Windmill Island Gardens

In deciding which tulip farm to go to, I decided to go to this one because their website said it was dog friendly and wheelchair accessible. They are dog friendly but dogs are not allowed inside the stores or windmill, just outside. I kind of wonder if that is true of all the farms.
I visited during the Festival of Tulips but was disappointed that almost all the tulips were dying or dead when I visited. I came on the last Saturday of the festival. Next time, I will have to do research to check that the tulips are still alive and well. They have a Facebook page and they post updates. (I’m not sure if they would tell you if the tulips were dying, though. I think they just posted updates of pictures with the areas where tulips were alive. So make sure to see if they post pictures of large areas of tulips, like whole fields of them.) What’s funny is that the tulips were alive in other areas of Holland, MI and that there were more tulips in Chicago than there were here. I think if the tulips had been alive, it would have been very impressive because there would have been fields of them.
There are a few attractions — the visitor center, the miniature display of Holland, the gift shop, windmill, and carousel. I was surprised how small it was. If you are in a rush, you could probably see everything in about an hour to an hour and a half. They do tours of the windmill. When we went, there was a long line for the tour. It seems like the tour can take a while because they stop on every floor and talk about the history. I was in a bit of a rush so only went through part of it. It also has a great view from high up. What’s neat about the windmill is that it is still functioning and used to mill flour. It is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the U.S.
Also, there is a small restaurant inside the gift shop. It seems cheap and inexpensive because the items are only a few dollars each but everything is very small, so it is actually quite expensive. I would recommend getting the prepackaged food instead of the food at the restaurant because you would get more bang for your buck. I especially enjoyed the blanket with almond paste. They sell long logs of these prepackaged in the store. I wasn’t a big fan of the flavor of the pigs in the blanket but I didn’t realize these were Dutch. The Dutch windmill cookies were good.
I didn’t visit the carousel because I thought it was a kid’s attraction but I read online that it is hand painted so if you visit, make sure to check that out.
There is a large parking lot which is free. I think they also have rides for if you park far away. Some people parked closer to the entrance than the actual farm.
Next time, I’ll likely visit another tulip farm.

I was hoping to see a more vast amount of tulips but it’s probably the best farm in holland. Highlights for us was the tour of the beautiful historical windmill and getting some good shots of the family by the tulips.

You can’t go to Holland without visiting the Windmill Island Gardens. It was a little cold and rainy so it wasn’t very crowded when we went but they told us that during Tulip Time the wait for the windmill tour can be over 2 hours. Luckily we didn’t have to wait so long. I thought it was interesting that the windmill is an actual windmill from Holland built in the 1800s. They even have a woman who works there as an actual miller to preserve the historical practices. They sell flour, wheat, etc to local bakeries and breweries. You can even buy some to take home. I felt like I learned a lot of interesting nerd stuff, which is one of my favorite things to do. The tulips were in bloom and beautiful. Unfortunately because there are so many hungry deer in the area they were surrounded by a black fence that only comes down during Tulip Time. It was a nice place to spend some times walking around. They had some wooden shoes and souvenir things in the gift shop. They didn’t have as much of a variety as the wooden shoe factory but they were a little cheaper. Definitely worth the few bucks to get in.

Admission for adults was $ 9 and $ 5 for kids. Great place to come with the whole family. There’s a playground area and carrousel for the kids at no additional cost. Having two kids with us we headed to the carrousel first. How ever, the man that was running it was very rude and grumpy and told us we were going to have to wait 15 minutes cause he was the only one there and was going to have to go play the organ. We understood that maybe someone didn’t show up to work so he was stuck with doing extra work, but he could’ve been nicer or expressed differently about it. We figured we’d let the kids play in the playground next to it till he was back. Well we waited 35 min and he didn’t come back. We eventually just left to explore the rest of the premises. The windmill tour of course is a must do. Our tour guide was very informative and detailed! There was some tulips already popping out and they were gorgeous! We all had a good time over all.

We visited on their first day of the season. After the am five k. There were some other attendees but not a mass attack. Residents of Holland are free, other adults 9 $, children are 5 or 6 $. We didn’t mind as funds help maintain the historic dutch windmill.
The tulips should be blooming by early to mid-​May. There are already daffodils and hyacinths in bloom. There is a nice walking path around the island. We saw kayakers and bikers, too.
The mini– dutch village display, conservatory, and gift shop are worth a stop, too. We also heard the organ, a gift from the Netherlands post-​WWII, and watched the film. And, of course, tour the Windmill! Worth a stop if you’re passing through.

