Speciale Washington
DC Cherry Blossom Festival 2027: Centennial Dates, the New Night Parade and How to Plan
The 2027 festival runs three weeks, but peak bloom lasts days, so timing matters more than the schedule. The cherries grow well beyond the Tidal Basin crush, and the handful of things that sell out are worth booking before you fly.
Di Noa BergströmThe District, one neighbourhood at a time
Washington's 2027 National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from 20 March to 11 April. The trees keep their own calendar, though, and peak bloom holds for only a few days somewhere inside that window. In 2026 it landed in the last week of March.
2027 dates and peak bloom
There's no peak-bloom forecast for 2027 yet, so plan for late March or early April and check again before you go. For a sense of it, the 2026 forecast window was 29 March to 1 April.
If your dates slip, you get a second chance. The Kwanzan cherries at Hains Point in East Potomac Park open about two weeks after the Yoshinos on the Tidal Basin, so mid-April still works. It's a 20-minute walk from either Smithsonian or L'Enfant Plaza.
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The free headline events
Almost everything on the programme is free and outdoors, and none of it needs booking.
The kite festival is on the Washington Monument grounds on 27 March, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There's kite-making, flying competitions and a Japanese drumming showcase at the Sylvan Theatre nearby.
Petalpalooza is the one evening to clear. It's at Navy Yard, 355 Water Street SE, on 3 April from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., with live music in zones along the river. Fireworks set to music go up over the Anacostia at 8.30 p.m.
BloomFest is the festival's free hub. It runs for 16 days on the south lawn behind the Jefferson Memorial, at 16 E Basin Drive SW, with stage performances, family activities and food and drink stalls. The dates are always timed to peak bloom.
The parade covers 10 blocks of Constitution Avenue NW on 10 April, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Standing along the route is free, and grandstand seats run $28 to $45 depending on the section. Stand, unless you have small children or want a guaranteed view.
Don't build a trip around the indoor Opening Ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall. It costs $5, it sells out well ahead, and after that there's only a day-of standby line.
Walking the Tidal Basin
The Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park loop is two miles of waterside path. Old Yoshinos lean low over the water, and the Jefferson Memorial sits framed through the blossom. It's free, with no gate and no closing time.
Take the Blue, Orange or Silver line to Smithsonian, then walk 20 to 25 minutes to the welcome area at Independence Avenue and West Basin Drive SW. The seawall rebuild fenced off much of the shoreline through 2026 but finished early. The full loop reopened on 21 April 2026 with wider walkways and new trees.
Go at first light, or midweek. On a peak-bloom weekend the path is shoulder to shoulder.
Pedal boats and guided bikes
The Tidal Basin Boathouse at 1501 Maine Avenue SW gets you out from under the crowd. The view back at the blossom bank is one you can't get on foot. Pedal boats are hired by the hour, $38 on weekdays and $40 at weekends. In 2026 rentals started on 14 March and stayed walk-up only right through the festival, so you can't fix a time in advance.
For the memorials and the blossom in one go, there's the Blossoms by Bike tour from Unlimited Biking. It lasts two hours and starts at $65, with the bike, helmet, guide and a map included. Departures are at 10 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. from 701 D Street NW, mid-March to mid-April, weather permitting. The route crosses the Mall and circles the basin, stopping near the Washington Monument and the Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials. Every rider has to ride their own bike, so child seats and tag-alongs are out.
Kenwood's blossom tunnel
The tunnel-of-blossom photo people think they're getting at the Tidal Basin is really in Kenwood, a residential pocket of Bethesda. Branches planted in the 1930s and 1940s meet overhead across the streets around Dorset Avenue and Kenwood Avenue. It's free and there are no hours, but people live here, so keep off the lawns and driveways and don't climb the trees.
Parking isn't allowed in the neighbourhood during blossom season and the temporary signs are enforced. Park at the Whole Foods on River Road and walk in. Or take the Red Line to Bethesda and walk or cycle just over a mile on the Capital Crescent Trail. Kenwood usually peaks a few days after the Tidal Basin, and weekday and Sunday mornings are the quietest.
