Verdant Skagit Valley in northwest Washington is known for its winding river full of salmon and bald eagles, picturesque dairy farms, patchwork fields and fertile farmland. More than 90 crops are grown in the valley, including berries, cucumbers, potatoes and those famously colorful tulips.
Now all of the sights, sounds, tastes and yes, smells, of the farm can be yours, thanks to a burgeoning crop of Skagit Valley farm tourism opportunities. Visit one of these farms during your Washington journey for tours, hayrides, corn mazes, petting zoos, gardening demos, pony rides and much more.
Hoehn Bend Farm near Sedro-Woolley offers guests the chance to stay in a quaint turn-of-the-20th-century farmhouse surrounded by pastures, barns and a host of critters, including Polly, a rescued pig. Amble around the farm’s 30 acres, help gather eggs, feed the animals or pick and press a bundle of fall apples into cider.
Stays are also possible at Samish Bay Cheese Farmhouse in Bow, an organic beef, pork and farmstead cheese maker at the base of the Chuckanut Mountains. The modernized 100-year-old farmhouse makes a perfect base for exploring the farm’s 200 acres and points beyond.
For a quick trip, check out the Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms (October). The free, family-friendly event offers a behind-the-seeds glimpse of 14 working farms producing everything from berries and bulbs to cheese, wine and shellfish.
Find bulb-planting seminars at tulip titans RoozenGaarde in Mount Vernon, a you-pick harvest at Bow Hill Blueberries in Bow, and crab races and oyster-shucking demos at Taylor Shellfish, also located in Bow along Chuckanut Drive. Parking is free and shopping is plentiful, as are those cow pies. Wear boots.
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—Diane Mapes
A garden in Washington's Skagit Valley, Flickr/Dana
