How to See the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC at Peak Bloom 🌸

       Last spring, I got to finally cross-off a major East Coast travel bucket list item: seeing the Washington DC cherry blossoms at peak bloom! Seeing the cherry blossoms at their finest was absolutely incredible, and I think it absolutely worth the hype. The official peak bloom prediction from the National Park Service has been announced for this year, so I thought this was a great time to recap last year's cherry blossom viewing adventure, and share my tips for how to best enjoy peak bloom!

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Southern Belle in Training! 

     Each year in late February or early March, the National Park Service releases their official prediction on peak bloom for Washington DC's famous cherry blossoms. For the past few years it has been trending as the last days of March, but some years it's mid-March, and other years it can be as late as the second week of April. It really does vary! 

     If you will be traveling to DC from afar and planning to spend at least one night, I do recommend booking your lodging as far in advance as possible, even if that means trying to guess when peak bloom will be months before they actually announce it. I really lucked out last year in predicting the peak bloom dates almost exactly! I booked our lodging at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington DC all the way back in December 2024, and peak bloom wasn't until the last weekend of March 2025. But totally paid off to guesstimate the peak bloom date early! 

     Hotel rates for Washington DC will skyrocket as soon as the official peak bloom prediction is announced. A cheaper way to see the blossoms and still spend a night or two in close-ish would be to stay in Northern Virginia or the Maryland suburbs, and drive or take the metro into DC just for a day to see the cherry trees. 

     We loved our stay at the Phoenix Park Hotel, and we even got to experience an amazing room upgrade! I wrote a full blog post about our stay which you can read HERE. We took an Uber to get to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry trees, but hotel is close enough to there that we ended up walking back! 

     As far as what to bring or wear, first and foremost bring a well charged phone or camera for pictures and videos! I highly recommend wearing comfortable sneakers or other walking shoes. I did bring a pair of dressy sandals to change into for certain pictures, but I knew I didn't want to be in those shoes for walking miles. For ladies, I think a beautiful flowy spring dress is a great choice for photos with the blossoms! The pink dress I wore last year to see them is from Sheridan French (exact one found secondhand HERE). 

    It is also important to note that all of the locations featured in this blog post are all free for the general public to visit. 😊

     Anyways, let's get into where to actually visit these beautiful blooms! 🌸

     Tidal Basin: 

      Washington DC's most iconic cherry blossom trees are found surrounding the Tidal Basin. This area is managed by the National Park Service, and you can walk the 2.1 miles around the area on the Tidal Basin Loop Trail. The Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials are both located right off the of the trail as well!

       We went to the Tidal Basin last year during peak bloom on a Sunday morning, and there were already thousands upon thousands of people out and about. Expect crazy crowds! But everyone we encountered was friendly and respectful. People really do come from all over the world to see this phenomenon. Everyone just seemed so happy to be there!

      As I mentioned above, we took an Uber from our hotel to the Tidal Basin, but then opted to walk back to the hotel afterwards. 

     Let me allow these beautiful photos below to tell the rest of the story! 💮

Had to bring my Lilly Pulitzer Washington DC themed pullover, since it features cherry blossoms in the design! 

Smithsonian Garden:

     If you are lucky enough to be in DC during peak bloom for the cherry blossoms, it is also peak bloom for another beautiful flowering tree, which shouldn't be overshadowed! The magnolia trees at the Enid A. Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian Castle are not to be missed! Located just off of the National Mall, this is a charming garden that is just covered with blossoming magnolia trees during peak bloom. We enjoyed a walk through here after checking out some of the Smithsonian Museums! 

National Arboretum: 

     While I didn't get to visit here on last year's DC trip, I did visit the National Arboretum in the early spring back in 2018! I was visiting Washington DC about one or two weeks before peak bloom that year, but it was still wonderful to see the cherry blossoms, magnolia blooms and more. The National Arboretum is home to both lots of cherry and magnolias tress, as well as lots of other lovely plants and trees. It's located in the Northeast corner of Washington DC, and easy to access by car with lots of parking on-site. 

      I'll be dreaming of going back to Washington DC during peak bloom again in a future year, but I hope this is helpful for anyone headed that way this year! Below are some of my other past DC travel posts:

  

*Historic Boutique Hotel in Washington DC - The Phoenix Park Hotel 

*Free Things to Do in Washington DC

     God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese