Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossoms
Lake St, Newark, NJ
Newark, NJ
The largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the country, more than in Washington, in a historic Olmsted-designed park that turns pink and white each spring in the heart of Newark.
Branch Brook Park runs for miles through the north end of Newark, and each spring it holds the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the United States, more even than the famous display in Washington. Thousands of trees in dozens of varieties burst into clouds of pink and white, drawing crowds from across the region to walk beneath the blossoms.
The park itself is a landmark apart from the trees. It was the first county park opened for public use in the United States, and its rolling meadows, lakes, and winding drives were shaped by the Olmsted firm, the designers of New York's Central Park. The cherry trees came later, a gift that grew into the signature that defines the park today.
What Guests Love
- The blaze of pink and white when thousands of cherry trees bloom in spring, the largest display in the country
- Walking the winding paths and lakeside drives laid out in classic park style
- How the park draws families, joggers, and photographers together during the bloom
- The mix of blossom varieties that stretch the show over several weeks
Worth Knowing
- The peak bloom lasts only a couple of weeks and shifts with the weather each spring, so timing is everything
- Peak-bloom weekends are very busy, and early morning or a weekday is the calmest time to visit
- The blossoms are spread across a large park, so plan to walk or drive between the best groves
- There is an annual bloom festival in spring, so check the schedule if you want the events or want to avoid the crowds
Details
Newark, NJ
Learn about Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossoms
The oldest county park in the country
The land here was long part of the territory of the Lenape people, whose descendants today include the Ramapough Lenape Nation and the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape. As Newark grew into a crowded industrial city, reformers pushed to set aside green space for its residents, and in the 1890s Branch Brook became the first county park opened to the public in the United States.
The park was laid out in the naturalistic style made famous by Frederick Law Olmsted, whose firm reshaped its meadows, lakes, and tree-lined drives into a landscape meant to feel like open countryside in the middle of the city. Generations of Newark families have walked, played, and gathered here ever since.
The cherry blossoms
The cherry trees trace back to a gift in the 1920s, when a local family donated the first trees and the county planted them along the park's northern reaches. The collection grew over the decades into the largest in the country, spread across the park in a wide range of varieties that bloom in sequence.
Because the varieties peak at slightly different times, the show stretches over several weeks rather than a single burst, from the earliest pale blossoms to the last deep-pink doubles. At the height of the bloom the park turns into a sea of pink and white, and paths that are quiet the rest of the year fill with families, photographers, and picnickers.
Timing the bloom
Peak bloom usually falls in April, but the exact timing shifts every year with the weather, arriving earlier after a warm spell and later after a cold spring. Because the window is short, only a couple of weeks, checking a bloom tracker before you go is the surest way to catch the trees at their best.
The busiest days by far are the weekends at peak bloom, when the park's annual cherry blossom festival draws large crowds. Visitors who want quieter blossoms head out early in the morning or on a weekday, when the light is soft and the paths are calm.
The park through the year
Spring is the park's crowning moment, but it is a working city park in every season. Summer brings ballfields, joggers, and shade under the mature trees, and the lakes draw waterfowl and anglers. Fall turns the meadows and hardwoods gold and red.
Winter is the quiet season, the bare cherry branches waiting out the cold, and it is worth remembering that the park is a landmark for its landscape design as much as its blossoms. Its Olmsted-shaped meadows, lakes, and drives are handsome in any season, a piece of nineteenth-century park-making preserved in the heart of Newark.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Newark
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
About 1 mile south
A soaring French Gothic cathedral facing the park, one of the largest churches in the country, with stained glass and a grand interior.
Newark Museum of Art
About 2 miles south
New Jersey's largest museum, with strong collections of American, Asian, and Tibetan art plus a planetarium.
Downtown Newark
About 3 miles south
The city center, home to a landmark performing arts center, historic squares, and a growing dining scene.