The Best Sunflower Fields Near NYC
Looking for a sunflower field near Manhattan? This blog tells you the best sunflower fields near New York City in NJ and on Long Island that you should visit in the summer!
Sunflowers are the happiest flowers on earth as some people say and it is no surprise that you are interested in visiting a sunflower field for those beautiful shots. But are there any nice sunflower fields near NYC?
If there are, where are they? Those were the questions that I kept asking myself when I first started my research into what are the sunflower fields near NYC.
The good news is there are a bunch of nice sunflower fields near New York City, mostly in New Jersey and Long Island, but the bad news is you have to be able to drive to get there.
Unfortunately there aren’t any sunflower fields within the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Bronx).
The closest sunflower fields from Manhattan are on Long Island. There are also a lot of sunflower farms in New Jersey. Note that most these farms also have pumpkin patches and apple picking during the fall and sometimes strawberry picking in the summer.
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When is Sunflower Season in New York
Although there are various species of sunflowers, in generally the sunflower bloom season in New York is mid summer to early autumn in North America. Most of the sunflower fields near New York City are open from mid July/ Early August to early September (exact details vary by fields).
When sunflowers bloom, the sunflower head generally face the direction of the sun through the day. Native to North America, sunflowers are known to be heat resistant, pest resistant, drought resistant and a symbol of summer.
Things You Didn’t Know About Sunflowers
Sunflowers can be short or tall, many species of sunflowers actually grow to be over 20 feet in height, making them giants of the field compare to other flowers.
You may think that each stem of sunflowers is a single flower, but the truth is each yellow petal and the brown center is actually a flower by itself! This means as many as 2000 individual flowers make up one sunflower bloom. And each sunflower can contain between 1000 to 2000 seeds.
Sunflowers are native to the Americas and they were once developed as food source!
Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine.
Lastly sunflowers are not always yellow! You will find red and purple sunflowers too. They also vary in height, some farms have shorter sunflowers whereas other farms in New Jersey and Long Island might have taller sunflowers.
The Best Sunflower Fields near New York City & How To Get There
Being Native to North America, it should be no surprise that there are actually a number of sunflower fields on the East Coast especially near New York City. You will find a ton of farms with sunflower patches and sunflower maze throughout New Jersey and Long Island.
Manor Farm Sunflowers Maze
Address: 210 Manor Rd, Huntington, NY 11743
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ManorFarmHuntington/?rf=1637992449771314
Distance from Manhattan: About 1 hour drive
Manor Farm is in the town of Huntington in Long Island and it’s an education center designed with green architecture.
There are a lot of family friendly experiences offered at Manor Farm, such as Community Yard Sale, fall Harvest Festival, Egg Hunt, Halloween Haunted Trails, escape rooms and Sunflower Maze.
The owners have been planting sunflowers since 2013 and every year the sunflowers are planted in May for the maze beginning of August. There are 2 types of sunflowers at Manor Farm and they average 6-8 feet tall although some are taller.
The Sunflower Maze at Manor Farm is open from 8am to 8pm everyday in August. In July there is also a sunflower festival on July 22-23 (2023) from noon to 8pm. Tickets are required for the sunflower festival.
Holland Ridge Farms
Address: 86 Rues Road, Cream Ridge NJ 08514
Website: https://www.hollandridgefarms.com/u-pick-sunflowers/
Distance from Manhattan: 1 hour and 20 minute drive
Holland Ridge Farms is a pristine flower farm famous for its tulips in the spring and sunflowers in the fall. It’s one of the most popular destinations for flower picking due to its proximity to New York City. If you are looking for a feel of Holland in New York/ New Jersey, this is the farm for you.
The farm hosts two pick your own flower seasons, usually for $1 per stem. It’s the perfect place for photography, day trips or just some family fun. In addition, all guests require a ticket to enter the farm (Adult: $15; Children 2 and under are free).
You will need to purchase tickets for specific time before arriving.
No Pets or drones allowed on the farm.
