National Cherry Blossom Festival on March, 2025: PLEASE HELPP! What is the cherry blossom festival?

National Cherry Blossom Festival 2025.

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The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington. Mayor Ozaki donated the trees in an effort to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations.

where to stay for Cherry Blossom Festival?

The most stunning view of the cherry blossoms is in the Tidal Basin (around the water from the Jefferson Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial). There really are not any hotels right there. There might be a few hotels in Rosslyn, VA with good views but I'm not sure it would be worth paying for it.

A great view of the Cherry Blossom parade will be seen from any hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue (Willard Incontinental, JW Marriot & the Hotel Washington), but you will pay, pay, pay.

These hotels are among the nicest in DC & have great views of everything, in general.

For a good rate on hotels, I recommend trying Arlington or Alexandria, VA. Alexandria is great because there are many hotels right next to the same Metro line that the Regan National Airport is on. In particular, King St Metro stop is in a lovely part of town and really close to good hotels. Supergreat for travelers.

A lot of hotels will offer a shuttle to either the Metro or to the Mall. Be sure to ask; it can be worth its weight in gold. You do not want to drive into DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival if you can avoid it. Parking is hard to find & many streets are closed down at odd times.

Book your flight whenever you can, but airports are not particularly busy during those weeks. Hotels, however, do book up quickly.

Pack appropriately, though. The weather is very fickle in March/April. It can get very chilly, rainy, or sunny on a whim and temperatures change rapidly this time of year. Bring an umbrella & a poncho, too, in case of rain because if it does rain, the city vendors will not hesitate to overcharge you for these items.

Best of luck!

Did you attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival this year?

Tuesday afternoon, my wife and I walked along the path around the Tidal Basin and we drove through Potomac (some times called Haynes Point) Park. Many (perhaps most) of THE(!) cherry trees were blooming.

We live a few miles above the northern apex of the District of Columbia. The weeping cherry we planted in our backyard and the cherry tree on the utility strip in front of our neighbor's house were both blooming.

Part of our drive down to the Tidal Basin was along George Washington Memorial Parkway above the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. Guess what, the cherry trees were in bloom along the GW Parkway too.

You can't get away from those darn cherry trees. Good thing we like them.