The Flower Fields in Carlsbad: Ranunculus Season, Tickets, and the Wagon

The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch is the 55-acre ranunculus farm you can actually walk — billed as the world’s largest ranunculus planting, tens of millions of blooms on a slope above Palomar Airport Road. The current homepage is already looking past this year: opening March 1, 2027. Peak color is typically late March through April; sunflowers, when they cooperate, aim for mid-April through mid-May.

This is a working farm with dirt paths, a real grade, and timed tickets. It is not a city park you wander into.

Overview

Hours on the plan-your-trip page: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily in season, entrance gate closes 5:30 p.m. Parking is free in the Flower Lot (daily) off Paseo del Norte / Palomar Airport Road; the Flag Lot is weekends. Google Maps: search “The Flower Fields,” not the street number, or you miss the front gate. Address for humans: 5704 Paseo del Norte, Carlsbad, CA 92008. Phone (760) 431-0352.

Tickets are sold through SEE Tickets, all sales final, date changes allowed. Weekdays are quieter; weekends sell out in peak bloom. Rain: they stay open if paths are safe; wagon rides and some attractions may stop.

Add-ons (current published prices): Tractor Wagon Ride $8 adults / $4 kids 3–10 (under 3 free; buy on site). Butterfly Encounter $8 / $4, open 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Season Pass language on the FAQ still refers to the 2026 season (unlimited visits + wagon rides, no reservation) — treat 2027 pass details as unpublished until they post them. Other on-farm pieces: Carlsbad Mining Company gem panning, food stalls (coffee, pizza, tacos, strawberry dessert — check the daily board).

What You Need to Know

• When: next season opens March 1, 2027 (site); typical day 9 a.m.–6 p.m., gate 5:30 p.m.
• Where: 5704 Paseo del Norte, Carlsbad, CA 92008
• Parking: free
• Tickets: SEE Tickets; no refunds; reschedule inside the season
• Wagon / butterflies: extra $8 / $4 (ages 3–10)
• Pets: no (service dogs only)
• Drones: no
• Pros shooting portraits: book through the Fields; casual guest photos and tripods OK
• Wheelchairs/strollers: bring your own; wagon can take chairs

Buy the weekday ticket. The slope is the point, and also why you might want the wagon.