We went labor day weekend so there were no tulips but they had other flowers to add color to the landscape. The area did not seem too large, especially since we weren’t given a map of anything. There were people by the entrance to greet us and to verbally tell us where everything was to get us oriented. Admission was $ 8 per person and we basically paid to see the windmill and the landscape. We probably only spent 30 minutes here. There were dancers by the windmill but they did not seem very enthusiastic about their job. They did however provide a nice description about their outfits which I liked.
The gift shop was not really worth stopping by unless you wanted something to drink. I would skip it.

Last night I helped my friend host her wedding at the island! The venue was incredibly accommodating and helpful from start to finish. They were ready to be a helping hand at any point in time. During set up they checked on us multiple times. Even on a slightly drizzling day the venue was absolutely stunning and created some unique pictures. I wish that restrooms were better labeled around the grounds for guest. While the wedding space was beautiful I felt a little constricted with the policies and regulations with food and bar options and with having to be out quickly made a night seem to end too soon. So overall it’s an incredible and unique space but I wouldn’t rank it number 1 wedding spot in West Michigan.

Went in August. No tulips (FYI) but other very unique and pretty flowers. Grounds were well kept. Took the tour of the windmill which was interesting.
We arrived just before 5 and they closed at 6. We had enough time to do the tour and walk around on our own. The reason this wasn’t 4 stars is that the main facilities closed well before 6. I learned from the attendant at the gift shop that the gardens, main building (with bathrooms) and carousel are owned by the city while the gift shop is privately owned. Apparently the gift shop is required to stay open until 6, but the rest of the place pretty much closes down at 5:30. Point being if you want to use the restroom or carousel, don’t expect it to be open until 6. The saving grace was the woman who worked at the gift shop allowed me to use their employee restroom (being preggo helped) and she also found someone to run the carousel for a family who had been waiting.

I came here as a guest for a wedding. I didn’t walk around too much– just stayed in the entrance area and walked up to the windmill. I came at the end of June and the scenery was just okay. I’m guessing I had to walk farther out to explore the flowers but from just the entrance/​windmill standpoint, it was just okay.
The ceremony was pretty and the tent was pretty. The buffet food was actually not that bad. The visitors center and bathroom area was just okay.
As you can see… keyword is okay.

Free to Holland residents, Windmill island is a nice place to see flowers, a nice place for a wedding, but the main attraction is the Authentic Working Windmill brought over from the Netherlands.
Take the free tour of the windmill — but beware, it freaks out anyone who isn’t in love with heights.
There are lots of photo opportunities, so keep your eyes peeled!
TIP: they sell ice cream treats for $ 1 (first building by the carousel)

Where to start about Windmill Gardens during Tulip fest… The traffic was heavy but our visit was later in the day and we easily found good parking. Cost was $ 8 for entrance to the park and no discount for it being the last two hours before closing. Upon entering from the left, you are greeted by the Street Organ that plays twice an hour. It’s fun to check it out and see how it works in the back.
Park itself is not too big and easy to navigate for strollers, walkers and hoofers. They even allow your dog in on a leash. The flowers were as perfect as you would expect them to be. With as much land as the park covers, I actually thought there would be more flowers but realized that I was holding this park in comparison to the actual tulip garden in the Netherlands. Beautiful landscaping, plenty of shade up around the movie house, but you are in the open out around the windmill, so don’t forget your sunblock. The sea of color is so striking, I wanted a picture of each color — with their large windmill in the back ground, you can’t get a bad picture. Out near the windmill were tents with old traders. Fur pelts, antiques, crafts and wares. There was a long line to get into the actual windmill. They were allowing people our on the deck of it. The view had to be amazing.
Each grouping of tulips, by type, offered a small sign with the flower name. This was, of course, so you could order the bulbs in the tent behind the movie house. Plenty of seating in the tent, for a respite from walking in the sun. They also offered a small selection of snacks and were serving two authentic Dutch combo plates, for the true Dutch experience, I suppose. I would recommend hitting DeBoer’s instead but it was there if you wanted it.
The bank of small shops were for tourist trinkets, snacks and a miniature Dutch village behind glass. It would have been better if it was air conditioned and better lit to see. So hot, you can’t stay in there long for your eyes to adjust to see everything. The movie house was air conditioned, with restrooms and a dining room type seating area for a cooler respite.
Tulip fest is crowded but not too bad for a Thursday afternoon. We will do this again some year, but pay attention to the parade times. It’s near impossible to get to anything with the roads closed for an hour on either side of the parade times.

