HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — Windmill Island Gardens in Holland will extend its season into mid-October after an influx of visitors, the general manager says.
“We’ve had some very busy seasons and we’re excited that we still have enough staff around and we still have enough people wanting to visit that we’re going to keep going,” general manager Matt Helmus said.
The park opened for its 59th season in April and was set to close its doors to visitors on Oct. 6. But now, it will remain open for a few more weekends, until Oct. 20. Ticket prices will be reduced to $5. Helmus expects a good amount of foot traffic linked to fall travel.
“People are going to be starting to go around and look at the changing leaves, start heading up north, and we see a lot of those people stop by Holland and stop by Windmill Island,” Helmus told News 8.
During the 2024 season, Windmill Island Gardens saw more than 140,000 guests for only the second time ever — the first being in 2023. It’s not the first time the park extended its season, either; that has been happening for the past few years. Helmus said some of the popularity may be due to location and timing.
“After the pandemic, there was this ‘revenge travel,’ but we haven’t seen that subside. Holland’s really in a great location in West Michigan: People can come out and see the beach, we have a great downtown and then obviously when people come to Holland they want to see what’s Dutch here, and we have a big windmill and beautiful gardens,” he explained.
Windmill Island Gardens is a popular destination during the Tulip Time festival in the spring. Though the tulip blooms are gone by October, visitors in the last few weekends of the season still have a lot to see, including the last windmill to leave the Netherlands, which Helmus calls the “heart and soul of the island.”
“People can see our Dutch street organ, a gift from the city of Amsterdam; we have a Dutch kids’ carousel; lots of replicas and displays; and they can even probably see our staff beginning to plant tulips in these next couple weeks, so we’re excited to prepare for next spring,” Helmus said.
Fall Fest will happen in the gardens on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, featuring an artisan market, pumpkin carving, a fire truck parade, street performers, a concert and, of course, tulip planting.
After Oct. 20, park staff transitions from planting tulips to putting up Christmas lights for Magic at the Mill, a holiday light exhibit during three weekends in December. The show is in its third year and Helmus said tickets have sold out every time.
“We expect it to be busy once again, it’s just a beautiful time out in the park. We light the whole thing up. We have a cool LED light show that looks kind of like a tulip field, synced to music and it’s absolutely gorgeous. We just love seeing kids of all ages out to enjoy the Christmas lights in December,” Helmus said.
