The Sunflower Field opens in central Alabama for 2022
Open thru roughly July 21st
AUTAUGAVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) - It’s that time of year again in Autauga County. Time for The Sunflower Field to open to the public for 2022.
It’s a must-see year after year no matter how many times you’ve seen it. This year it will be open from July 1 through roughly July 21, depending on how the bloom behaves over the next few weeks.
Admission and parking are both free of charge, but you can pick your own sunflowers and take them home for a small cost. One sunflower is $1, 14 sunflowers costs $10 and a wagon ride through the field is $5.
The field is located right on AL-14, just west of Autaugaville. To get there you’ll need to plug this address into your phone or GPS: 3301 Highway 14 West, Autaugaville, 36003. Upon arriving, look for a sign that says “The Sunflower Field” and two bales of hay painted to look like gigantic sunflowers. You can’t miss it!
The field is open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. every day until the flowers are no longer in bloom.
Kim and Todd Sheridan are the two responsible for the annual display. It all started several years ago as a huge 32-acre field across Highway 14 from where the current sunflower field is located; Todd planted sunflower seeds seeing it as a cash crop, among other purposes, for the family.
The problem is, so many vehicles would stop along the highway to take pictures.
So the Sheridans decided to plant the two current fields on the south side of Highway 14, add a gravel/dirt parking lot for safety and make it easy for anyone to make a trip and see the sunflowers. Since the current fields were planted for the first time, they draw about 500-1,000 visitors per day eager to snap photos and post them to social media.
Kim says people make the trip from all over Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida.
If you plan on venturing out to the field, just be sure to charge your phone for photos (there is no cell phone service), take a means of hydration if you plan on staying a while, apply bug spray and sunscreen, and dress accordingly for the weather as it is hot and muggy out in the field with little to no shade.
For picture purposes, Kim suggests the early morning or evening. That’s when it’s less hot, rain chances are a bit lower, the flowers look their best, and the contrast between the flowers and sky is beautiful.
The drive time to the field from a handful of locations across Alabama looks like this:
- Montgomery: 41 minutes
- Auburn: 1 hour 27 minutes
- Andalusia: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Demopolis: 1 hour 17 minutes
- Greenville: 1 hour 14 minutes
- Birmingham: 1 hour 32 minutes
- Mobile: 2 hours 56 minutes
- Tuscaloosa: 1 hour 33 minutes
- Huntsville: 2 hours 59 minutes
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