With cherry blossoms beginning to bloom across the city, it’s clear that spring is in the air. There are a few locations where you might already spot some blooms!
Now is the perfect time to start planning your cherry blossom excursions. We’ve compiled a list of the best places in NYC to take in the beauty of these lovely blossoms.
Riverside Park
This waterfront park is a beautiful spot for a stroll that the kids will love. The park has a four-mile-long path along the Hudson River that’s perfect for admiring the cherry blossoms.
You can find Kwanzan Cherry trees and Crabapple trees blooming side by side and it’s truly a beautiful sight right in our city!
Cherry Blossom Festival at Pink Pier NYC
Pier 15’s Watermark at 78 South St. has teamed up with Bucket Listers to host the inaugural Spring Fling Cherry Blossom Festival at the venue’s Pink Pier. This expansive 10,000-square-foot space has been adorned with vibrant pink and cherry blossom motifs to celebrate the arrival of spring.
March 12 through April 30th
Washington Square Park
Spring is the perfect time to visit this busy but memorable park. They have beautiful Yoshino and Kwanzan cherry blossom trees that are perfect to sit under and admire the view and atmosphere that comes with the comfort of the park.
Take a nice stroll under the blooming petals, or take some time for yourself on a park bench, either way, the family is sure to have a great time at this iconic park.
Sakura Park
Located in Manhattan, this park is named for the 2,000 cherry trees that were delivered to parks in NYC from Japan back in 1912.
Sakura actually means “cherry blossom” in Japanese which is fitting for the many cherry trees on display at this location. The park is on a smaller scale but during the spring season, the Yoshino trees make this place a must-see!
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Don’t forget the comfy shoes as there are a ton of activities offered at this park. Of course, the Cherry Blossom trees are a must-see!
The park draws in visitors with the long and winding trails that are shadowed by these beautiful trees. Celebrate the season by visiting the park in peak bloom.
Union Square Park
Union Square is yet another park that has a beautiful display of cherry blossom trees. They have several Kwanzan cherry trees and plenty of park benches for you to sit under the colorful petals.
While it does tend to get busy on the weekends, the breathtaking colors and space are worth it.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
With the spring season comes the bloom of multiple different flowers and trees! The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of the most important spots to visit the Cherry Blossom trees. BBG has an array of different Cherry Blossoms.
Keep an eye on the Cherrywatch on their website to see when the blooms start and when they hit peak bloom.
Queens Botanical Garden
It’s amazing to see how much the Queens Botanical Garden has evolved since 1939 when it was just a five-acre garden. Now, they have varied displays of all kinds of flowers and beautiful cherry blossoms.
Located in Flushing, take your family or bring a friend and walk through the gardens. Take a look at their website to see a map of where all their different flowers and gardens are located, especially the Cherry Circle where their cherry blossoms can be found.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
This is not just a park, but a place with history, architecture, agriculture, arts, gardens and so much more.
Visit the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden which was uniquely made to mirror an authentic classical outdoor Chinese garden. They have beautiful structures, trails, and art to admire as well as cherry blossoms that add to the beauty of the area.
Randall’s Island Park
Randall’s Island Park is a great place to celebrate the bloom of cherry blossom trees.
They have a Cherry Blossom Festival every year where people get to participate in activities like paper flower making, kit flying, crafts, origami, and much more,
This is the perfect place to admire the beauty of the cherry blossom trees while spending a day with the family. The date for the 2025 Festival hasn’t been determined yet, but be sure to check it out when it rolls around.
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden is a great location to admire cherry trees as they have more than 200 of them planted across their landscape.
Walk along the path in the Cherry Collection to enjoy these cherry trees in peak bloom. You can go online to track their cherry trees and see which ones are in peak bloom and which are approaching this state.
Check out their website to see their Bloom Trackers where you can track the progress of the cherry blossom season that’s updated every day.
Central Park
Each year, hundreds of people come to Central Park to see the Cherry Blossoms in peak bloom. As the season is short-lived, it’s important to catch them before the delicate petals fall to the ground.
There are two main types of cherry trees in this park. Central Park houses the Kwanzan Cherry Tree which is also known as the Japanese Cherry. They are commonly seen in Japan, Korea, and China and grow to be about 25 to 30 feet. They also have hybrid Yoshino Cherry Trees which can grow 35 to 45 feet.
Green-Wood Cemetery
This span of 478 acres houses the highest concentration of cherry blossoms which makes this a beautiful place to admire and appreciate the trees’ beauty. Stroll down the paths to see Green-Wood’s colorful and varied collection of cherry blossoms!
This story first appeared on our sister publication newyorkfamily.com.
