Washington Annual Outdoor Events

Washington is full of unique events that define the beautiful place we call the Pacific Northwest. From the Snow Geese migration to Skagit Valley to the Lavender Bloom in Sequim there's something going on around the state to tickle your fancy. Below we've compiled a list of several annual events to perk your interest.


Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Dates: April-Mid-May
Directions
Every year hundreds of acres of Tulips are planted in the fertile alluvial plains of the Skagit River. The annual Tulip Festival celebrates the brilliant colors of spring bloom into a delightful rainbow. Approximately 300,000 to 400,000 converge via car, bicycle, tour motor coach, and boat on the Skagit Valley giving the surrounding towns of main-street America, Mount Vernon, La Conner, Sedro-Woolley, Burlington and Anacortes, much to celebrate.
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Snow Geese Migration
Dates: October-May
Directions
Every year from mid October to early May large flocks of up to 55,000 Lesser Snow Geese winter in Western Washington. Most make the delta of the Skagit River their home, particularly the alluvial Fir Island between the North and South Forks of the Skagit River. Feeding on the roots and remnants of past crops, the geese are a beautiful snow like mass of flight, not to be missed.
They can also be seen in eastern Washington during migration (mid-April to mid-May and mid-October to mid-November).
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Eagles on the Upper Skagitl
Dates: January-Febuary
Directions
Originating in Canada, the Skagit River runs from high in the Cascade Mountains to the Puget Sound estuary lowlands. The winter months bring our nations bird out in strong numbers, bald eagles gather by the hundreds to feed on returning salmon, inspiring a popular annual festival. The large sentinel raptors visit to feed on spawning salmon and you can catch a glimpse of them high in the branches of a riverside cottonwood or on the river bank feasting on the carcass of a salmon. This is an unique site of the NW that's not to be missed.
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Salmon Spawning @ Carkeek Park
Dates: November-December
Directions
Want to see spawning salmon? If you live in Seattle you don't have to go far, try Carkeek Park. Every year primarily from mid-November through mid-December 100 to 600 chum salmon spawners return to Piper's Creek. After 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 years at sea, a mix of hatchery and natural the chum salmon return to Piper's Creek as 7 to 15 pound adult fish, ready to spawn. The peak of spawning generally occurs during the first week of December, and that time period would likely provide the best opportunity for viewing spawning chum salmon. Have fun and while you're there check out the rest of the sprawling park.
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Sequim Lavender Bloom
Dates: July-August
Directions
With little rain (due to the Olympic Mountain Range rain shadow) and lots of sun, Sequim celebrates the beauty and usefulness of the hardy Lavender plant annually during its peak bloom season in July. Throughout the Dungeness Valley, set with pastoral scenery, lavender grows in abundance. In an attempt to save farmland and bring commerce to the area the Sequim Lavender Festival was started in 1996 by local farmers. The festival which brings as many as 30,000 people annually, has grown to include three days of lavender farm tours and a street fair. The festival will allow you to get an up-close view of the blooming fields and to learn how the growers cultivate and use their lavender.
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