15 Stunning Sunflower Fields in New Jersey You Won’t Want to Miss

The state of New Jersey comes alive with the heat of summer. New Jerseyans ditch the indoor dining scene for street-side cafes and activities in the outdoors. Going for picnics in the parks, lakeside exploring, and spending the day at the beach becomes part of the summery lifestyle.

But those aren’t the only things that make a summer adventure in New Jersey magical. Each year, starting at the end of June, hundreds and thousands of sunflowers transform rolling hills into bright yellow fields. Along with sunflower fields in Texas, Minnesota and Ohio, New Jersey has some of the most stunning sunflower fields in the United States.

Visiting the sunflower mazes and fields found around New Jersey isn’t just about the iconic photo opportunity (although there’s plenty of those). Many of the farms allow you to pick the sunnies for your own bouquet at home. Other farms have adventure activities for kids – allowing you to make the excursion a full day of excitement.

To save you the time and effort of mindlessly driving around New Jersey in search of the dazzling sunflowers, I’ve put together a comprehensive list of 15 sunflower farms and fields.

15 Sunflower Fields in New Jersey (and some farms)

The easiest way to discover the sunflowers in NJ is by car. If you’re a local, it’ll be easy to add one of the stops to your summer itinerary. Globetrotters and those living in one of the many beautiful US cities can either road trip to NJ or rent a car. There’s no need to rent SUVs or 4-wheel vehicles as many of these locations have easy access. 

To give you an idea of how far you’ll be travelling, the starting point has been set to the Jersey City Theater Center, given its proximity to NJ attractions. Each location has an estimated travel time, when travelling by car, from the theatre.

1. Terhune Orchards

Location: 330 Cold Soil Road

Time: 1-hour 10-minutes

Terhune is a family-run, 200-acre farm in Princeton, NJ. Being a large farm, you can expect to find over 1,000 sunflowers starting to bloom from the end of June.

One weekend in August, generally towards the end of the month, the sunflower fields are open to the public. Wander around freely through the rows of yellow beauties. While roaming the orchards, you can stop and pick fresh, juicy peaches and crisp apples.

On top of fruit picking and marvelling at the sunnies, the farm is open for wine-tasting. After soaking up some nature, head to the tasting room to discover their award-winning wines. On Fridays, it’s open from 12 pm to 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm.

2. Happy Day Farm

Location: 106 Iron Ore Road

Time: 1-hour

From the beginning of July to the end of August, Happy Day Farm allows its visitors to pick and bring home their glorious sunflowers.

As you wander through fields of thousands of flowers, have your shears or garden scissors handy to pick the perfect blossom. If you don’t have shears, you can rent a pair for $10. But don’t forget a bucket that you can fill with water for the ride home with the flowers.

On top of sunflower fields, the farm hosts raspberry and blueberry-picking and lavender-viewing events.

3. Johnson’s Corner Farm

Location: 133 Church Road

Time: 1-hour 26-minutes

Between picking pumpkins and snacking on apples, you can cut down huge sunflowers to bring back home. With the sunflowers growing so tall, tractor rides lead you through the mazes and around all of Johnson’s Corner Farm.

While seeing sunflowers is the main attraction, the farm is home to friendly cows and bleating goats. Hayrides and light shows prove to be excellent entertainment for the kids. And after a day in the sun, venture to the cafe to feast on fresh produce and baked goods.

4. Brodhecker Farm

Location: 3 miles from Branchville off 206

Time: 1-hour 5-minutes

Being a little different from the farms already mentioned, Brodhecker Farm is a livestock farm that has planted sunflowers to harvest black oil seeds. The flower fields stretch on for miles and a ride on the red tractor allows you to see the entire farm.

The real pleasure of visiting the farm is to purchase fresh produce like free-range chicken and farm-raised turkey for the holidays.

5. Lew’s Farm Market

Location: 864 N Lenola Road

Time: 1-hour 20-minutes

Lew’s Farm Market boasts a dreamy sunflower field for you to wander and pick your own flowers. For each stem picked, you’ll be charged $1.50, but if you opt for a bouquet, you can expect to be paying between $5 to $10 – depending on the size.

From the end of June, the fields are also in full bloom with colourful zinnias and bright snapdragons.

6. Melick’s Town Farm

Location: 2 miles west of the Somerville Circle

Time: 45-minutes

Open every day from 9 am – 6 pm, Melick’s Town Farm provides you with the opportunity to pick giant, fresh sunflowers. While there is no entrance fee, you’ll need to pay for the flowers you pick – be sure to bring along clippers.

No booking is needed, but you’re sure to see plenty of friendly faces as visitors come to the farm to pick up jams and jellies, freshly picked sweet corn, and delicious cider and beer.

Top tip: If you’re a beer lover, consider opting for a sipping tour that takes you to New Jerseys best breweries.

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7. Silverton Farms

Location: 1520 Silverton Rd

Time: 1-hour 10-minutes

Silverton Farms is a favourite amongst the locals. Having been around for 20 years, they sell only the highest quality products.

During summer, when the fields are blooming, you won’t just find sunflowers. Flowers here grow in a wide variety and you can expect to handpick sunflowers, dahlias, and cosmos.

8. Alstede Farms

Location: 1 Alstede Farms

Time: 50-minutes

Alstede Farm is a popular destination year-round given the large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that can be harvested when purchasing an admission ticket.

In the summer, sunflowers grow in abundance and can be picked to bring back home. Due to how tall and bright the flowers are, Alstede is the perfect farm for capturing magical photos.

9. Stony Hills Farms

Location: 15 North Road Chester

Time: 1-hour

Stony Hills Farm is an incredible farm to visit for true sunflower lovers. They have planted 2.5 acres of sunflowers – which include eight varieties. The fields can be enjoyed for viewing or for picking bouquets of mixed flowers and sunflowers of all sizes.