It was okay. Yes, it’s a pretty place to visit and also kind of a tourist trap like many of the other places that are popular. People were being shuttled in on the last day of Tulip Time. We didn’t want to pay admission to Veldheer, Windmill AND Dutch Village. So we just went to the first two. I enjoyed Veldheer more. It was less crowded, with more impressive flowers that hadn’t been trampled by a bunch of tourists. The windmill was neat. The conservatory was lackluster. The shops were so crowded we could barely walk in. It’s definitely the more accommodating choice if you have kids. I was in a group of adults. It is absolutely pretty. I can see why people choose to have weddings there. I hope when there’s a wedding, they don’t allow all the tourists.

Came to this place during tulip time because I heard tulips were pretty. In reality, the old man «directing» anxious tulip hunters at the front of the park, was rude, not helpful, and left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth about windmill gardens. We had someone with a full leg brace on and he wouldn’t let us drop her off inside the park which was 1 mile away from the front. We had to park in front of someone’s yard and walk 1 mile into the park. They had trailers shuttling people from front to back but nobody would stop to help our friend. They were not at all accommodating. The place had one field of tulips which were pretty but we spent more time walking to the place and from the place than we would even dream of spending inside. Definitely not worth a trip in, especially not during tulip time.
As we were leaving and starting our trek back out to our car, the old man from the beginning of our trip almost mowed us down in his small SUV then waved his hands as if we should move our disabled friend into the grass to walk rather than inconvenience him to drive a little further on the other side of the road.
I will not be returning and would not recommend this place especially if you are in any way shape or form disabled especially during tulip time.

I visited Windmill Island Gardens on the opening day of Tulip Time; probably the single best and worst day to go. We walked to the entrance from downtown Holland and took a covered wagon «shuttle» in to the ticket areas. Admission is neither cheap nor expensive, but would have seemed far less «worth it» on a day where there were fewer special events taking place.
The day of our visit, the Historic Dutch Trade Fair was set up, along with several camps of Revolutionary War-​era reenactors. I, myself, thought this was probably the best part of the attraction and well worth the admission cost. Excellent educational opportunities to learn about the technology, culture, politics, and history of that time in a very interactive setting. Cooking, crafts, firearms, and ceremonial demonstrations went on throughout the day, and there were also actual merchants selling everything from wooden toys to beeswax candles. It reminded me of a small-​scale Renaissance Faire, and I really enjoyed it! The French Canadian fur-​trappers were quite the raconteurs.
De Zwaan, the historic working Dutch windmill, was open for tours with about a 30 minute wait. Be warned that it is not fully accessible to those with physical limitations and does require some moderate stair-​climbing. The film shown in the Post House gives a detailed history of the acquisition and transport of the windmill from the Netherlands in the 60s. You can actually buy the stone ground graham flour processed by the windmill in the gift shop; quite a unique souvenir.
Speaking of souvenirs, along with the typical t-​shirts and tchotchkes, the gift shop also sells Klompen, or Dutch wooden shoes, for children and adults. I overheard the Dutch costumed reenactors say they wear anywhere from 5 – 9 pairs of socks with the Klompen, which might give you some idea of their comfort level.
Just past the gift shop and mini Dutch village, there is an adorable (and small) antique carousel and a modern playground for the children who visit. Not anything that I would make a special visit for, but nice diversions for the under 8 set.
The real star attraction while we visited was, of course, the tulips themselves. Thousands of bulbs in various stages of bloom provided the right amount of atmosphere and natural beauty. It really is amazing to see the variety in shade and shape, and the Island’s gardeners do a fantastic job of complimenting Holland’s signature flower with other plants, shrubs, and flowers to create a cohesive landscape.
Worst part of the day was trying to escape from Windmill Island. After 3 ½ hours, we were all Dutched out and thought we’d give our dogs a rest and take the «shuttle» back up to the entrance. But by that time in the afternoon, all of the parked cars were navigating their way out and the shuttle line had about 50 people waiting. We hoofed it back to the entrance which was no simple feat: cars were parked on both sides of the rode along the grass and there was no specific path for pedestrians.
If you can deal with crowds and don’t mind lines, I would actually recommend visiting during Tulip Time to maximize what Windmill Island Gardens really has to offer at its best. Consider parking early and leaving late OR parking in Holland and shuttling/​walking in.