Two Georgetown gardens
Dumbarton Oaks at 1703 32nd Street NW is a terraced garden of clipped box and brick steps that drops down to a cherry orchard. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., with last entry at 5.30 p.m., no re-entry and closed on federal holidays. Admission was $15 in 2026. Timed tickets are sold online only, with nothing at the gate and no standby. The gardens shut for January and February and reopen on 1 March, just as blossom season starts.
Tudor Place is six blocks north of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, at 1644 31st Street NW. Yoshino cherries flower over the garden paths and you can usually stand under them with nobody else around. Garden entry is a suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for concessions. It's open Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m., but nobody is let into the garden after 3.30 p.m.
The Arboretum and Hillwood
If your dates fall either side of peak, go to the United States National Arboretum. The cherry collection is planted in groups: early types start in early March, mid-season types from late March, and late types run to the end of April. Something is in flower across the whole festival. Entry and parking are free, and it's open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day with last entry at 4.30 p.m. Use the R Street NE gate at 2400 R Street NE, which stays open until 5 p.m. Pick up the free cherry route booklet at the Administration Building and walk or cycle it. No Metro line reaches the grounds, so take a taxi or ride-share, easiest from Union Station.
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens at 4155 Linnean Avenue NW has the most convincing Japanese garden in the city. Stepping stones, stone lanterns and a small waterfall sit under Japanese flowering cherries. Camellia, wisteria and viburnum carry the display on after the cherries drop. It's open Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays and most national holidays. Entry is a suggested donation of $20 for adults and $5 for children, and adults pay $3 less booking online for a weekday. Short docent-led walks of the Japanese garden run in blossom season and the spring slots fill early.
Sakura Matsuri downtown
Sakura Matsuri falls on the parade weekend, 10 and 11 April, on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 3rd and 7th Streets. It starts at 10.30 a.m. on the Saturday and closes at 4 p.m. on the Sunday. Six blocks of downtown go over to taiko and dance stages, food stalls, craft pavilions and a tachinomi, a standing sake bar. This is the one big blossom event you pay to get into. One-day tickets have been $15 to $25 in recent seasons, and a one-day ticket covers one of the two days.
If it rains
Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art at 1050 Independence Avenue SW is free, needs no ticket and opens daily 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. The Japanese galleries of screens and lacquer are the obvious hour out of the weather, and it's a short walk from the basin and the Smithsonian stop.
Before you go
Buy Dumbarton Oaks tickets before you fly, since there's no gate sale, and remember it only opens at 2 p.m. Hillwood is shut on Mondays, Tudor Place closes its garden to new arrivals at 3.30 p.m., and the pedal boats stay walk-up only.
See the Washington guide and the Washington hotel search.
Prima di partire
When is the 2027 National Cherry Blossom Festival?
It runs from 20 March to 11 April 2027. The peak-bloom forecast for 2027 isn't published yet, so plan for late March or early April and confirm nearer the time. In 2026 the trees peaked in the last week of March.
Is the parade held at night?
No. The parade is on 10 April 2027, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., along 10 blocks of Constitution Avenue NW, rain or shine. Petalpalooza at Navy Yard on 3 April is the evening one, and it finishes with fireworks over the Anacostia at 8.30 p.m.
How much does the festival cost?
Most of it is free, including the Tidal Basin walk, the kite festival, Petalpalooza, BloomFest and standing on the parade route. You pay for grandstand seats at $28 to $45, entry to Sakura Matsuri, and pedal boats at $38 on weekdays and $40 at weekends.
Where can I see blossom without the crowds?
Kenwood in Bethesda has cherry branches arching right over residential streets, and the National Arboretum and Hillwood both have wide cherry plantings with space to move. Tudor Place in Georgetown is small, cheap and rarely busy.
What if I arrive after peak bloom?
Head to Hains Point in East Potomac Park, where the Kwanzan cherries open about two weeks after the Tidal Basin Yoshinos. The Arboretum's late-flowering types run to the end of April, and Hillwood's camellia and wisteria keep going after the cherries.
