The best places to see New York City’s Japanese cherry blossoms

Matthew Euzarraga
·2 min read
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NEW YORK (PIX11) – It is officially spring and what better way to celebrate than watching cherry blossoms fully bloom at one of New York City’s many parks?

“Spring is an exciting time in New York as the temperatures get warmer, the birds return from their winter migration, and the flowers bud and bloom in both our own gardens and in the many parks and botanical gardens throughout the state,” Gov. Kathy Hochul recently said while announcing a new way to track flowers blooming across New York parks. “I encourage residents and visitors to stop and smell the roses — and a host of other flowers — while also discovering all that our parks, farms, historic sites, and gardens have to offer.”

Central Park’s Great Lawn to reopen this spring

If you are wondering where you can see these magnificent flowers that range from plum, to pink and sometimes white, the Parks Department has you covered with its list of the best parks to see cherry blossoms in New York City.

Best parks to see cherry blossoms in NYC:

Manhattan

  • Central Park

  • Riverside Park

  • Sakura Park

park visitors walk under a sloping canopy of cherry blossoms
Central Park- Photo by Adrian Sas/NYC Parks

Randall’s Island Park

kwanzan cherry trees bloom near a patch of daffodils and a bridge in the park
Randall’s Island Park- Photo by Adrian Sas/NYC Parks

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

guests hang out under a huge canopy of cherry blossoms
Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Photo by Adrian Sas/NYC Parks

Queens

  • Flushing Meadows Corona Park

  • Rainey Park, Queens

  • Hunter’s Point South Park

pink cherry blossoms on a grove of okame cherry trees
Flushing Meadows- Photo by Daniel Avila/NYC Parks

Bronx

Pelham Bay Park

white cherry blossoms on the yoshino trees dot the roadway through the park
Pelham Bay Park – Photo by Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks

Staten Island –

Silver Lake Park

cherry blossoms dot the lake's promenade where folks sit on benches to look out to the water
Silver Lake Park – Photo by Daniel Avila/NYC Parks

Not near any of the parks mentioned above?

New York City has even more recommendations with honorable mentions.

They are:

  • Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan

  • Sunset Park, Brooklyn

  • Prospect Park, Brooklyn

  • Maria Hernandez Park, Brooklyn

  • Conference House Park, Staten Island

  • Cunningham Park, Queens

  • Snug Harbor, Staten Island

History of Japanese cherry blossoms in NYC

Japanese cherry blossoms were first introduced in 1912 when Japan gave the United States 3,000 trees to celebrate the friendship between the two nations. Since then, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has taken the lead in caring for the more than 30,000 trees spread across the five boroughs.

Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.

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