Spring has just about sprung in Toronto, which means outdoor fields and other nature gems will soon be warm enough to visit once more. With all of spring’s promises, the best one might just be the joy of seeing flowers in bloom again. And, by late April to early May in Ontario, tulip season hits peak bloom, offering the perfect adventure for those who want to explore colourful fields and celebrate the season of florals.
With all the tulip farms that Ontario has to offer, here are some of the best ones you can visit in and around Toronto this spring.
TASC Tulip Festival at TASC Tulip Farm
Location: 1173 Line 3 Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake
Not only does this farm offer a huge variety of tulips to stroll through, but did you know that it’s one of the most visited tulip farms in the province? Just under a two hour drive from downtown Toronto, this Niagara-on-the-Lake farm offers up their annual TASC Tulip Festival, with opportunities to take photos and pick the colourful flowers. With a tentative opening date of April 24, this farm has millions of tulips to peek through this season, a perfect opportunity for a spring road trip. You can book your ticket here.
Tulip Days at Pingle’s Farm
Location: 1805 Taunton Rd., Hampton
Pingle’s Farm is celebrating spring this year by doubling their planted tulip count this year to a million — which they say will turn the farm into the GTA’s largest pick-your-own tulip experience. Join this Hampton-area farm and market for a tulip celebration of a lifetime for Tulip Days at Pingle’s. Not only can you pick your own tulips but the experience of visiting this quaint countryside farm is packed with other fun stuff, like a cozy bakery and opportunities to pick your own locally grown fruit around the farm. Plus, it’s only an hour and a half drive from the city, all starting May 9. Book your spot here.
JP Niagara Tulip Experience
Location: 230 A Tice Rd., Pelham
With a tulip selection of over two million, this landscape provides viewers with a unique visit to some of the most beautiful floral colours this season. The tulip festival offered by JP Niagara Tulip Experience has limited capacity though, so make sure to secure your ticket online here first. In the heart of Pelham, the farm stresses this is a “nature-dependent” event — meaning peak bloom is weather dependent. Tickets are available here and the fun begins April 24.
Roadside Flower Market
Location: 1923 Seventh Street Louth, St. Catherine’s
The only thing better than hanging around wine country is being surrounded by beautiful florals — especially 1.2 million of them. Your ticket includes 10 stems to pick, with a $1.50 charge for each additional picked tulip. This family farm, under a two hour drive from Toronto, embraces rows of colour this season with their Tulip U-Pick event. There’s also an especially fun bonus: dogs are welcomed and encouraged to come, just in case you want to bring your fluffy friends along with you starting April 17. As of right now, the tulip experience runs until May 18, but that could change depending on weather and picking conditions.
Hat Trick Farms
Location: 18971 Fargo Rd., Blenheim
This tulip field is a little over a three-hour drive from the city and is anticipated to open in late spring, depending on the farm’s bloom this season. There are some visiting dates available to see the tulips for May, and more will be added as soon as the blooms become more prominent (the farm opens their fields for visits once the tulips reach 50 per cent bloom). You can also take your visit to the next level by joining the Beyond the Vase: Tulip Experience — a two-hour experience where guests can walk through the field and take part in other unique opportunities such as a scavenger-hunt style game and a pressed flower workshop. Tickets aren’t sold on location so you’ll have to snag yours online here.
For the best lavender field experiences to visit during peak bloom, click here.