*Disclosure: I received passes from the Holland visitors bureau to go here (I’m a blogger).
This place was just okay. It’s a beautiful spot and they’ve kept it up well, but we only stayed for about 30 – 45 minutes. They do Dutch dancing demonstrations at the windmill, but we had just seen one at Dutch Village, so opted to skip it.
My favorite part of this place was actually just seeing all the beautiful flowers around it — the Conservatory had more exotic things like cactii (cactuses?) but not as many flowers.
It’s $ 8 admission, I’d say it’s probably worth like $ 3 – 5 though.

We got the 2-​attraction pass for Windmill Island and Nelis’ Dutch Village. Good way to go — but some redundancy.
The big attractions here?
— Great windmill with 30-​minute guided tours including info on flour milling
— Feeling of isolation on the island and being in Holland in Europe
— Mini-​Netherlands at the entrance
— Carousel for young ones
— Fantastically maintained gardens
— Nice walking trail around the perimeter of the island
— Friendly, knowledgeable tour guides
— Playground for young ones
— Conservatory with stuff that doesn’t easily grow outside in Michigan
We spent about 90 minutes here; there was more to do at Nelis’ Dutch Village on 31 — yet this place has real value for a shorter visit — and feels more like «away from it all».

The $ 8 per person entrance fee was a bit of a surprise but imagine what it takes to maintain the windmill operation.
From a history perspective this was a great tour. Up the levels you go one at a time with a docent providing the interesting details. It’s not something you get to watch work everyday.
The rest of the area was nice to walk around and look at the flowers and such.

Such a great place to visit when in Holland. We were able to tour a windmill brought over from the Netherlands. There were dancers which preformed an authentic Dutch dance. Truly a great to tour during the summer. Make sure you try on authentic wooden clogs.

This place is a joke. Almost $ 8 to get in, and what do you get in return?
The windmill is kinda cool if you have little kids. We took the tour. Our guide was super awkward and kept doing these weird long pauses. She was hard to follow and totally uninteresting. So we skipped ahead and joined the tour before us where the guide was better.
If you’re there when the tulips are in full bloom, they’re beautiful — perfect for your family Christmas card. But other than that… meh.
The little village store is full of crap or nice stuff that’s way too pricey. We went there not really knowing what to expect and left going «um, what did we pay for minus a couple nice photographs?» They have fudge in the shop and flour ground at the mill, but other than that… meh.

******America’s Only Authentic Working Dutch Windmill*********
It’s called «De Zwaan».
Imported from the Netherlands and restored on beautiful Windmill Island Gardens in downtown Holland, Michigan.
The blades, reaching as high as a 12 story building, turn by the power of the wind. It provides the power to the millstones to grind grain into flour. The windmill is open daily, Spring through Fall.
An hourly slide presentation, on Dutch culture and windmills, is shown in the Posthouse. Other attractions include Little Netherlands, a Dutch countryside in miniature, a beautiful Dutch street organ, tours of the windmill, a children’s antique Dutch Carousel a beautiful greenhouse and lovely manicured flower gardens.
They charge $ 11/​person. Our tour guide was from Sacramento. Moved to Michigan decades ago.
Much more than just set decoration, this 17^th century windmill, brought to the United States in 1964, actually still works! The city of Holland had to promise the Dutch government that the mill would actually remain functional, as well as be accessible to the public for touring, in order to secure its possession. At the helm of these operations is Alisa Crawford, the only Dutch certified miller in the US.
Operating a 240 year old Dutch windmill might seem like on odd professional choice for a pretty, petite Midwest Mom, but for historian Crawford, who started apprenticing at a mill when she was 17, it presented a rare opportunity to connect with history in a hands-​on way. She learned enough Dutch to study in the Netherlands and pass the vigorous exams need to become a certified Dutch Miller. At first her fellow students — all Dutch and all men, didn’t know what to make of the American woman, but when they saw how dedicated and serious she was, she earned their respect.
Today Alisa oversees all of De Zwaan’s operations and maintenance. Her duties include the daredevil task of climbing the mill’s tall exterior blades in order to attach canvas sails that help maximize the wind’s efficiency. She then grinds grain into whole wheat or «graham» flour that visitors can purchase at the park’s gift shop.
Costumed docents lead tour groups through the mill, explaining its workings and history. One of the guides, June Prins, told of a visiting World War II veteran who immediately recognized De Zwann when he saw the windwill. He claimed the mill had saved his life, along with another soldier, when they had used it as a hiding place from German troops. In those days the stairs that allow guests easy access didn’t exist, the two had to climb the mill’s inner skeleton frame in order to reach safe refuge in the upper rafters.