DC TRAVEL GUIDE: Cherry Blossoms - How + When to See Them!

    Sharing all the details today about one of the best things I've ever crossed off my US travel bucket list! I knew that I'd love seeing the cherry blossoms in bloom in Washington DC, but I had not idea just how much I'd love it. 

     I can't remember exactly when I started to become obsessed with the idea of visiting DC in early spring 2018 to see the cherry blossoms. I'm guessing that it was around late fall or the holidays in 2017... aka right around the time that the temperatures dropped drastically in Vermont, and all things SPRING related were on my mind 24/7. A trip to DC when the famous cherry blossoms were in bloom seemed about as perfectly spring of a destination as I could envision! My friend Mercedes works and lives in DC, and I knew that a weekend trip to see her in early April could be doable. All winter long I was browsing flights from Vermont to DC. As I've mentioned before on the blog, the Burlington airport is insanely expensive to fly anywhere, so by early February I still hadn't bought a flight and I was hoping the ticket prices might drop at the last minute. Good news came my way in mid-February when I received the offer for my new job in Charlottesville, VA! Charlottesville is only two hours from DC, so it solidified the fact that my cherry blossom sighting dream would come true, and sans expensive flight from Vermont!


    I am seriously 110% hyped up from this past week's trip and I'm convinced that Washington DC is actually a magical place when the cherry blossom trees are blooming. I hope this blog post, a.) provides you with helpful information about where and when to see the cherry blossoms in DC for yourself, and b.) convinces you that if you haven't seen them before, you NEED to make this happen in 2019 or 2020! 😉(I will also be writing a regular weekend travel guide to DC! Today's post just focuses on the cherry blossoms part of the trip.)



CHERRY BLOSSOM FAQ:



     WHEN CAN YOU VISIT THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN DC? This year's annual Cherry Blossom Festival in DC runs from March 17-April 15th 2018. Peak bloom week for the blossoms can run anywhere in the dates of the annual festival, and I started tracking predictions for peak blooms a few weeks ago. (It felt like a repeat of when I tracked Vermont's peak foliage week in the fall!) Originally, it was predicted that the trees would blossom early this year, due to a mild February. Then DC (and much of the South- Charlottesville included!) received some surprising snow on the first day of spring, which obviously set the cherry blossoms back again. Their new predicted peak week was near the end of the festival, but the trees changed their minds again, and Easter Weekend ended up being Stage 5 for blossoms (which means right before peak!) - so a great time to be in DC and seeing them when I did!! I really lucked out with the timing of my trip. I will say- Easter is my favorite holiday, so I did think it was especially magical to see them on Easter Sunday!



     IS IT FREE TO SEE THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS? YESSS!! How amazing is that?! I was blown away in DC by how many amazing things there are to do that are completely free. Visiting the cherry blossoms at both locations that I'm sharing in today's blog post is absolutely free! Of course, transportation to said locations isn't, but you have a plethora of options for that; Metro, Uber/Lyft, Hop-On-Hop-Off busses, cabs, driving... etc!



     WHAT ARE THE EVENTS FOR THE NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL? DC loves their blossoms so much that there is a month long festival with all sorts of fun events and activities! Some are free and some require tickets. Mercedes and I actually didn't attend any of the festival events- we found there was more than enough to enjoy just by seeing the cherry blossoms, photographing them and taking in the sights! But if you do want to attend events related to the blossoms, there are lots to choose from throughout the month. The National Cherry Blossom Festival official website is your best resource with their calendar of events!



Cherry Blossoms at The National Arboretum: 

      The Tidal Basin is the famous spot to see the cherry blossoms in DC, but there are lots of "hidden spots" to catch the blooming trees throughout the city as well! The National Arboretum is one of them, and Mercedes and I were excited to check it out on Saturday in the late morning. Our Uber driver ended up dropping us off kind of at a back entrance to the Arboretum, so it was a little weird when we showed up... but we just started walking and then soon found ourselves amongst stunning blooms! The National Arboretum has all different traditional gardens and tree gardens. There is a self-guided cherry blossom tour with different varieties of blossoms all throughout the Arboretum. Another BIG highlight of coming here was getting to see the Holly and Magnolia collections. I felt like I was in a Southern dream garden... these trees were so beautiful that they literally look my breath away! After getting our fill of blossoming trees, Mercedes and I also checked out the National Herb Garden and the famous columns that the Arboretum is home to. Out of all the things we saw there- I think the magnolias were my favorite!

Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin: 

     This is the iconic place to see DC in bloom!! Most of the of the depictions of the cherry blossoms promoting the festival in art or photography are normally depicted at the Tidal Basin. Mercedes and I headed there on Easter Sunday morning, hoping that it would be slightly less busy that morning due to the holiday. It was still pretty crazy! A much different experience than seeing the trees in the peace and quiet at the National Arboretum. But still absolutely incredible. Despite having lots of other tourists around, we were still able to get some amazing shots. We walked almost the entire length of the Tidal Basin and checked at the Jefferson Monument, and it was about a 2.5 mile walk. Parking is limited near here the Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival - Mercedes lucked out finding a parking spot after we drove around a couple times. I'd recommend taking an Uber or other transportation method if you visit on a weekend like we did!

     Thanks so much for reading my DC Cherry Blossoms Travel Guide! Have you visited DC in March/April before to see these beauties in person?

     I can't wait to share more about my weekend in DC soon - and hopefully get back there soon! 😊



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese