They say that the Earth laughs in flowers, so true, when you see those colors red, orange, purple and blue.

The diversity in colors make tulips one of the most beautiful flowers that adorn mother nature. Ever since I had seen pictures and videos of the colorful manicured fields of tulips in Holland it was added to my travel bucket list.

Imagine my surprise when these beautiful fields came to New Jersey and Holland Ridge Farms made my dream come true! The farm started their annual tradition of tulips last year in 2018 and thanks to Instagram and other social media their fame spread like a frenzy. We decided to visit almost instantly and were left spell bound by the millions of tulips in the fields.

The place was an abandoned dairy farm and Casey Jansen who came here from Holland over 55 years ago saw the potential and converted it into the beautiful tulip farm that we see today.

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The tulip festival runs for a month and we went in quite late last year and found it to be fairly crowded making it difficult to capture the picture perfect moments. The farm just kicked off their second annual tulip festival on April 13, 2019 and I decided to visit it the very next day to beat the crowds. Click here to check out the hours and directions.

Here’s what to expect, when you visit the Holland Ridge Farms:

The parking is free and the staff helps you find the best available spot. There are restrooms in the parking lot as well as inside the farm

When you enter, you would immediately notice a big Yellow Shoe very symbolic of Holland, along with the sign post with Milestone Markers to a variety of popular international destinations. Right opposite to it, is another big sign of Amsterdam Square the shoe and size make excellent photo ops. You will quickly spot the ticket windows the tickets are $12 at the booth or $10 if you purchase online when you purchase a ticket you are given a colorful tulip chip which looks really cute. The chip is collected back at the entrance to the field and you can grab a map to explore the farms.

You would notice a variety of things to do in the farms there is a Hollandwood theater, Good ‘ole Days Museum and a Pick n Choose Gift Shop. I decided to stop here on my back and moved on to the tulip fields (for kids there are also pony rides, hay rides and an animal barn with a variety of animals).

I reached the tulip fields and was in total awe. There are tulips in every color you can imagine. No matter what color clothes you wear you would find a tulip to match or complement your outfit. I wore a red dress and found plenty of rows of red tulips to get some shots.

New this year was another Yellow Shoe right in front of that tulips fields, adding to the scenic Holland setting. Also back from last year are the popular bikes set across the tulip fields. Don’t forget to hop on to one and feel the colorful Holland vibes of riding in the tulip fields.

You can also pick your own tulips for $1 a stem. There are multiple booths to grab a cutesy lil basket (along with a pair of scissors if you need one) to pick the perfect tulips for your home or loved ones.

There are some food trucks and a bakery, but the choices are very limited, so fill in your tummies before going there or carry some snacks along with a bottle of water.

Strong advice, don’t get engrossed to find the perfect spots for a picture, instead find a bench to sit and marvel at the picturesque beauty of nature and soak in the colorful vistas. Spring truly sparks life in everything!!!

Having said that, it’s always a plus to capture those picture perfect memories :-), so here are my recommendations for the best picture spots –

• Entrance – Amsterdam Square: This is a great place, the trick is to find it less crowded. Depending on the time of the day you visit and the crowd, you could choose to click some shots here before or after your adventure.
• Pick n Choose Gift market: Right in-front of the gift shop is a color palette along with a few tulips, it’s a great spot, especially since you can easily get some standing pictures with tulips.
• Yellow Shoe in the tulip fields: This is no brainer, it’s a perfect spot and you can create your angle and composition how you Ike it; Kids typically love to get in the shoe for an extra adventure.
• Tulip fields: Now here’s a trick after the Big Shoe, look for the farthest place in the field with the lesser crowds. Most of the folks like to click pictures as soon as they spot tulips leading to huge crowds in the forefront of the fields.  Try exploring the farthest spots for less photo bombing and more portraits shots.
• Bikes: Whether you sit on them or pose next to them, the bikes set across the fields offer spectacular props.

After exploring the fields and soaking in the scenery to my hearts content, I decided to call it a wrap but not before checking out the gift shop. This year the gift shop had a variety of  wooden tulips and wooden shoe based assortments.

I grabbed some wooden shoe decorations items and something for the kiddo. On my way out I thought of using the wooden shoes I bought as a prop and grabbed some last shots before heading home!

If you live or are visiting the tri-state area in late April- early May, highly recommend a trip to this beautiful and colorful gem in NJ!