Skagit Valley Festival of Farms – First Weekend in October!
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Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms
The Skagit Valley is located one hour north of Seattle & south of Bellingham, WA. The Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms tour begins in the Burlington/Mount Vernon area and is located all up & down the Skagit Valley, from the saltwater off of Chuckanut Drive to the foothills of Concrete, WA & all in between.
The farm tours take place the first weekend in October – this year it will be on Saturday, October 5th (10 am – 4 pm) & Sunday, October 6th (10 am – 4 pm). This is a free event, with tons of activities for kids and the entire family.
It takes both days to visit all of the farms or you can pick & choose the farms you want to see. It is a leisurely tour that you can customize to your own tastes.
This is an opportunity to have a hands-on experience at the farms, to see all that it takes to run a farm – from growing their crops to taking care of their animals. There are so many educational & fun activities to participate in during the Festival of Family Farms tour::
- educational exhibits
- farm tours, harvest markets
- gardening demonstrations
- free samples
- kids activities
- corn and hay mazes
- animal exhibits
- pumpkin patches
- scenic tours and more
What ages are recommended for this pumpkin patch/farm?
From 5 to 105. There’s something for EVERYONE!
Highlights:
Everything including Pumpkin Patches, Orchard Tours, Free Samples, Kids games, Farm animal petting, hay rides, wine tasting, Crab racing!, corn & hay mazes, farm stands, and lots of opportunities for learning about how your food is grown/sourced. There are thirteen farms on the tour. Our favorites are the Taylor Shellfish Farm and Samish River Dairy.
We have been attending this free farm(s) tour in Skagit County every 1st Saturday in October for years…and we’re not even from Skagit County! It has such variety and there is something for everyone, kids and adults. Everything includes Pumpkin Patches, Orchard Tours, Free Samples, Kids’ activities, Farm animal petting, hay rides, wine tasting, Crab racing!, farm markets, and lots of opportunities for learning about how your food is grown/sourced. Truly entertaining. Everyone we bring with us gladly returns the following year. It begins in the Burlington/Mt. Vernon area. The website for the tour is https://www.festivaloffamilyfarms.com/. It’s happening NEXT WEEK and our family is so excited!!!! This is our main Fall Family Tradition now. We never miss it.
Tips:
Many of the farms have little farm stores where you can buy things from the farm, such as Cheese Curds and fruit. The Cascadian Farm has an Ice Cream & Espresso Stand and wonderful views of the Skagit River. People who choose to be a Festival VIP and donate on the website get free discounts & free giveaways. We always donate & head up to the famous Cascadian Farm to pick our free pumpkins out. There are many farms with picnic areas set aside and some with food vendors. We always find something yummy to eat at one of the farms.
It is also a really great opportunity to turn it into a fall weekend getaway. One idea on where to stay in the region, if you do not want to do one of the standard hotels, is to book a cabin at the Thousand Trails Campground. This spot is wonderful because the cabins can be affordable to rent, you will have your own kitchen to save on eating, and there is a beach to explore and more.
You can also find a BIG list of Northwest Fall Festivals and Pumpkin Patches to use as a resource for finding a fun family outing for the fall near you. If you’re on the hunt to check out the beautiful changing of the leaves, here are a few of the best places to view the autumn colors around the Northwest.
