Tiptoeing Through Texas Tulips

One of my favorite spring traditions in the Dallas, TX area is our annual trip to Texas Tulips. The beautiful tulip fields look like something lifted straight out of Holland and dropped into the Texas countryside. Here’s everything you should know before you go, and some beautiful photos from our latest trip.

What to Know Before You Go

Texas Tulips is located all the way out in Pilot Point, TX, which is about an hour away from the heart of Dallas. The drive up there is absolutely beautiful, winding through grassy fields and oak trees.

When you arrive, you’ll park in a huge dirt-paved parking lot. Every time we have visited it has been very crowded, even in the middle of a week day! Lots of families visit on their spring break, so crowds are unavoidable. But you can still capture beautiful pictures of the many rows of tulips. Keep reading for tips!

Admission to the tulip fields costs $5 per person. You can’t reserve tickets online ahead of time, but you can pay with a credit or debit card when you walk up to the entrance.

Once you’ve paid the entry fee, you can grab a wicker basket and start picking! Tulips cost $2.50 per stem as of the 2021 season, so choose your flowers carefully.

Tips for Visiting Texas Tulips

Here are some tips to keep in mind to help you have the best possible experience at Texas Tulips.

1. Dress smart for the weather.

While it’s typically pretty warm by the time March rolls around in Texas, Pilot Point has been exceptionally windy pretty much every year that we’ve visited! Check the weather before you go to see if you need a light jacket. Also, the tulips are planted on a farm, which means the ground is a combo of mud and fertilizer (AKA manure). If the ground is dry, you’ll be fine in sandals. But if it rained the day before, definitely opt for some sneakers or boots instead.

2. Take a basket regardless of how many tulips you plan to pick.

Taking home a few tulips is definitely part of what makes the experience fun, but since we’re a family on a budget we usually only purchase a couple. Even if you aren’t planning to pick enough tulips to fill an entire basket, you can still grab one and use it as a prop for pictures! It will make your pictures look so much cuter and more authentic.

3. Shoot pictures close to the ground.

When you photograph the tulips, they will not be as sharp and clear if you just point your iphone at the entire field and shoot. Crouch down and put your camera inside one of the rows of blooms, then shoot straight forward. You’ll have sharp, clear tulips up close and in focus in the foreground, with the field of tulips getting smaller and smaller stretching out behind them in the background. Check out the next section for examples of what I mean!

4. Head to the back or corners of the field for portrait photos with fewer people in them.

If you want to take some nice family pictures or cute selfies, head towards one of the back corners of the field. If you wait patiently, you can usually get a few pictures without any people walking around in the background behind you.

5. Last but not least, use the restroom before you visit!

The only restrooms onsite are porta potties, so I highly recommend taking a bathroom break before you hop in the car or stopping on the way there.