“I stood in the middle of a 35-acre field, slowly turning 360 degrees. All around me, majestic tulips stood proudly like lollipops, in the golden hour of the day, mountains rising in the distance. Time stopped. And in that moment, I felt unbridled joy.”

Sometimes, the best treasures aren’t found in far-flung destinations, but in our own proverbial backyard. I recently ventured for a whirlwind trip to B.C.’s Fraser Valley, an area I’d driven through on Highway 1 many times on long road trips between Calgary and the coast, but I had never spent any time in the area – the view from the highway was all I knew.

The Fraser Valley is located just to the east of Vancouver, and is made up of Langley, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Harrison and Hope. With easy flight service in and out of Abbotsford International Airport, getting in and out of the region is a breeze, and the area is easy to navigate by car thanks to self-guided tour maps and many points of interest within a relatively small geographical area.

The Fraser Valley is in many ways, a food basket for Canada. Abundant produce, farms, vineyards, bee hives, greenhouses and agriculture fill the area.

For many, it conjures up memories of flooded fields and farms, which devastated the region in November 2021. With dedication, resilience and hard work, the region has come back to life, and is growing its agritourism offerings.

A variety of self-guided circle farm tours lead off the highway and through idyllic surroundings, to wineries like Singletree, a family farming operation located in the Mt. Lehman area. The winery offers tasting “Di Vine” domes located on the edge of the vineyard, which are available for private functions and tastings. The family-run vineyard first established its vines in 2010 and the winery opened in 2015. Producing roughly 60,000 bottles per year, its broad range of unique wines have made it a local success story in a burgeoning wine region.

Di Vine Tasting Domes at Singletree Winery in Abbotsford

Other classic farm stops include microbreweries, U-pick berry farms, farm markets, honey farms and garden shops, including Tanglebank Gardens which is home to Brambles Bistro, a farm-to-table concept with a timber garden patio. Retreat to quaint inns like the Brookside Inn for warm hospitality.

But the shining star attractions every spring are the Abbotsford and Chilliwack Tulip Festivals, letting visitors immerse themselves within an incredible vista of some six to seven million blooms, rivalling the tulip fields of Holland. With every variety of colour imaginable, walking among the flowers resets the soul and offers unlimited photo opportunities. It’s a special experience: the blooms only last for three to four weeks, from around the third week of April through to around the second week of May, depending on the weather and conditions.

Can’t make it for the tulips? Fear not! This year, Lakeland Flowers, home of the Abbotsford Tulip Festival, will offer a whole summer of different blooms after the tulips have had their moment in the sun, with peonies and lupins, followed by fields of lavender, then capping off the summer season with the sunflower festival.

Specific bloom times are available on their field report. Advance online tickets range in price from $8 to $15 per person, making it an experience that can be enjoyed multiple times to enjoy the light at different times of the day.

Out of the fields and into the cities, both Abbotsford and Chilliwack offer great downtown experiences. In Abbotsford, boutique stores line its historic centre next to trendy coffee shops, microbreweries and apparel stores. Re:Vive is a bistro-meets-boutique concept, with unique charcuterie offerings set within a unique home décor store.

I stepped into a quaint flower shop, lured in by bundles of daffodils being sold for a dollar. Taking the term “to stop and smell the flowers” to heart, I stood in awe at the varieties of fresh blooms being made into exquisite bouquets.

A few blocks away, Field House Brewing Co offers unique tasting flights in an outdoor setting that’s a cozy as a summertime backyard, with retro-style lawn chairs. Sip on a pineapple papaya habanero sour, passion fruit hazy pale ale or a key lime creamsicle sour.

In Chilliwack, a newly evolved area called District 1881 has become a favourite for locals and visitors alike. Think cobblestone pedestrian laneways, unique restaurants and shops. Who wouldn’t love a wander through “Woolly Dog Alley”?

There’s something magical about visiting a place where the soil can thrive and grow: whether the bounties of the Fraser Valley hit our flower vases, wine glasses or salad bowls, it’s a region on the rise that lets you get back to the basics, one country road at a time.

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Experiencing the Tulip Festivals in BC’s Fraser Valley

Modern Mississauga Media

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