunday, tethered balloons hover over the fields. You can take a ride in a tethered balloon for $20 ($10 for kids under 12) to see the tulips from above. You don’t need a reservation for a tethered ride. When it’s too windy for the balloons, look for large kites flying over the field next to the tulips.

Portland Rose Balloons also offers sunrise free-flying balloon rides over the tulip fields. That’s an event I would happily show up for in time for the 6 AM launch, although the $250 price tag is another level of commitment.

*Weather often prevents the hot air balloons from flying*

Photography tips

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is a fantastic place to take pictures whether you’re a professional photographer or just want to capture some images to remember the day. Just make sure to stay on the grass paths while you take photos. Stepping on, over, or around the tulips damages the flowers.

*People in the frame don’t always ruin the shot*

If you feel strongly about getting photos without (many) people in them, arrive early. The least crowded time will be a sunrise entry between 5 AM and 7 AM. Other photographers will be there but you’ll have room to spread out. Early morning also has the advantage of interesting light conditions, whether it’s a colorful sunrise or moody fog.

Midday will be the most crowded. The later afternoon has a double advantage of fewer people and softer light. A woman working at the festival told me weekends see about twice the traffic as weekdays. As someone who carries around a big camera, I can confirm that other visitors will walk in front of you as you are taking pictures. Not only walk but also stop and wipe the mud off her shoe for an extended amount of time directly between your upraised camera and the photogenic windmill. Then, her entire large family will join her. Meh, still better than arriving before dawn.

*I love wide-angle shots to see the scope of the fields*

As far as gear, I think wide-angle lenses get the coolest shots since they capture the amazing scale of the tulip fields, especially during peak bloom. Zoom lenses also work well given the size of the fields, and make it easier to get photos without other visitors in them. Plus, if the day is clear enough, you might see a distant Mt Hood behind the tulips. I brought a macro lens but honestly, I didn’t use it very much. Tulips up close aren’t perhaps quite as interesting as, say, roses, but if you don’t mind carrying more, it can be fun to play around with.

If you just have your phone, don’t worry. You’ll still get awesome pictures. A few of my favorites I took were with my phone, like this one:

What to bring to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Phone or camera to take pictures.
Sunscreen
Water bottle. Outside water bottles are allowed at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.
Light jacket in case of rain or wind. I’d suggest this women’s or men’s jacket.
Shoes that can get dirty. I wore my hiking boots. The mud wasn’t nearly as bad this year as I remember from visiting years back, so sneakers would probably work fine most days.

Getting there

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is located in Woodburn, Oregon, about 45 minutes south of Portland and 30 minutes north of Salem. The farm is in an agricultural area that is not connected to public transportation. Use a rideshare app if you don’t have access to a car. If you’re flying in, use Portland International (PDX) airport.

Address: 33814 S Meridian Rd, Woodburn, OR 97071