Weekend Itinerary & Guide to Watching The Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C
Hi, how is everyone doing? I hope you are all doing amazing things because I know you guys are capable of that and so much more! Who else is excited about warmer weather? Mother Nature has been teasing us for a bit with all of this hot and cold and I think that it’s finally Spring at least here in NYC. Spring is so special because that means we are THAT much closer to my birthday (any May babies over here?) May 28th is my holiday so put it on your calendar because it is going to be A TIME!! If you’ve been keeping up with my posts from the Fall, you would know that I am OBSESSED with tracking the Fall foliage, and well in Spring, we are bringing that same energy but with the CHERRY BLOSSOMS. I had the pleasure of witnessing them in the infamous Washington D.C and let me tell you it was truly breathtaking. In this post, I am going to break down everything you need to know about it that will make you start booking flights and planning trips to D.C RIGHT NOW!
Why Is The Cherry Blossom Festival So Fascinating?
Considering this is a timely event, it’s one of those vacations where you either make it or miss it royally. This is why planning in advance is key and if you guys are free when the National Park Service predicts the bloom, GO GO GO! You can find the prediction for this year here. Thanks to the Washington D.C Tourism website, “The entire blooming period can last up to 14 days, which includes the days leading up to peak bloom. NPS annually predicts the official peak bloom“. That means that even if peak bloom is X date, you can still get a chance to see it a few days before/after! When you have the chance to see them in full bloom, it is like no other- a true bucket-list destination if I do say so myself. So as with everything, even this has a story behind it, but to make it fun, I put together 5 fun facts about the cherry blossoms.
Fun Facts About The Cherry Blossoms
🌸1:There are 3,000 cherry blossom trees planted in D.C
🌸2:It is a symbol of friendship between Japan & the U.S
🌸3:Japan gifted these trees to the U.S in 1912
🌸4:Japan had planned to gift 2,000 cherry blossom trees 2 years earlier, but the Department of Agriculture halted them due to infested insects in the trees
🌸5:The flowers are edible but if you pick them, you could get arrested because it’s considered vandalism of federal property!
How To Watch The Cherry Blossom Festival
So from March 23-March 26, you not only get a glimpse of the beautiful cherry blossoms, but experience the festival and Japanese culture through a wide array of activities and exposure to local businesses. Check it out here. When I went with my sister and her friends, we didn’t go to the festival and instead just admired the beautiful trees and experienced a taste of D.C as well. Here are my 7 tips for watching the cherry blossom festival like a pro.
1.Don’t Just Go For One Day
Rookie mistake, let me tell you. If you are trying to go to D.C for the cherry blossoms, I get it there are other cool places to go nearby, but make sure your schedule is open in case things do not go to plan- because well, hate to break it to you, that is life and not everything goes to plan. You want to at least have a good 2-3 days to really get the experience and make sure that you get the photos that you want. Maybe it rains the first day and then what? You missed your chance. Don’t bank on one day and instead have a few more days to make sure that you get to see it.
2.Scope Out The Tidal Basin
The Tidal Basin is one of the most popular parts of Washington D.C, especially during the Cherry Blossoms. Surrounding the basin along the walkway path are thousands of trees that are in full bloom. Here you see the iconic photos of the trees with the lake in the background. The cool thing about D.C is that everything is relatively in the same area so once you find it, you’re golden and no longer have to worry about directions anywhere. Directions to the Tidal Basin here!
2.GO EARLY!
My sister and I woke up at 6 am to go watch the sunrise and I mean when I tell you it was peaceful, it was so peaceful. Since this hack isn’t reinventing the wheel, there were still people out and about; taking photos, going for a stroll, and locals going on their jogs, but it’s better than being shoulder to shoulder with everyone and their mothers trying to enjoy the view. Since we got there early, the walkway paths were close to empty and we could go for a bike ride around the Tidal Basin. When we were biking, we scoped out the best spots to take photos that way when we went later with our friends, we had the location on lock! I mean how else would I know that this exact location would get the BEST PHOTOS!!? Planning ahead- that’s what!
