Sunflower Fields near Champaign-Urbana

Get your cameras ready: You can find sunflower fields a short drive from Champaign-Urbana

With locations in Champaign, Normal, Paris and more, sunflower field season is coming

We know several places within about an hour of Champaign-Urbana — including one right here in town — where you can experience a rolling field of sunflowers for a very short window of time. There’s something about the sunflowers’ fleeting presence and cheery posture that makes us swoon every year when sunflower season arrives. Pick a field your family can make a visit to when we get the “green light” and hear the sunflowers are in bloom.

A note about sunflower season: We encourage you to follow the social media accounts for the various locations listed below so you can run to the fields when they hit full bloom. As time goes on, the flowers begin to droop a bit and as with other flowers — we’re looking at you, cherry blossoms of spring — there are no guarantees of how long they’ll be blooming based on weather conditions and a variety of other factors.

A few tips when visiting any sunflower field

Be aware that sunflowers attract bees. There are PLENTY OF BEES in these fields. And other bugs too.
Bring your own sunscreen, bug spray, and water. Hats are a good idea too. Not a lot of shade in a field of flowers.
Not to overstate the obvious, but these are fields. Paths through them are unpaved. Terrain may be uneven and bumpy. Plan accordingly.
If it is rainy, make sure to wear closed-toe shoes or take something to clean your feet off when you get back to your car.
Remember that you are on private property; be respectful. Don’t take any sunflowers home, please. Leave the field as you found it.
Don’t forget to bring your camera — and your smiles. If you’re serious about your sunflower photography, be aware that mature sunflowers tend to face toward the east.

Clearview Farm, Champaign

Now a Champaign County favorite, Clearview Farm planted its sunflower field once again in 2024, including a sunflower maze (at time of publication this year’s design had not yet been revealed). According to the Clearview Farm Facebook page, bloom time will be later this year since the field was planted late.

In 2020 thousands of people flocked to Stone Creek Subdivision in Urbana to take in the beautiful, vibrant sunflowers. The same people responsible for the Urbana field in 2020 are behind Clearview Farm, where a sunflower field has bloomed every year since 2021.

And here’s the best part: Clearview Farm’s sunflower field/maze is free to visit.

HOW TO GET THERE

Clearview Farm is located near the intersection of Interstates 57 and 74, in Champaign. If you just want to stick it in your GPS and go, the address is 3605 N. Mattis Ave.

2024 Crop map for Clearview Farm — Here is the 2024 crop map for Clearview Farm. Photo from Clearview Farm Facebook page

The sunflower field is located along Legacy Avenue, as shown in bright yellow on the map.

Legacy Avenue has plenty of street parking. Visitors are asked to follow any posted signs — note that parking for Clearview is not allowed along Mattis Avenue. There are no permanent bathroom facilities here, but port-a-potties and trash cans are usually onsite during popular times, such as sunflower bloom season.

Find out more about Clearview Farm here. Guests can observe and learn about other crops grown there during their visit, since many of them are uncommon in Central Illinois. Keep an eye on Clearview Farm’s social media for any special events planned to coincide with the sunflower bloom.

Rader Family Farms, Normal

Rader Family Farms is known for its fall family fun. But for a limited time at the tail end of summer, visitors can enjoy the blooming sunflowers at the Sunflower Days Festival, which will be Aug. 10-11 and 17-18 this year. Rader Family Farms charges admission, and offers daily tickets, group tickets, and season passes; some activities may have an additional cost. Look for details of 2024’s special sunflower weekends to appear on their Event Calendar.

In previous years there have been dinners and other special events at Rader Family Farms during sunflower season. We recommend following the farm’s Facebook page for sunflower-related updates.

Paris Sunflower Field

Did you know there’s another sunflower maze in Central Illinois? The maze at L&A Family Farms just outside of Paris is already in bloom for the 2024 season — it opened on July 19 — so don’t delay too long if you intend to visit. Keep up-to-date on the status of L&A Family Farms’ sunflowers through their social media.

L&A Family Farms charges admission: $10 per person on weekdays, $12 on weekends; $5 for kids 3-9; free for kids 2 and under. Admission includes walking through the sunflower maze as well as the u-pick flower fields, along with one (u-pick) sunflower bloom per ticket-holder to take home. (Additional charges apply for additional u-pick bouquets). Your family can reserve a sunset slot in the sunflower field on select weekdays. Bonus: if your family just wants to explore the farm’s self-guided nature trails, there is no admission charge.

Our Chambanamoms sunflower expert wrote about her trip to the L&A sunflower maze, including other fun activities around Paris to make a day trip out of it.

Cerro Gordo Sunflower Field

A delightful sunflower field outside Cerro Gordo (southwest of Monticello) popped onto our radar in 2020. This field grows sunflowers specifically to harvest the kernels for Prairie Melody Birdseed, which is available for purchase.

Follow along on the Prairie Melody Birdseed Facebook page for any information about visiting the field.

Want to see more flowers in the Champaign-Urbana area? We have suggestions for where to see beautiful flowers and gardens.