Skagit Valley Tulips, Mt. Vernon, Washington
Tulips! A spring-blooming perennial flower. The world’s third most popular flower, after the rose and the chrysanthemum. Indigenous to areas of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. With around 100 species, and 3,000 cultivated varieties. Every spring, Washington state’s Skagit Valley is rich with tourists and the reason is, wide array of tulips with diverse and vibrant colors. Very similar to Keukenhof in Netherlands, skagit valley boasts many different varieties of tulips and if you are in the area, you don’t want to miss it. This festival takes place every year during the month of April primarily in the town of Mount Vernon, which sits against the backdrop of an amazing Cascade Mountain Range, which is just an hour drive from Seattle Downtown.
Skagit Valley, Washington vs Keukenhof, The Netherlands
I have been to Skagit valley’s big brother, Keukenhof in April 2015 and before visiting I was thinking that Skagit cannot come closer to Keukenhof in any way, but well, Keukenhof needs at least one full day to visit because of the size, diversity and crowd whereas Skagit is small but quite close in terms of varieties displayed. But for someone who lives in the Western side of the US, I’d recommend Skagit only if you can’t make it to Keukenhof. I will write another blog article about Keukenhof another time. Keukenhof may be 5 times bigger than Skagit valley,
Admission & Tickets
Skagit Valley is open from April 1 to April 30 every year. You can buy tickets directly at the entrance. Costs $7 per adult and children under 5 are free. Parking is plenty and free.
Other activities
There are other activities to do in Skagit Valley like visit art gallery and gift shop, face painting, kite flying, expresso, treats and meals and purchase potted tulip plants. You can more information from http://tulipfestival.org/