"Colors of Tulips at the Base of the Mountains" Anacortes Travelogue by glabah

The entire month of April is devoted to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The entire festival is spread out over quite an extensive area west of Interstate 5 and south of highway 20. As the highway interchange most people are advised to use to get to the festival is the Anacortes exit off of Interstate 5, I have put my Skagit Valley Tulip Festival tip in Anacortes.

All of these photos were taken on April 10, 2010.

Red and Yellow in the shadow of Mount Baker

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival colors in the shadow of Mount Baker.

People wandering the tulip fields during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which I have placed in my Anacortes section (though the tulip festival is actually mostly between Anacortes and Interstate 5).

Tickets that allow you to visit any of a number of tulip farms were available for $4, and unofficial parking fields were available cheaper. However, those unofficial parking areas do not allow people to visit multiple locations.

pink, purple and red tulips during Tulip Festival

During the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival we visited one farm that allowed people to wander freely to other farms through the tractor trails, allowing a much more pleasant experience than would have happened if we attempted to drive from one place to another. Traffic was very heavy by late morning.

Not parked in right place?=Gift from Skagit County

The local sheriff and other law enforcement officers like to keep the traffic through the area moving as well as possible, as things can certainly get a bit congested with all the people visiting these narrow rural roads.

So, during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival it is best to not park in locations that block traffic or otherwise represent a hazard. They do patrol the area and will give you a "gift" if you park in a way that represents a problem to traffic.

deep dark colors inside the tulips

During your visit to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival be sure to take a close look at the details of some of the flowers. Some of them are multiple colors.

mud at end of flower fields, Skagit Valley Tulips

The tulip farmers do not want people to wander up and down the rows of flowers during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Instead, you are asked to stay on the larger, wider tractor routes.

You will probably want to bring shoes that are good in mud, or at least you don't mind getting a bit muddy.

multi-colored tulips, Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Look closely at the tulips, and you will find that sometimes they change color as they open up. For example, you will notice that these have a bit more yellow on them when they are still somewhat closed. Note the two in the left foreground, and one on the left middle edge.

You will find the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has quite a splash of color, even on the microscopic scale.