Happy Day Farm
Address: 106 Iron Ore Road, Manalapan, New Jersey 07726
Website: https://www.happydayfarmnj.com/sunflowerpicking
Distance from Manhattan: 1 hour and 20 min drive
Happy Day Farm is a very popular farm about 1.5 hour drive from Manhattan. It is a very popular far to view sunflowers, lavender and zinnias.
Sunflower field is generally open from mid July to end of August and sunflower picking goes from early September to end of October and it is open everyday except Monday and Tuesday. But you should always check their website as their dates change all the time.
The farm has a sister farm about 1 mile north called Arrowhead Farmstead that offer epic sunflower viewing and sunflower picking.
You will need advanced ticket purchase to enter on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays and the tickets include access to sunflower and zinnia fields. Children 1 and under are free. Tickets are cash only!
They sell fresh squeezed lemonade and shaved ices. During the summer time, besides Sunflower picking, Happy Day farm also offers lavender viewing, raspberry picking and blueberry picking. You can also book after hours field rentals.
The farm does not allow outside food, smoking or pets.
During the fall, Happy day farm offers family friendly activities such as pumpkin picking, corn maze, pig races, tractor rides, feeding zoo, etc on Friday to Sundays. You can get all of the updated information from their official website.
Sunflower Valley Farm
Address: Sunflower Valley Farm, 366 County Rd 12, New Hampton, NY 10958
Website: https://www.sunflowervalleyfarm.com/
Distance from Manhattan: 1 hour and half drive
Sunflower Valley Farm is a large farm in New Hampton about 1.5 hour drive from Manhattan.
The farm is open for sunflower season starting early August (in 2023) and you can visit the sunflower fields for $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12 (children under 5 enter for free). Cash/ Venmo only at the gate.
Admission includes 2 free Sunflowers (pick your own). This place is great for kids because there is face painting for kids, fun activities for the whole family. They also have food trucks, music, drinks and other activities on the farm.
Note that this sunflower farm is only open to the public on the weekends (Friday to Sunday). If you want to visit during the day, you will need to contact them for photo shoots at $30 per 1 hour session Monday to Thursday.
There is no drones allowed at Sunflower Valley Farm. Pets are allowed on a leash.
Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden Pick Your Own Sunflowers
Address: 663 Wading River Rd, Manorville, NY 11949
Website: https://www.water-drinker.com/sunflowerfestival
Distance from Manhattan: ~1.5 hour drive
Located in Long Island, Waterdrinker is a large Farm and Garden that have indoor and outdoor greenhouses as well as tulip fields, wildflowers and sunflower fields that attracts many visitors every week.
In the spring, Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden has over 100,000 tulips blooming and the farm offers Tulip Festival ($20 per person).
In the summer there is a Sunflower Festival that opens in August everyday from either 9am (weekend) or 10am (weekday) to 6pm everyday. General admission is $20 per person.
You can pick your own sunflowers for $2 per stem or wild flowers for $5 per bouquet. There are also mini golf, lawn games, playground, bouncy pads, swings, etc at the Sunflowers Festival.
The Festival is only till early September but sunflowers themselves are expected to last till the end of September.
If you have kids then I think this is one of the best sunflower fields in Long Island. The play area is big and there are a lot of things for kids to do including a tractor pulled “train” ride around the fields. They also sell food (burgers, fries, cheese sticks, strawberry lemonade, etc).
If you are a professional photographer, you can pay the farm for shooting sessions or after hour access (prices vary).
In the fall Waterdrinker Farm also has a Fall Festival, which includes hay rides, Jumbo jump pad, mini golf, barnyard animals, lawn games, playland, corn maze, etc.
Similarly in the winter there is U-Pick Christmas tree, holiday light display, Christmas Village and a lot more fun activities.
Sussex County Sunflower Maze
Address: 101 Co Rd 645, Sandyston, NJ 07826
Website: http://www.sussexcountysunflowermaze.com/
Distance from Manhattan: 2 hour drive
Sussex County Sunflower Maze is a farm located in Sandyston, NJ that has spectacular sunflower fields. The sunflowers there bloom from mid August to mid September and the best time to visit is early September to ensure full bloom.
