6 Tips for Visiting Grinter Sunflower Farms

If you visit the Sunflower State and don’t visit a sunflower field… did you even go to Kansas? Visiting Grinter Sunflower Farms is easy. It is a hop, skip, and a jump outside of Kansas City and is a perfect day trip if you’re in the area. The field blooms in late August/early September so it is a perfect Labor Day Weekend activity. I visited in early September 2022 and was blown away by the one million sunflowers (literally- there’s a million of them). Here are my top tips for visiting Grinter Sunflower Farms in Lawrence, Kansas!

Arrive before sunrise

Grinter Farms is famous, and for a good reason! But with popularity comes crowds. The best way to beat the crowds? Arrive early! Try to plan your arrival for about 20-30 minutes before the scheduled sunrise. This way you can take advantage of the morning blue and golden hours, while having so much space to yourself. By the time I was leaving around 9:00 am, the parking lot had become much busier and there were too many people around for me to take shameless selfies.

Parking

There’s no paved lot or anything super formal here. You’ll park on the lawn adjacent to the sunflower field. When you arrive (early!), you may be tempted to pull up right next to the sunflowers to park your car. Rather, hang back and park your car next to the gravel driveway. This way, there’s no chance you’ll get boxed in when you go to leave. At really busy times, there are a couple of overflow lots just a few hundred feet down the main road. There are lots of signs along the road to help!

Follow the path

The flower fields are dense and tough to maneuver through. Instead of walking through the rows (and possibly damaging the flowers), follow the dirt path on the side of the field. It is a little hidden and may be easy to miss. When you park in the main lot and are looking at the field, it is all the way to the right. There is a small hill that obstructs it a bit, but make your way over and you can’t miss it. This path will take you all the way up to the top of the hill. You can also dip into any of the rows along the way if you find a good spot.

The higher up the hill you go, the better

This should come as no surprise when I tell you that the higher up on the hill you go, the fewer crowds there will be! It’s not a steep hill, but I found that most people hung out lower in the field or only made their way up a bit. Keep going! At the top of the hill you’ll get spectacular views over the million sunflowers. If you visit in the morning, the sunflowers will be facing away from you (east, where the sun rises). However, if you visit in the evening, the sun will be setting behind you and the flowers will face you. I visited only in the morning, but I can only imagine how spectacular that view would be in the evening!

No bathrooms

This is a working farm and there are no facilities here! The farm really is in the middle of nowhere, so it’s best to go before. If you need, the town of Lawrence is only a few miles away and has restaurants you can duck into.

Follow Grinter Sunflower Farms on Facebook

Prior to your visit, definitely give Grinter Farms a follow on Facebook. As the season approaches, they will post daily photos (and sometimes multiple updates per day) to show you how the flowers are blooming. It was really helpful in planning my trip! I was able to scope out the blooms the days leading up to my trip so I knew I could time it right. I was nervous while planning because I noticed other fields in Kansas peaked earlier in August. However, Grinter Farms seems to time theirs perfectly for Labor Day Weekend. Make sure a stop here makes your LDW itinerary!

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