10. Von Thun Farms

Location: 438 Route 57

Time: 45-minutes

A scenic drive leads you to Von Thun Farms to visit the sunflowers. The trail around the farm leads you through raspberry and blackberry fields, as well as peach orchards.

The fields are open from 10 am to 5 pm. While visiting the farm, you can say hello to the animals, fruit pick, and do some shopping at the farm stall.

11. Alan’s Flower Farm

Location: 131 Ellisdale Road Allentown

Time: 56-minutes

Along with the much-loved sunflower, Alan’s Flower Farm has a variety of flowers for you to cut and bring home. The flowers include lavender, dahlias, peonies, and hydrangeas.

However, flower picking isn’t always available as it depends on the availability of flowers. If this is the case, they provide exquisite bouquets of mixed flowers to be purchased.

12. Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm

Location: 2691 Monmouth Road

Time: 1-hour 5-minutes

Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm can be visited no matter the season. If you brave out the cold, you can freely harvest winter crops.

Summer is when the farm truly comes to life with live music, farm-style lunches, sunsets, and picnics. Spend part of your afternoon wandering through the glorious sunflower fields before picking some of your favourites to bring home with you.

13. Petersburg Sunflowers

Location: Old Tuckahoe Road

Time: 2-hours

For road-trip lovers, Old Tuckahoe Road cannot be missed from the end of June to the end of September. The farmer who owns the land has dedicated a five-acre field to these bright flowers purely for the pleasure of visitors.

As a way of funding the project, you can purchase three stems for around $1.

14. Ward’s Farm

Location: 120 Bassett Road

Time: 1-hour 50-minutes

Ward’s Farm is dedicated purely to those looking to snip their own blossoms. Specialising in flowers, their best attractions are the sunflower fields and dahlias. Each year the farm offers a new variety of flowers, creating an exciting experience for those who attend regularly.

Throughout the year there are a number of seasonal activities that include pumpkin-picking in fall and lily-picking at the end of summer.

After a day of picking flowers, you can embark on a food tour in Philadelphia, only 45-minutes away.

15. Sussex County Sunflower Maze

Location: 101 Co Road 645

Time: 1-hour 10-minutes

There’s no shortage of humongous sunflowers at Sussex County Sunflower Maze. Every season, a range of seeds are planted, resulting in sunflowers of all shapes and sizes. From large and bright yellow flowers to smaller flowers with darker petals and tinier bulbs.

Fun Facts about Sunflowers

1. Not all sunflowers are yellow – they also come in purple and red.
   
2. Sunflowers can range in height. There are two categories of sunflowers: tall and dwarf. Tall sunflowers tend to be yellow and durable and will reach between 12 and 16 feet high. Dwarf sunflowers tend to be grown in clusters in small gardens and pots. They are referred to as dwarfs because they tend not to grow taller than 3 feet. However, both sizes love the full sunlight.
   
3. Young sunflowers track the sun. Their face will follow the sun from sunrise to sunset every day and keep repeating this until they mature.
   
4. Mature sunflowers face East. Once a sunflower reaches maturity their internal clocks start slowing down. Also, sunflowers are more productively warmed when facing East and once warmer they can attract up to five times more pollinators.
   
5. Sunflowers are native to the United States. Although it is now harvested around the world, the sunflower plant is native to North America. North Dakota is the leading US state for sunflower production.
   
6. Thousands of tiny flowers create a sunflower’s head. Each petal on the circumference of a sunflower is a unique flower. The long petals are called “ray florets”.
   
7. There is a Teddy Bear Sunflower. These sunflowers are particularly bushy and spherical. They tend to produce double blooms which gives them a full fluffy head that looks like a teddy bear.
   
8. Sunflower Seeds are highly nutritious. They are loaded with minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins. Plus they are a valuable source of protein, fiber and polyunsaturated fat.

What Can I do with Sunflower Seeds?

Sunflower seeds are most commonly used in two ways. One is to eat them and two is to grow more sunflowers. Here’s how!

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How to Cook with Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are often forgotten in the pantry but they are super nutritious and can also add great flavour to food. Here are six ways to cook with sunflower seeds:

1. Add to dough when making bread
2. Sprinkle on your salads for some extra crunch
3. Add to baked goods like muffins before putting them in the oven
4. Add to vegetables for more flavor – toast the sunflower seeds before or add them to the cooking method
5. Mix them in with your breakfast cereal
6. When making pesto

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How to Grow Sunflowers at Home

It is relatively easy to grow sunflowers at home. Sunflowers like full sun but they also need a bit of shelter so they don’t fall over. Against a wall or a fence is perfect. Literally sow the seeds where you want the sunflowers to grow. Place the seeds about 12mm deep and 45cm apart. Mid April to May is the best time of year to sow sunflower seeds. Give them a good thorough water at least once a week.

If you want to cut your sunflowers do so early in the morning and make sure you use a tall vase so that their heads are supported.

Adventuring to the Picturesque Sunflower Fields in NJ

No matter how young or old you are, there’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a field of sunflowers. Bursting with bright yellows, they’re as cheerful looking as they are beautiful.

You couldn’t find yourself in a better place than New Jersey in the summer to see them in full bloom. With dozens of sunflower fields being only a short drive from the city, you can pick your own to bring some colour to your home. Not only that, but some of these farms offer a plethora of adventures for friends and families.

I covered all of the costs associated with writing this article. However, this sunflower fields in New Jersey post includes affiliate links. That means if you click through and end up making a purchase I will receive a small commission. I wanted to make sure you were aware of this.