Pic from the Holland Ridge Website!
Owning a farm makes it into lots of my daydreams. The idea of sprawling gardens and baby goats makes my heart happy. My son has a love for all things of the land as well, and farms are ALWAYS a hit with him. We are always down for a farm adventure!
Twice a year, Holland Ridge holds big U-Pick events. In the spring for Tulips and in the early fall for SunFlowers. Last weekend, we attended their Tulip event on an unusually warm spring Saturday. We had an absolute blast!
What I love about Holland Ridge is that they know how to pull together an EVENT. When you buy a ticket (non-refundable so keep that in mind but hey-- if your plans change don't you feel good still donating to a local farm?!) you also get access to food trucks, petting zoos, wagon rides, photo spots-- all sorts of goodies!
We bought a ticket for the morning because I know that as the day goes on, the farm gets busier and busier on those nicer days. It is helpful to get onto their text message system before their events open for sale because sometimes they DO sell out. (pro-tip for the Fall!). We made it through the line at our entry time and walked onto a field that looked like it was straight out of a shot in the Wizard of Oz. Colorful and beautiful tulips for long stretches. It's a photographer's (or social media influencer's) dream. There are photo perfect spots everywhere! They even have tandem bikes, big princess carriages and other fun set-ups for awesome pictures.
Funny enough, with all these great picture spots-- I do NOT have a picture of my son picking tulips. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay in the stroller (BRING THE STROLLER! The grounds are huge and you will be glad you have it), eat snacks and people watch instead! I was happy to pick a few of my own along with some help from my cousin's toddler who REALLY enjoyed selecting flowers and pulling them out of the ground.
After picking flowers (you pay for what you pick. $1 per stem) we headed past a TON of great food trucks to where the animals where. There were horsey-rides set-up for an additional fee. (It's convenient to have cash on hand for these things but the website mentioned that most vendors also take cards on property.) My cousin's son tried it first and loved it! Watching him prompted my shy guy to give it a go. This mama was SUPER proud because I KNOW how much bravery he had to muster up to do that. The love of horses won and he took a little stroll on a big white horse!
After the horsey rides, we walked up to visit with some other farm animals including some pretty cute goats and a donkey. My little nugget confidently pointed out the different animals, naming them as we went.
After the animal visits, we stopped by the cafe for a little lunch which we enjoyed at a partially shaded picnic table (which is unique! Most of the farm is in direct sunlight so bring that sunscreen). After lunch we paid for our flowers and headed out for the afternoon with sleepy kids. I think we missed a little play area in the back, but it was that time of day and the crew was getting a little tired.
Holland Ridge has their last weekend of U-Pick Tulips this weekend and unfortunately there is rain in the forecast. I bet galoshes and umbrellas in the tulips could make for some really cute pictures though if you and your family are game! If not, keep an eye out for their Sunflower Season! Just as fun and equally as beautiful!