They open later than many sunflower fields near New York City so if you miss the boat on other farms you can still come here later in August and September!
They are the first sunflower maze in New Jersey and offers a couple of different mazes when you enter.
You have to pay admission when you enter and it’s cash only. They sell water when you enter in case you forget to bring your own.
Dogs are allowed at Sussex County Sunflower Maze if they are on a leash. No drones allowed and photographers/ clients enter as regular person (paying admission). If you are a professional photographer you do need to sign in, but you don’t need to RSVP.
Rottkamp’s Fox Hollow Farm
Address: 2287 Sound Ave, Calverton, NY 11933
Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057400002125
Distance from Manhattan: ~2 hours drive
Rottkamp’s Fox Hollow Farm is a farm and market located in Claverton on Long Island. It is only about a 15 minute drive from Waterdrinker Farm and 10 minutes drive from Lewin Farm.
The GPS location will take you to their farm store (and ice cream stall) with a few kid’s rides. For sunflower maze you will need to continue drive up the road for a couple of minutes.
If there is only one sunflower fields I can pick on Long Island I would highly recommend the Rottkamp’s Fox Hollow Farm.
It is an amazing sunflower maze that costs $6 to enter (kids 5 and under go for free). The sunflower maze is beautiful, with plenty of photo opportunities and you do not have to pay a hefty price to attend any festival.
So if you are looking for just photo opportunities than this is the farm for you.
Garden of Eve [No longer offering events and U-Pick; they are now part of Waterdrinker Farm]
Address: 4558 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901
Website: https://gardenofevefarm.com/
Distance from Manhattan: ~2 hours drive
Garden of Eve farm is an organic farm and market located in Long Island that was founded in 2001 by environmental advocates. The farm is open from April 1st to Halloween and they have different events on the weekend.
There is a Sunflower Festival every year from end of July to end of August on the weekends only if you are interested in visiting. Tickets can be purchased on their website.
Garden of Eve has 5 acre of sunflower fields with more than 100,000 flowers. Admission is $7.95 per person but only $5 if you buy tickets online.
There are other activities that are fit for families during the sunflower festival. The entrance fee also include 1 free sunflower stem and you can buy additional ones when you are there.
They did not list restrictions regarding drones or dogs, so it’s best to check with the farm directly.
Pindar Vineyards
Address: 37645 NY-25, Peconic, NY 11958
Website: https://www.pindar.net/
Distance from Manhattan: ~2 hours drive
Sunflower field at a vineyard, what? That’s right! The Pindar Vineyards sunflower field is a hidden gem that most people don’t about. Located in Long Island, about 2-2.5 hour drive from Manhattan (depending on traffic), this vineyard has an annual one week event in early August that allows you to visit their sunflower fields.
You can pick the sunflowers yourself at $2 per stem.
Buttonwood Farm in Griswold, Connecticut
Address: 473 Shetucket Turnpike, Griswold, CT 06351
Website: https://www.buttonwoodfarmicecream.com/sunflowers-for-wishes
Distance from Manhattan: 2.5 hours
Buttonwood Farm began as a dairy farm and now has expanded to include sunflower fields and an ice cream shop.
Every year Buttonwood Farm plants over 14 acres of sunflowers (300,000 blooms) and they donate proceeds of these sunflowers to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. This event usually ends by late July and in early August they let the cows onto the sunflower fields.
You cannot pick the sunflowers as on other farms mentioned above, but you can certainly buy the bouquets where your proceeds will go to charity.
Final Thoughts on the Best Sunflower Fields near New York City
Sunflower fields are a fantastic sight every summer. They symbolize summer, happiness and fun times with families. If you have time or are looking for a nice day trip from New York City, why not check out these beautiful sunflower fields?
Just remember to always follow the rules when visiting sunflower farms and take care to not damage any flowers when you take photos. Also do not pick the sunflowers unless you are told you can do so.
Additional Readings
If you want to check out other farms and fun family activities in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey or other New York City articles, be sure to click on the links below!
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