
Travel Guide to Texas Tulips in Pilot Point, TX
Hey guys! So many of you have inquired about visiting the beautiful Texas Tulips Farm in Pilot Pint, TX and wanting to know details on the area. So I did this post just for you – how to get there, what to expect, tips, where to stay and all those details so you can make your weekend drive memorable. I am always excited to add another post to my Mini Vacation Travel series where you can take a fun trip not far from the DFW area and not needing to take off work or spend of whole lot of money. A vacation is anywhere from being away from home or a break from doing your ordinary day to day activities. The definitely does not state that a vacation has to be X amount miles from your home to be considered a vacation.
GETTING TO PILOT POINT, TEXAS
Getting to Pilot Point, TX is not hard at all. It is the same course you would take to get to Fortunata Winery in Aubrey, TX. You would take I-35 North towards Denton and exit Swisher Road near Lake Lewisville. You will go through some rural towns and pass through the lake bridge which is a tollway.
You will pass through some developing areas where they are building homes. So the homes are fairly new looking. You will travel about 10 minutes North of Aubrey before you get to Pilot Point. It is nice small town feel with a two lane road. Very easy going with not a lot of cars on the road.
WHERE TO STAY
When we first went to the Texas Tulips, we did not realize how close it was to Fortunata Winery & Villas! In case you did not know, we had the best staycation there in January! The villa we stayed out was so big and wonderful with a gorgeous hot tube. Read my full review here! We loved it there because you felt so much at home. It was basically a Tuscan style winery and our villa was like a 1 bedroom house.
At Fortunata Winery, they have wine tasting which is quite popular for the locals! The wine there is really good and we had some followers already made a visit there and agreed as well! You definitely should do the wine tasting and get a meat and cheese board! I highly recommend visiting Fortunata Winery even if you do not stay the night. The winery is open to the public.
VISITING TEXAS TULIP FARM
Texas Tulips was a wonderful experience! We have been wanting to visit for sooo long and happy that the weather was great and we got to visit it. Texas Tulips was about a 7 minute drive north along the same road as Fortunate Winery. When we arrived, we were shocked in the amount of people that were there. It was full of people. But again, it was one of the first warm sunny weekends that we had in Dallas in a long time. Texas Tulips is seasonal usually from February to April until everything is sold out. You can order bulbs too.
Parking is free but there is $5 entrance into the farm. They accept cash or card. The one thing I love about Texas Tulips are the complimentary baskets that they provide. They have different styles and super cute. We had to wait a few minutes for some to come back before we began picking. We waited by one of the wrapping stations. Once you pick your tulips, your payment of the tulips comes with complimentary wrapping which they offer a variety of colors of “bouquet paper”. The tulips sit in a plastic bag with transfer gel to keep them hydrated. You must take them out of the transfer gel and put them in water. If you wait too late, then they won’t last long. Lesson learned!
What amazed me are all the variety of tulips out there. I never knew there were so many varieties! There are a lot of different colors which I had a hard time deciding which color combinations I wanted for my bouquet. I saw one type of flower that resembled a hibiscus flower – very red/orange with long curved petals. The traditional red tulips were my favorite. They were sooo red that they were shiny and almost looked plastic. I never seen a tulip so pretty. The yellow and purple ones are pretty but there was a distinct difference with the red tulips that were growing next to the entrance.
My biggest pet peeve are the inconsiderate people who would pick, photograph and toss the tulips aside on the ground. What you pick, you pay for! The signs are clear. It is only $2.50 per tulip. It was so sad to see little piles of wilted picked tulips laying on the ground because people would pick, photograph and not pay for them. That is stealing. Parents keep an eye on your kids too that they are not frivolously picking tulips. Please do not be like those people and have some respect for Texas Tulips. $2.50 is not a lot.
There is one particular area of the field that was more packed than others due to there being more rows of tall blooming colorful tulips more close together. That is where people were getting those photo ops. Due to the cold weather in Dallas, there were rows of tulips that had not fully bloomed, but they did have a couple of rows of tulips in this non bloomed section that was great for photos because no one was really there which made it perfect for photography.
The way to get great photos is getting close to ground. Texas Tulip farm is beautiful, but do not have the expectation that it will look exactly like the famous tulip fields of Amsterdam – long color blocks of colorful tulips. It is still very pretty at Texas Tulips, but the tulips are pretty spacey where you can see the dirt in between the flowers.
WHERE TO EAT
If you are looking for some small town cooking, then head over to World Famous MOM’S in downtown Aubrey. We ate there during our staycation in Aubrey and the food is pretty good. It is not 5 star quality but your typical small town cooking. I had their special which was the all you can eat catfish and shrimp. Their portion was actually pretty big so I only had one portion. I really liked the fried catfish. Also there is Fortunata Winery too. We only at the various of appetizers there during our wine tasting but I heard that on Friday nights, they have woodfire pizza that an Italian lady comes and makes! Yum! If Austin is doing the wine tasting, then you know you are in for a treat! The coolest guy we met! I believe he works Thursday through Sundays.
WESTERN SON VODKA DISTILLERY TOUR
Western Son Vodka is my FAVORITE vodka ever!!! Why? Well it was the first vodka I tasted that I could drink straight. I never had vodka so smooth and flavorful. I discovered them while shopping at Specs and the rep got me hooked on the blueberry vodka and served me a blueberry lemonade which I serve every time I have friends over! They love it.
Well Western Son distillery is actually in Pilot Point, Texas and they give tours! It was about a 20 minute drive from Fortunata Winery and we took the last tour which our guide was very informative. He told us about the history of the distillery and what new product they are about to launch! Excited! You get to see all parts of the process of making their vodka and the machines that does it. At the end of the tour, you get to have complimentary vodka tasting. All of their vodkas are good and they made some Western Son Mules that was super good with the flavors they carried. Peach, Prickley Pear and Blueberry are my favorite! Their ginger beer is also very good too!
SHARKAROSA WILDLIFE RANCH
If you are looking for an outdoor adventure, then visit Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch in Pilot Point. This 126 acre ranch is open to the public Saturday and Sunday. They have some amazing wildlife at this ranch from alpaca, miniature horses, boas, emu, zebras, kangaroos, wallaby, lemurs, macaws and more. They also have a petting zoo which is great from small kids too. We did not get to visit during our stay at Pilot Point but we would like to go and visit. Photos courtesy of Sharkosa Wildlife’s website.
BLACK MUSTANG RANCH
Another outdoor adventure to go on is visiting Black Mustang Ranch! If you are a horse lover, you can do an hour long. You can go on a guided ride on their horses on the trails, around the lakes and take the horses in the lakes as well. In this area you will find wildlife management areas, wetlands, waterfowl sanctuaries and lots of equestrian trail – Ray Roberts Lake/Lake Lewisville Greenbelt Corridor. We did not get to visit this place either but we hope to visit our next visit. Photos courtesy of Black Mustang Ranch’s website.
I hope you visit this cute little town and Texas Tulips! Its a nice little getaway from the Dallas Fort Worth area!