Looking for your happy place this summer? Just stroll through a field of sunflowers!
Lucky for you, you can visit one in every state from New Jersey to Maine. Some offer sunflower festivals with live music and food trucks, while others open their fields for u-pick options so you can bring home an armful. Better still? Some donate proceeds to local charities so you can feel extra good about your visit.
Remember, all listed sunflower fields are weather-dependent so check their websites before you visit to confirm the status and to find info on admission, amenities and related events.
Need a ride? Rent a car.
Connecticut
Buttonwood Farm
Griswold, Conn.
When: July 20-28
Each year, the farm plants 14 acres with some 300,000 sunflowers, all for a good cause. During Buttonwood’s annual Sunflower for Wishes event, visitors can walk the fields and pick their own blooms for $3 a flower with 100% of the profits benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Before you head home, sample some of Buttonwood’s homemade ice cream – there are more than 50 flavors – but don’t miss the special sunflower ice cream, only available during the event, made with a caramel base, honey, almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds!
Middlefield, Conn.
When: July 27-Aug. 25
With u-pick berries in the spring, fall apple picking and two golf courses, this Connecticut destination has something for everyone, including a 3-acre maze filled with 350,000 red, yellow and orange sunflowers. At its end, climb a 10-foot viewing platform for a spectacular photo. If you just want to go home with an armful of blooms, a u-pick option is available. $1 of every admission goes to the Connecticut Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
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Poland, Maine
When: Opens mid-August
This eighth-generation family farm has a great u-pick sunflower field, open typically in mid-August through Labor Day, while the flowers are in season. Hit the farmstand for freshly grown produce, too.
Pumpkin Valley Farm
Dayton, Maine
When: Labor Day weekend and the following weekend
This year, the farm is doing something different: Expect colorful pinkish purple zinnia interspersed with sunflowers 2- to 3-feet high, creating the effect of a living bouquet! Along with fields brimming with blooms, there are farm animals for the littles, a corn pit, live music and food options, including brick oven pizza, kettle corn, even beer and wine.
Massachusetts
Garden at Elm Bank
Wellesley Mass.
When: Mid-August
Close to Boston, this 36-acre botanical garden run by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is home to day lily and rhododendron gardens, native plants, a labyrinth and Weezie’s Garden for Children. Come August, it will open its very first sunflower field – 100,000 seeds were planted in a newly developed part of the garden – for viewing and picking. Check their website for precise opening dates.
Ipswich, Mass.
When: Mid-August
Sunflowers and tulips are all that’s grown at this fourth-generation family-owned farm, but you can also glamp, do goat yoga and get your portrait taken with a cow. The farm’s School Street sunflower fields should open in mid-August with flowers blooming through mid-September.
New Hampshire
Coppal House Farm
Lee, N.H.
When: July 27 – Aug. 4
Known as New Hampshire’s first sunflower festival, this event includes fields of blooming flowers, a craft fair each weekend, live music and food vendors, along with lots of extras such as Touch-A-Tractor and a Draft Horse photo day. Once the flowers have reached peak, they dry in the field and then seeds are pressed into culinary oil.
6th Annual Sunflower Bloom Festival
Sunfox Farm
Concord, N.H.
When: Aug. 10-18
Admire the view or pick a few blooms to take home at this 20-acre sunflower field and festival. But that’s only part of the appeal: Sunfox’s sunflower fest also includes a lineup of local musicians, vendors, food trucks and a unique sit-down dining experience.
New Jersey
Blooming Giants Sunflower Trail
Alstede Farm
Chester, N.J.
When: July-October
Alstede is home to the Blooming Giants Sunflower Trail, in bloom – weather depending – from July to October. Take photos, cut your own or just admire their beauty. While you’re there, check out the cider mill, ice cream stand, a farm store and dining options. Or book a harvest moon hayride through the fields.
Jobstown, N.J.
When: Late June thru early October
In addition to acres of sunflowers ready to be picked, the farm has a barnyard and corn maze for the kiddos and Tomasello Winery’s Tasting Outlet for the adults. Look for dedicated photo op spots tucked among the flowers, along with events and pop-ups including a vintage market, evenings on the farm and food trucks.
New York
Kerhonkson, N.Y.
When: Aug. 3-Sept. 2
When you spot the “World’s Tallest Garden Gnome,” you’ve arrived at this Hudson Valley farm. Every August it comes alive with thousands of sunflowers spread across a 6-acre field. And they’re not all yellow. Kelder’s plants many different varieties and colors each year which you can admire and pick. The farm has over 30 additional attractions, from kids’ activities to a taproom, donut wagon and farm market. Before you leave, don’t forget to snap a photo with the gnome!
Liberty Ridge Farm
Schaghticoke, N.Y.
When: Aug. 17, 24, 31
From kids’ activities to trolley rides to a hedge maze, there’s lots to keep you occupied all day at this popular festival, which sells out every year. But you’re here for the sunflowers! The 4-acre field doesn’t disappoint, so get that camera ready. And if you need a little break, there are wine slushies and festival foods to tide you over.
Waterdrinker Family Farm and Garden
Manorville & Riverhead, N.Y.
When: Mid-July
You can get your sunflower fix times two on Long Island. Waterdrinker Farm’s two locations include a sunflower maze and an array of family-friendly activities from mini golf to an obstacle course, as well as a newly opened beer garden in both locations. The farm is open Friday-Saturday in Riverhead and Tuesday-Sunday in Manorville. Sunflowers typically start to bloom in early to mid-July and last until Halloween.
Rhode Island
Johnston, R.I.
When: After July 4
This farm is strictly a stroll-and-snip adventure. You can walk the fields and admire the blooms or create a personal bouquet. Dame Farm provides a mason jar with water to keep them fresh, but you have to bring your own clippers or scissors. There’s also a farm market and kids’ activities.
Clark Farms
Matunuck, R.I.
When: Early August
Known for its annual fall corn maze, in summer you can explore meandering paths that wind through 3 acres of sunflowers which are typically in peak bloom in early August. The farm also has family activities.
Vermont
Billings Farm & Museum
Woodstock Vt.
When: Aug. 1- early September
This Vermont site offers a look into what farm life was like in the 1890s, but as August arrives, so do the sunflowers – more than 50 different varieties ranging in height from 1-foot to nearly 14-feet tall with names like Just Crazy and Lemon Cutie. Visitors can wander through “rooms” and “hallways” created by the sunflower stalks and blooms. The display is ever-changing as flowers begin to bloom and mature over the month of August so there’s always something new to see.
What’s your favorite sunflower festival? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Featured image: Courtesy of Kelder’s Farm.
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