3. Rent A City Bike (Capital Bikeshare)
If you know me, you know that I LOVE BIKING. So this was almost a no-brainer for me and fortunately, everyone we went with was DOWN to bike- so hell yea!! This is by far one of the easiest ways to get around in D.C. This city is super bike-friendly as there are bike paths everywhere. You do want to keep in mind that the festival gets busy so you might have to walk it at some points, but if you plan on staying in the main area the whole day, there are places to dock the bike so that you don’t get charged.
It’s super simple to manage the bike rides, all you need to do is get the app and choose which package you would like to get. You can either get….
- Single Trip: spend $1 to unlock and after pay $0.05/min for a classic bike ride and $0.15/min for an ebike.
- 24-Hour Pass: spend $8/day for unlimited 45 minute rides- I WOULD GET THIS ONE!!
- Annual Pass: $7.95 for the year and get unlimited 45 minute rides with $95 down upfront. – I’D ONLY GET THIS IF YOU’RE A LOCAL!
4. Explore The Monuments
Since this is the capital of the United States, there are a lot of monuments here that are symbolic of American culture and its history! While walking/biking along the Tidal Basin, keep a close eye out for the…
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Washington Monument
- Lincoln Memorial (Fun fact: the building which has the Lincoln Memorial has all 50 states and the date they were conidered apart of the US) Keep a close eye out and tell your family and friends!
Hack: if you want to take a break- do what I did and take a nap at the park! This is one of my favorite things to do- being surrounded by nature and resting on the grass. You know you had a good nap when you get grass marks on your face! If you plan on doing this- maybe bring a light blanket and wear clothes that won’t get stained!
5. Visit the Museums
So considering I went during COVID, Washington D.C had actually closed the monuments/museums until the numbers started to go down(they weren’t down I think two or three months after) but now that things are looking better- it’s time to go into the museums. Now there are a TON of museums so you most certainly cannot do all of them. Here is the list for you to choose from and guess what- they’re free!!
6. Eat at The Warf: Chesapeake Bay’s Finest!
So The Warf is a boardwalk-esque spot that has SOO many food spots. If you are a seafood lover- you need to go here! We got the prawns & raw oysters and let me tell you- with the added spices- IT’S ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS. They don’t have seats at the place, but you can easily walk along the boardwalk and find public tables for you to eat and enjoy the sunset. As you can tell, we ate this pretty quickly so I don’t have a picture of the sunset. Again, if you love seafood- THIS IS THE PLACE!!
7. Get Bottomless Brunch at Mission Dupoint Circle
Let me tell you when I made them ride the bikes everywhere, I MADE THEM ride the bike everywhere, haha! This place was like a 15-20 minute bike ride from the main area and trust me, it was W O R T H I T! The food was delicious and the food was even more, WOW. I mean just WOW. I mean bike riding after a 90-minute bottomless brunch was an adventure, but we made it and live to tell the tale, haha! I would recommend getting the Tinga Brunch Bowl. It was a perfect balance and gave me just the right amount of energy to continue sightseeing around D.C without feeling exhausted and bloated!
8. Grab a Drink (Or a Few) At Catina Bambina
Along the Warf there are so many places to eat and drink, but here is the catch- you have to make a reservation! We weren’t able to get seated and the wait time was sooo long. This one place was nice and squeezed us in so very grateful. We got these fun fancy drinks, but of course, get what your heart desires! Heads up this is just bar and they only serve snacks so make sure you plan accordingly and eat somewhere else beforehand!
So There You Have It
To summarize this weekend trip in a few words it would be, excessive biking, drinking, cherry blossom gazing, and a whole lot of laughs! If you plan on visiting D.C soon, I would recommend going for the Cherry Blossoms, but everything on the itinerary is the exact same all year round (besides the trees of course). Be sure to send this to a friend and start planning your trip to see the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C! -xoxo, Vee
what do you think?