Spring is every New Yorker’s favorite time of year because it is cherry blossom season! And New Yorkers who are in search of where to go to see cherry blossoms in New York City can head to parks around the five boroughs to enjoy them.
“Cherry blossoms are an absolute must-see every spring in NYC, and our parks are the best places to go,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “From Sakura Park to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, all five boroughs play host to these beautiful blooms.”
NYC Parks highlighted the best locations to see the famous cherry trees in every borough and also tips on how to identify all of the varieties. There is a brand new NYC Tree Map to help you pin-point each and every one.
“I encourage all New Yorkers to spend some time outdoors and appreciate the cherry blossoms, one of the surest signs that spring has arrived,” said NYC Parks Tree Time Manager James Kaechele. “Our diverse urban forest includes flowering trees of all kinds, and I look forward to watching them all bloom in the weeks ahead.”
Where to See Cherry Blossoms in NYC
BRONX
Pelham Bay Park
Escape the city for a minute with a trip to City Island for fresh air, seafood, and cherry blossoms! New York City’s largest park features Yoshino blossoms near the City Island Bridge.
BROOKLYN
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The grove of cherry trees is worth the trip to Prospect Park – when they’re in full bloom. With the flowers in bloom at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, it seems like the sky is made of pink cherry blossoms.
MANHATTAN
Sakura Park
Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese, so what better place to experience cherry blossom season in New York City than at the park named for them. The cherry trees in this park were gifted from Japan in 1912. Dozens of Yoshino cherry trees blossom here, usually in early April.
QUEENS
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Experience the arrival of cherry blossom season at the world’s park in Queens near the Unisphere! There is a not-to-be-missed grove of Okame cherry trees. These are usually the first to blossom in NYC.
STATEN ISLAND
Silver Lake Park
Kwanzan cherry blossoms are the highlight of spring in this beautiful Staten Island park, but don’t forget about the crabapples and red maple trees, too!
For more cherry blossom viewing sites, visit the NYC Park’s cherry blossom page.
How to identify cherry trees
There are three iconic varieties of cherry tree that can be found in New York City, though many others grace NYC’s streets and parks.
The Okame cherry has dark bark and is the first to bloom a single pink flower. There are five petals per flower with a notch at the end of each petal.
The Yoshino cherry is the iconic Washington, DC, cherry with white/light pink flowers. They are dense along the branches and produce a small black cherry after blooming that is prized by birds.
The Kwanzan cherry is the last to bloom in spring. The flowers are a vibrant pink and doubled, meaning they have a ruffled appearance. They are quite common as a street tree.
NYC Parks Tree Map
NYC Parks has a tree map, showcasing nearly one million individually managed trees. Use it to discover the trees around the city including the beautiful cherry blossom trees that blooms in springtime.
There are over 6,000 cherry trees within city parks and more than 34,000 cherry trees planted on streets around the city, including Park Avenue on the Upper East Side!.
Amongst the five NYC boroughs, Queens leads the way with more than 15,000 cherry trees.
Find them on the NYC Parks Tree Map by filtering for the tree species “Japanese flowering cherry.”
If you enjoyed this story, you may also like this story on the best places to see cherry blossoms in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
