Cherry Blossoms

Peak Bloom! DC's Cherry Blossoms Reach Ultimate Phase

Delicate white and pink petals have emerged on the branches of cherry trees around Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin

NBC Universal, Inc.

It's really happening! D.C.'s cherry blossoms have reached peak bloom, the National Park Service announced Monday afternoon.

The big news comes two days after the trees hit stage five, puffy white, on Saturday, which happened to be the last day of winter. Puffy white was the last phase before peak bloom.

If you can't make it down to the Tidal Basin right now, you can take a look at what's happening live on the BloomCam.

The year is the first time since before the start of the pandemic that D.C. will celebrate a full, in-person National Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival kicked off Sunday and runs through April 17. The next big festival event is the Blossom Kite Festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument, coming up this weekend.

The NPS had predicted the blossoms' peak bloom to happen about March 23-25 this year.

If you're planning a visit, check the Storm Team4 forecast; showers are expected this week.

Peak bloom is defined as when 70% of the blossoms on the Yoshino cherry trees along the Tidal Basin are open. It most often happens between the last week of March and the first week of April, the NPS said.

Contact Us