Summer is always tons of fun, but all those summer camps, family trips, playdates and having something on your calendar every. single. weekend. can get a bit overwhelming.
The next time your family needs to decompress, stop and smell the sunflowers! A trip to a flower field is a relaxed and affordable way to unplug and destress. Enjoy some time in nature, cut your own flowers and take advantage of cute farm photo opportunities. Plus, many of these sunflower farms offer kid-friendly play areas and activities!
Sunflower season is typically mid-July through Labor Day, which means a trip to a sunflower field is a great way to close out a busy summer. Get started by visiting one of these flower farms near Chicagoland!
11 Sunflower Fields Near Chicagoland
Harvest Tyme Family Farm: Sunflower Festival
- Address: 17904 Grant St., Lowell, Indiana
- Sunflower season: Sept. 14-15, 21-22, 2024
- Cost: $2/sunflower, $10/six sunflowers, $18/dozen sunflowers, $20/mason jar (all you can fit!)
The annual Sunflower Festival returns on Sept. 14-15 and 21-22, 2024. Frolic through the sunflower fields, cut your own blooms and snap photos in front of cute farm photo opportunities, like a vintage truck filled with sunflowers.
Heap’s Giant Pumpkin Farm
- Address: 4853 US-52, Minooka
- Sunflower season: Late-August through mid-September
- Cost: $12/person. Includes flower field entry, one bloom and access to play areas and mazes
Heap’s Giant Pumpkin Farm is also home to beautiful, blooming sunflowers! Kick off sunflower season at the sixth annual Sunflower Harvest. Explore more than nine acres of sunflowers and zinnias, cut your own blooms and enjoy other fun farm activities for families.
Keller’s Farmstand
- Address: 2500 Johnson Road, Oswego
- Season: Flower fields open mid-July; sunflowers typically bloom in mid-August
- Cost: 2024 prices TBA. Children 4 and under are free, but will not receive a free bloom.
The flower fields at Keller’s Farmstand in Oswego open in mid-July. Depending on the season, you can find celosia, cosmos, gomphrena, marigold, snapdragon, statice, zinnia, gladiolus and three acres of sunflowers.
Sunflower field tickets include one bloom and access to Keller’s Summer Playground, as well as a special sunny surprise!
Kuipers Family Farm
- Address: 1N318 Watson Road, Maple Park
- Sunflower Fest dates TBA
- Cost: $10.99-$13.99/entry and one bloom. Children 2 and under are free.
Cut your own sunflowers, snap summertime photos in the flower fields and enjoy all of the fun kids activities at Kuipers Family Farm. New this year is a Sunflower Date Night; check the farm’s website for the latest info on this special event and other Sunflower Fest info.
Matthiessen State Park
- Address: 2500 IL-178, Oglesby
- Sunflower season: Mid-July through August
- Cost: Free!
Consider Matthiessen State Park’s sunflower field as the park’s hidden gem. Located just past the model airplane field at the end of the Matthiessen Vermillion Area, you’ll find 60 brilliant acres of sunflowers in bloom from mid-July through early-August.
M&D Farm and Garden Center
- Address: 14946 S. Bell Road, Homer Glen
- Sunflower season: Sunflower fields open in August
- Cost: Free admission
This family-owned-and-operated farm and greenhouse offers gorgeous plants, flowers and hanging baskets, as well as corn stalks and straw bales in the fall. Beginning in August, families can visit and explore the farm’s picture-perfect sunflower fields. Be sure to pick up some local produce and other fresh goodies to take home!
Richardson Sunflower Festival
- Address: 909 English Prairie Road, Spring Grove
- Sunflower season: Typically mid-July-Labor Day
- Cost: $20-$24/person; children 2 and under are free
Follow intricate trails through 13 acres of sunflower fields with 24 different varieties of sunflowers. Families can also enjoy food trucks, carousel rides, a petting zoo and live music (during the weekends). Adventure Farm admission includes admission to the sunflower fields. Friendly dogs on a leash are welcome.
Stade’s Farm and Market – Pick-Your-Own Sunflowers
- Address: 3709 Miller Road, McHenry
- Sunflower season: July through late-September
- Cost: $2/sunflower, $5/three sunflowers, $25/all you can fit in a mason jar (including zinnias)
Wander through the sunflower field, cut your own blooms and take all the Insta-worthy photos. For $25, you can fill a vase up with as many flowers, including zinnias, that your heart desires. Swing by the farm market before you leave for fresh fruit and produce, warm bakery goodies and more farm fresh ingredients.
Tom’s Farm Market
- Address: 10214 Algonquin Road, Huntley
- Sunflower season: July 16-Aug. 6, 2024
- Cost: $12/person. Children 3 and under are free. Sunflowers are $3 each, or six for $15.
Why wait for corn mazes when you get lost in a field of sunflowers? Tom’s 4-acre sunflower maze offers a fun family activity with photo opportunities along the way. They also have a small children’s play area and an option to cut your own sunflowers.
Thompson Strawberry Farm – Pick Your Own Sunflowers
- Address: 6621 156th Ave., Bristol
- Sunflower season: Opens mid-July
- Cost: 2024 prices TBA. Children under 3 are free.
This famous strawberry farm is also home to a 15-acre sunflower patch. Walk the paths, take in the natural beauty and pick your favorite sunflowers and zinnias to bring home. You’ll stumble upon tons of cute photo opportunities, including a giant butterfly bench. Don’t forget to bring something to cut the flowers with!
Von Bergen’s Country Market Sunflower Festival
- Address: 9805 IL-173, Hebron
- Sunflower season: Now open
- Cost: $10-$12/person. Children ages 2 and under are free.
Meander through a sunflower maze with ample photo stops, including oversized chairs and platforms that offer a bird’s eye view of the sunflowers. After exiting the maze, continue the fun with even more farm photo ops.
Kids can burn off some energy at the farm playground. Say hello to farm animals, including an adorable pot-bellied pig! When hunger strikes, grab food at the Barnyard Grill where they serve food that uses homegrown produce and local ingredients.
Before you leave, be sure to cut some flowers from the large u-pick flower field which includes over 50 flower varieties.
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