A Portland, Oregon Day Trip to Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Oregon is what dreams are made of! Are you obsessed with fields of perfect, colorful flowers? You don’t want to miss this festival!

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The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Oregon is a destination I had my eye on for over a year. Who knew that the tulip festival Oregon has could feel comparable to the dreamy fields in Holland? The tulip fields in Holland have always been a major bucket list item for me, but being located in California makes it difficult to hop over to Holland when the flowers decide to bloom.

Thanks to some casual Instagram browsing I found out there are equally as beautiful tulip farms located in my part of the world. As soon as I laid eyes on the colorful fields of flowers at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm I was determined to go.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I have been checking their website for over a year now waiting to see what the tulip festival schedule would be for blooms this spring and the coinciding Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. I could not wait to get out there with my camera.

About Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

The popular Oregon tulip festival takes place every spring at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. The family-owned farm has been in business for decades and their services are not limited to the month-long annual tulip festival. Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm hosts the festival for 4-6 weeks during the spring but also sells bulbs, cut tulips, potted flowers, and more.

The tulips at the farm are planted in October and start blooming in late February. The latest bloomers come around by the end of April. Festival goers get to experience over 40 acres of tulips and daffodils. There are over 120 varieties of flowers at the farm in just about every color you can imagine.

How to Get to Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, Oregon

If you don’t live within driving distance to Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival then you might want to consider flying to Portland. I live in California and could arguably drive to Oregon, but I didn’t have that much time to spare. But I’ll take any excuse to escape here for a few days and experience all of the weird and wonderful things to do in Portland.

Flying into Portland International Airport (PDX) was the best option for me since the tulip festival is only about a 45-minute drive from the city. Located in the quiet countryside of Woodburn, Oregon, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is 34 miles south of Portland.

The drive was incredibly quick and easy, especially since I drove early morning to catch sunrise. Yes, it was a bit chilly—thank goodness for the cozy seat warmers in the Toyota Avalon.

Being so conveniently located, a trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is the perfect excuse to spend two days in Portland. The city of Portland makes the perfect home base for a visit to the tulip festival. Not to mention Portland is easily one of the best food cities in the United States, so there’s plenty to keep you busy in addition to a visit to the tulip festival.

READ THIS NEXT: Explore more of the PNW in Tacoma, Washington

Where to Stay

If you have the chance, definitely spend a couple of nights in Portland when you visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. I love staying near the downtown area in Portland because there are so many good restaurants and food carts within walking distance. Hotel deLuxe is one of my favorite hotel options in Portland because it provides easy access to public transportation and is walking distance to many of my favorite must-eat spots.

Hotel deLuxe in Portland

Hotel deLuxe is an excellent place to stay not solely because of the convenience of the location, but the design of the hotel itself. The property’s design is inspired by Old Hollywood glamour with gorgeous black and white photos and film stills from the past adorning the lobby, hallways, and guest rooms. When it comes to lodging I love hotels that really go all out with a theme, and Hotel deLuxe nails it.

The art deco style is well done and does not feel forced. The guest rooms are comfortable, clean, and the service is top notch. The hotel staff even offers to deliver ice cream to your room—how rad is that? And if you want to get out of your room but don’t want to travel far The Driftwood Room is an excellent, stylish onsite craft cocktail bar. If you stop by, I highly recommend the Manhattan flight!

Hotel deLuxe is only two blocks from the Providence Park MAX station, so transit from the airport to the hotel could not be any easier or more affordable. To get from Hotel deLuxe to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival I did need a car. For transportation around Portland, you can rely on public transportation if you will not have a car. Click here to check prices and availability.

When to Visit the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Oregon

Tulips bloom in Oregon during the spring and the dates of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival vary each year depending on the weather conditions. This year the tulip festival started in late March and was scheduled to run through late April.

The festival dates ended up being extended through the first week of May because the tulips were responding well to the weather and lasting longer than anticipated.

The photos in this post were taken one month after the start of the tulip festival. Originally I was going to earlier in the month, but I felt like the tulips may not be fully bloomed if I went too early.

Keep in mind that I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about when it comes to the timing of blooming flowers, but that was what I told myself. It ended up working out just fine though because the flowers were more magical than I ever could’ve imagined.

Visiting Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Oregon

Since I’ve received so many questions about my photos, when I took them, and how I avoided crowds, I figure I should just share a recap of my personal experience visiting the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. Along with my recap I will provide as much useful and practical information as possible to help you recreate this experience.

On the morning of my visit to Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival the sun was scheduled to rise at 6:17 a.m. I left Hotel deLuxe in Portland at 5:10 a.m. knowing that the drive would take about 45 minutes. I arrived at the tulip farm around 6 a.m. and it was light out, but the sun had yet to break above the horizon.

While you will see me in a summer dress in my photos, I like to keep it real so I have to tell you that it was chilly outside. The temperature in the morning was in the low- to mid-40s. Luckily there was absolutely no wind, the air was so still, so that really helped make the temperature much more tolerable. The 43 degree still air at the tulip farm felt warmer than my usual 64 degree windy days in San Francisco.

During the day the festival offers food, drinks, and a variety of activities for children. Depending on the weather you can also arrange a hot air balloon ride. I’m not at all interested in riding in a hot air balloon personally, but seeing them soar high above the fields was quite magical. Click here for more information on the festival activities.

Photography at Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival doesn’t open until 9 a.m. so to access the farm for sunrise photos you need to purchase a photography pass. The photography pass for sunrise access is $15 per person, while the entrance fee during normal business hours is $5.

[These are the 2018 prices, so be sure to check the website for accurate pricing before you go] As much as I dislike waking up early, I was determined to get out there for sunrise with my camera gear.

The farm is much larger than I expected it to be, which allowed me the opportunity to get some great sunrise shots without a bunch of people in them. Some photos make it look like I had the entire place to myself but there were plenty of other photographers on site with me waiting for the sun to rise. The field is so wide it was really easy to find my own space away from others.

If you want you want your shots to look like the photos in this post then you will need to visit at sunrise. The beautiful lighting simply cannot be replicated at any other time of day. None of the festival food or activities are open this early in the morning so I spent about 45 minutes shooting photos and made it back to Portland before 8 a.m. for breakfast.

My Photography Gear

Here’s a quick list of the photo gear I used for the sunrise photo shoot at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm:

This camera body // This is my first full-frame mirrorless body and I love it!
This lens // This is my go-to lens right now. I’ve been shooting with it for the last six months and while it’s pretty heavy, I’m always pleased with the quality.

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Have you been to any awesome flower festivals? If so I’d love to hear about it! Tell me in the comments below!

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