Windmill Island Gardens, one of Holland’s main attractions, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Once again, thousands of guests are anticipated to visit the windmill, gardens, and Dutch attractions at the city-owned heritage park throughout the 2025 season. Home to the historic working Dutch windmill, De Zwaan, the park will open on Monday, April 14 and be open for visitors 7 days a week through Sunday, October 5, closed only on Easter Sunday, April 20.
To showcase Windmill Island Gardens’ history and explore how the park grew into what it is today, staff is partnering with the local Holland Museum to open a specialty exhibit showcasing how Holland’s iconic landmark made its way to Michigan. The exhibit will be debuted at the April 24 event Tales from the Archives: The History of Windmill Island. This event will feature an exclusive interview between the park’s original manager, Jaap de Blecourt, and the current Manager, Matt Helmus, diving into the parks initial opening and development.
“We’re excited to work with the museum to capture Jaap’s story, which is a major part of Windmill Island’s story,” notes Helmus. He thinks “this event is a great way to kick off a special anniversary year.”
To celebrate the beginning of another busy season, Windmill Island Gardens will also be hosting the annual Run of the Mill 5k on Saturday, April 19. Over 300 participants will loop around the park, head out towards Window on the Waterfront, and head back to the finish line in the park to claim a finisher medal. The 2025 Run of the Mill 5k is proudly sponsored by A.D. Bos, Russ’ Restaurants, and Harvest Health Foods.
Shortly after the park reopening for the season will be the busiest week of the year during the annual Tulip Time Festival. Over 160,000 tulip bulbs were planted throughout the park in fall of 2024 and are just beginning to make their appearance in May, just in time for the festival. Admission rates during the Tulip Time Festival May 2-11 is $15 for adults and $7 for ages 3-15.
During the regular season, Windmill Island Gardens is open daily from 9:30am – 6:00pm (last admission sold at 5:00pm). Regular season admission rates are $13 for adults and $6 for ages 3-15. For event registration, information on the upcoming season and more, please visit windmillisland.com.
