The 15 Best Places in the US to See Cherry Blossoms This Spring
When the cherry blossoms come into bloom, you know what that means ... spring is here! And every spring, typically between the end of March to early May, celebrations occur across the U.S. to welcome the season. We've rounded up the best places for where to see cherry blossoms in all their beauty.
nationalcherryblossomfestival.org
Famously gifted to the U.S. in 1912 from Japan, these cherry blossoms bloom around the edge of the Tidal Basin in March, signaling the beginning of spring. Every year, the park hosts a cherry blossom festival.
The cherry blossom trees in Central Park just add to the beauty that the park already possesses. Scattered across the park, they stand out amongst the other trees when they're in full bloom. You'll find them around the reservoir (86th Street), the backside of The Met, and on the north side of Sheep Meadow.
The UW campus' quad has cherry blossom trees lining the pathways, getting all the students and nearby locals excited that springtime is here. They're so popular that they even have their own twitter account: @uwcherryblossom.
Traverse City has cherry blossoms scattered everywhere, but the best spot to catch all their beauty is on M-37 (the state highway). The highway cuts right through the peninsula and is surrounded by the cherry trees. To guarantee you don’t miss it, check their Facebook page for updates throughout the season.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has an amazing display of cherry blossom trees that people come from all over the city to see. The festival they have each spring is called Sakura Matsuri. Celebrating the traditional Japanese culture of cherry blossom season, the botanical garden has over 60 events for people to partake in.
Located in the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, the garden was designed in 1991 to represent the friendship between San Diego and their sister city, Yokohama, Japan. The 200 cherry trees were added to the 9-acre expansion that took place in 2015.
Balboa Park hosts an annual cherry blossom festival with all different activities and food stations inspired by the Japanese culture.
This is the only place in the U.S. with more cherry blossom trees (in both number and variety of trees in a park) than Washington, D.C. It all started with philanthropist and businesswoman, Caroline Bamberger Fuld, who, after a trip to Japan, wanted to donate the beautiful flowering trees to the New Jersey park in 1920 with the intent to have more trees than Washington.
Today, the park has a little over 5,000 cherry blossom trees, and it celebrates their blooming at the yearly festival.
nashvillecherryblossomfestival.org
There’s a whole lot more than the thousand cherry blossom trees to to look at during the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival. Besides the annual walk, you’ll be able to participate in sumo-suit wrestling and watch traditional Japanese performances.
Kenwood, a neighborhood just outside of Washington, D.C., has beautiful cherry blossom trees. It may not have the Washington Monument as the backdrop, but they're definitely worth a visit if you're in town.
Originally gifted in 1979 from Chubu University in Japan to represent the friendship between the universities, these cherry blossom trees are a standout on campus. Each year, the Linguistics Society of Ohio University hosts a celebration for the whole student body in honor of the tree blossoms.
Macon, Georgia, is the International Cherry Blossom Capital of the world! The growth was first started by William A. Fickling Sr., who discovered a cherry blossom tree in his backyard in 1949. He then began planting them around the neighborhood. Then, Carolyn Crayton, an admirer of his work, began organizing the plantings with volunteers' help. The festival began in 1982 to commemorate Fickling and all his hard work toward the community.
The cherry blossoms cover all parts of Macon, but the festival takes place in Central City Park.
Over 2,000 cherry blossom trees are planted around Lake Balboa in Van Nuys, California. It's one of the few places in the Golden State that you'll see an abundance of the trees like this.
Your stroll along the Charles River Esplanade will look a whole lot different during the spring when the flowers bloom. The river is lined with cherry blossoms that make it an ideal place to visit for both locals and tourists every season.
The cherry blossoms surrounding the South Mill Pond and City Hall in Portsmouth were planted in 1985 as a gift from Nichinan, their sister city in Japan.
In 2012 — the 100th anniversary of Japan gifting the U.S. with cherry blossom trees — the Foreign Ministry of Japan realized how much of an important role Portsmouth had in ending the Russo-Japanese War, and wanted to gift a number of cherry trees as a thank-you. The Japan-America Society decided to have them planted in key sites in the treaty's history, such as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where the treaty was signed.
Within Fairmount Park, Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is home to a 75-year-old cherry tree that sits among many other cherry blossoms. The park is the concluding location of the citywide festival that takes place each year, The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival.
The 15 Best Places in the US to See Cherry Blossoms This Spring
When the cherry blossoms come into bloom, you know what that means ... spring is here! And every spring, typically between the end of March to early May, celebrations occur across the U.S. to welcome the season. We've rounded up the best places for where to see cherry blossoms in all their beauty.
Every spring, typically between the end of March to early May, celebrations occur across the U.S. to welcome the season. We've rounded up the best places for where to see cherry blossoms in all their beauty.
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