It’s tulip time in the Pacific Northwest. The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm just outside Woodburn, Oregon warmly welcomes you and your canine best friend to visit their 40 acres of vividly colored tulips for the Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. This year, it runs from March 19 – May 2, 2021. All 2021 tulip festival daily and weekend activities will be limited and subject to change to respond to COVID-19 guidelines.

The tulips have been blooming since the 1950s and visitors flock to the fields to enjoy the rainbow of colors, participate in special events, and plan their own spring gardens. The Iverson family opens their fields to photographers, home gardeners, hot air balloonists, vintage steam tractor enthusiasts, and of interest to Cinnamon my traveling coonhound, to dogs!

Explore the tulip fields and enjoy a day of photography at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Wooden Shoe Farm’s Dog-Friendly Welcome

Barb Iverson, tulip farm president, makes it clear that dogs are part of families and are welcome every day throughout the festival.

Wooden Shoe Bulb Farm loves dogs! Photo courtesy Wooden Shoe

Cinnamon’s favorite time to go to the tulip fields is during the week when it’s not so crowded. She loves to sniff the tulips, get her paws muddy in the rich soil and have her picture taken on one of the colorful benches. She has yet to hop up on the pink tractor for a photo op as the kids do.

Cinnamon explores the field with her nose. After all, she’s a hound! Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Cinnamon has a few tips for dogs visiting Wooden Shoe. Dogs must be leashed and owners must pick up after them. She highly recommends the Mt. Angel Sausage Company food booth but cautions owners to follow the rules and take their dogs to a bench outside the food court area to dine. And, if it’s a hot day, bring water—40 acres is a lot of walking even for a healthy coonhound.

You can smell the sausages cooking. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest Events for Everyone

Wooden Shoe keeps expanding the fest, adding more events and providing more tulip and daffodil varieties. You can go out to the tulip fields and select the varieties you like best for pre-ordering. They will be sent to you in time for fall planting. And, take home a bouquet of fresh-from-the-field flowers when you are ready to leave.

Many people who visit bring home a bouquet of cut flowers but almost everyone brings home digital memories. Snapping photos in the tulip fields is fun and gets you down to “flower level” so you appreciate them all the more. Here are a few of our favorites.

Wooden Shoe has activities for everyone in the family ranging from tractor train rides through the fields to arts and crafts shopping and wine tasting. The weekend events are the most plentiful (and so is the traffic along the country roads).

A  favorite photo spot for families at the Tulip Fest. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Seasonally the farm offers its display garden as a venue for beautiful outdoor weddings and receptions. I’ve also had the pleasure of experiencing an elegant Dinner in the Field in their display garden. Although 2021 may bring changes to events for 2021, look for exciting new opportunities to enjoy the fields in 2022.

Field and Vine hosts dinners in the field. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

When You Go to the Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest

If you are from out of town, consider staying for the weekend when you attend the Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. Pet-friendly accommodations include La Quinta Inn and Suites in Woodburn and the Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton.

Pink Tulip at Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is just 45 minutes south of Portland and 30 minutes north of Salem. Take the Woodburn exit off I-5 and head east following the Tulip Fest signs. The Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest takes place annually each spring. Check back each March for new dates and events. Check out all the fun in this video of Oregon Tulip Farming from America’s Heartland. And, while you are in Oregon, consider these fun places to go and see that Wander writers have highlighted in their Oregon articles.