Tulips of the Valley: BC’s very own tulip festival

Note: This was originally published in 2014. While Tulips of the Valley no longer happens, you can attend the Chilliwack Tulip Festival, also in the Fraser Valley.

Did you know that BC has its own tulip festival? A two hour drive east of Vancouver is Tulips of the Valley, an annual tulip festival held on Seabird Island, just outside of Harrison Hot Springs in the Fraser Valley. I’ve always been curious about Tulips of the Valley, so I figured it was about time to check it out for myself.

It took us two hours to drive from Vancouver to Tulips of the Valley, travelling along Hwy 7. We could have taken Hwy 1, which would have only taken an hour and a half, but we deliberately took the slower, scenic route.

Once we arrived in Agassiz, we drove east and over the tiny bridge to Seabird Island. A few minutes later we arrived at the big gas station where volunteers wearing neon safety vests took our $5 for parking, and guided us into a parking spot. We then walked down the 1 km road to the entrance of the festival. It was here where we caught our first glimpse of the tulips!

Although you can admire the tulips from from the side of the road, the whole point of coming here is to experience the tulips up close and personal! We happily paid our $3 admission fee.

When you enter Tulips of the Valley, they have kiosks selling tulips (potted and cut), local honey, and food. We snacked on some bannock (covered in peanut butter and jam) before venturing through the tulips.

At Tulips of the Valley, there’s a main pathway down middle of the tulip fields. Once on the other side, you can walk around the perimeter back to the entrance.

The walkways can be muddy, so you’ll definitely want to wear boots. Although it was raining on and off, the mud wasn’t too wet. In fact, it had a beautiful loamy clay quality to it, and it was fun to walk through!

All in all, we spent about an hour and a half meandering through the tulips. We enjoyed the views and the beauty of the Fraser Valley. It was satisfying way to reconnect with nature and the lushness of spring.