Visit These Incredible Illinois and Wisconsin Sunflower Fields

If you've been waiting all year for sunflower season to arrive in Illinois, congratulations, you have officially made it!

Favorite Summer Things

When it comes to the question of "what's your favorite season?" there's a clear winner every time: summer.

Some people love summer for the heat and vacations. Some love it for time spent in a pool or on a lake, and a large number of people love summer for the gardening and flowers that the season brings.

Me? I love summer for all those reasons and one more: sunflowers!

There's just something about standing among thousands of bright yellow sunflowers that instantly puts me in a good mood, and right now two popular Stateline-area farms are inviting us all to come experience their sunflower joy, but only for a limited time.

Sunflower Fields Open Now in Illinois and Wisconsin

Many farms throughout Illinois and Wisconsin will soon have massive fields of sunflowers in bloom for us to visit, but here are two worth checking out this week if you're in the mood for a little road trip.

Skelly's Farm Market in Janesville, Wisconsin

Technically, Skelly's huge sunflower field has not reached peek bloom yet, but by late this week or weekend it should be!

A post on Skelly's Facebook says:

Believe it or not, it's almost time! We anticipate opening our field for the VERY short season by mid-week! We're thinking Wednesday or Thursday, depending on bloom percentage. Keep an eye out for an official opening day here very soon!! Once we open, you've got about 2, MAYBE 2.5 weeks to come visit us. The absolute last day the field will be open (IF we make it that far) will be August 9th.

Skelly's sunflower field features around 150,000 blooms spread across seven acres with nearly 30 different sunflower varieties. The field also features walking paths, several photo station opportunities, viewing platforms, a specialty flower area, and a cutting field so you can bring some sunflower beauty back home with you.

Buy tickets to Skelly's Sunflower Experience in advance at skellysfarmmarket.com.

Von Bergen's Country Market in Hebron, Illinois

Driving back and forth from Rockford to Country Thunder over the weekend I noticed a ton of cars at Von Bergen's Country Market in Hebron... now I know why, the sunflower field is open!

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Von Bergen's annual Sunflower Festival is officially underway with more than 30 acres of sunflowers to explore, and there's a farm market full of fresh goodies.

For more information on Von Bergen's Sunflower Festival, visit vonbergens.com

Which Sunflower Field Should We Visit First?

Honestly...both!

Skelly's and Von Bergen's each offer a different experience, and both are easy day trips from the Rockford area. Perhaps we should start at Von Bergen's first, only because their sunflowers bloomed first and will die off before Skelly's do?

The most important thing to remember is: sunflower season doesn't last long. Blooms only stick around for a couple of weeks, and the best pics are captured shortly after they bloom!