This one time, I was searching for both a reason and a way to silence any excuses to hit the road down the coast to Oregon. The trip was hanging in the balance—until I stumbled upon this event, and just like that, bags were packed. Something spectacular was in full bloom at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR. That was the missing piece—the key that tied all the other landmarks together and, most importantly, put them on a proper timeline. Portland, the legendary Cannon Beach, the rolling dunes, agate-strewn shores—it all finally fell into place as the perfect itinerary.
But honestly, haven’t we all seen tulips before? Do they really justify a 300-mile journey?
Even if they were the elusive black ones…
Of course not—it was never just about the tulips. It was about what was floating above them!
The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn draws hot air balloon enthusiasts from all over the region.
And they don’t just show up—they take folks up for a ride!
The whole experience lasts only a couple of minutes and costs a mere $15 (which, for context, is the price of a single tulip field ticket in Vancouver). The real challenge? Enduring the hours-long wait to get your turn.
What’s more, spending a couple of hours in line doesn’t even guarantee you a ride. Safety is at the mercy of the weather, and more often than not, the balloons take off early in the morning and wrap up by noon.
The hot air balloon setup process, by the way, is anything but quick—they spent a good half-hour just spreading the balloon out on the grass before even starting to inflate it with a giant fan.
Before firing up the burners, crews use giant fans to fill the balloon with cold air. Only once it’s partially inflated do they turn on the propane burners to heat things up.
Things picked up pace here, and in about five minutes, the balloon was starting to vaguely resemble… well, a balloon.
Though, at this point, it seemed to have developed a mind of its own and was trying to make a run for it.
Next up: the burner. Time to heat all that air under the canopy and get things properly inflated.
The balloon slowly starts to straighten, rising steadily into the air.
In just a blink—suddenly, there are two of them.
A standard hot air balloon envelope (the fabric part) can be as tall as a 10-story building when fully inflated!
And while Inflating a hot air balloon takes about 20–30 minutes, deflating and packing it back up can be even trickier—especially on windy days.
Before we knew it (but also after making a few full laps around the farm while one of us was holding the line), it was our turn to ride the balloon.
Getting into the basket requires hauling yourself over the edge, which sits nearly at chest height. So, like it or not, a bit of physical ability is definitely needed. If you ask me, though, it is more fun this way!
Once inside, it’s a bit cramped—but can’t complain that it is cold. Not that it isn’t cool…
Looking up, the canopy from below is absolutely stunning!
These rides elevate you about 50 to 75 feet above the tulip fields. And the view, to be honest, is nothing to write home about—at least not when Mount Hood is completely shrouded in clouds. Still in my opinion this is a no-brainer!
If you think the field is crowded, you clearly haven’t seen the line of cars waiting to get in. No exaggeration—it stretches a full mile. Why would anyone want to get here around 2 p.m. anyways? The balloons are already packing up, and yet, people are still pouring in. Are they really here just for the tulips?
Of course, there’s more to do here than just balloon rides—like taking a spin in barrel carts. It’s fun, a bit bumpy, and incredibly dusty.
Lots other little entertainments for kids here and there…
This one must be Jeepers’ favourite: rubber duck race down the pipe. Kids dig it!
Believe it or not, but there are actual wooden shoes at Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival too!
There’s also, quite possibly, the largest collection of working steam-powered machinery I’ve ever seen.
They even align them by the size. Your OCD will be satisfied.
The best part? The entrance to all of this is free (aside from the $5 parking fee), which is $15 cheaper than at our local fest in nearby Chilliwack, BC, where you might not even see tulips sometimes, let alone everything else.
So, really, why wouldn’t you drive some 300 mile for all of this? I sure would again!
Alright, take a note, drop the pin and save the date in your calendar:
33814 S Meridian Rd, Woodburn, OR 97071
Directions…
www.woodenshoe.com
This year the festival takes place from March 21 – April 27, 2025
And there’s an additional 45-minutes to 1 hour hot air balloon journey available at sunrise with a much more significant altitude of 3,000ft than the short tethered experience during the day. The flights can be booked at Portland Rose Balloons.
And a word of advice: get here early, for the time for hot air balloons is before noon. Balloons can’t launch in high winds become too difficult to control during inflation and they rather tend to be the morning activity pretty much anywhere I’ve seen them. No to mention that you do want to beat the crowds, as the line seemingly doesn’t stop growing during the day.