WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has announced that the iconic cherry blossoms surrounding the Tidal Basin in the nation’s capital have reached their peak bloom, signaling what will be the gradual end of the season. 

Every year, nearly 2 million people flock to Washington, D.C., to witness the stunning display of more than 3,000 cherry trees in full bloom.

The annual cherry blossom event is highly dependent on the climate, which has shifted over the years, leading to earlier blooms. 

The NPS considers trees to be in peak bloom when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees are flowering, marking the height of the spectacle.

While there are about a dozen varieties of cherry trees in the District of Columbia, the Yoshino and Kwanzan varieties are the most prevalent.

Cherry blossoms reach peak bloom om 3/28/2025 

(NPS / FOX Weather)

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Preliminary data suggests that the 2025 season ranks among the top 20 earliest peak blooms recorded, though it falls short of the 2024 season, which saw the second-earliest bloom in modern history.

The average peak bloom date for the cherry blossoms in Washington is April 3, but the date can vary significantly from year to year, with the latest occurring on April 18, 1958.

The blossoms typically remain in bloom for about ten days, although this period can be shortened based on local weather conditions. 

Late season freezes, rainy or even windy weather can significantly impact how long the trees stay in peak bloom.

Though the cherry blossoms are an iconic symbol of the District of Columbia, they are not native to the mid-Atlantic.

The trees originally came from Japan and were donated as part of a friendship gift in the early 1900s.

The Washington Monument peeks through the annual cherry blossoms in bloom along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

(Brooks Kraft LLC / Corbis / Getty Images)

This year’s bloom comes amid a major restoration project along the Tidal Basin. 

Nearly 200 trees that directly line the waterway were removed over the past year as part of a more than $100 million rehabilitation project, designed to increase flood protection around the low-lying region.

By the time the project concludes in 2027, the NPS estimates that nearly 500 trees will be replanted around the district, including more than 250 cherry trees, ensuring that the iconic landscape remains a key attraction.

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In conjunction with the cherry blossoms, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which began on March 20, will run through April 13. 

The festival honors both the beauty of the trees and the cultural connection between the United States and Japan, drawing visitors from around the globe.

As the cherry blossom season begins to wind down, the NPS encourages visitors to continue to enjoy the sights of the trees but refrain from touching the petals.

Peak bloom is here!

The Yoshino cherry trees along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., are overflowing with delicate pink and white flowers. More than 70% of the blooms are open, the National Park Service (NPS) announced Friday morning, marking the start of peak bloom.

Peak bloom is the best time to visit the adored cherry blossoms. Thousands flock to the water near the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Jefferson memorials every spring to see a sweeping panorama of flora.

“PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! Shout it louder. PEAK BLOOOOOOOOOOOM!” the NPS announced on social media. “It took one more sunrise and warming temperatures, but we’re finally here. Glorious clouds of white and pink cherry blossoms now ring the Tidal Basin, creating a splendid spring spectacle. Come enjoy the beauty.”

Both the NPS and our own Storm Team4 got their blossom predictions exactly right this year when it came to Day 1 of peak bloom. Late last month, the NPS predicted peak bloom for March 28 to 31, while Storm Team4 meteorologist Amelia Draper predicted peak bloom between March 28 and April 3.

Of course, the duration of this year’s peak bloom is yet to be seen. The spring display can last for several days or longer under ideal conditions.

“The length of the blooming period depends on weather conditions. Cool, calm weather can extend the length of the bloom, and a rainy, windy day can bring an abrupt end to the ephemeral blossoms,” the NPS has said.

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Where to see the cherry blossoms

The Tidal Basin, near D.C.’s National Mall, is where you’ll find D.C.’s iconic Yoshino cherry trees, plus comfort stations, daily live performances and other fun activities including pedal boat rentals.

When you’re there, stroll the Tidal Basin Loop Trail, a 2.1-mile easy walk, or go for the 4.1-mile Hains Point Loop.

Avoid traffic and parking headaches by taking public transit, walking, biking or another form of transportation. However you want to get to the cherry blossoms, our guide has pro tips!

Blooming cherry trees can be found across the DMV all spring long. Here are other great places to see blossoms.

Saturday will be a great day to see D.C.’s cherry blossoms

Storm Team4 Meteorologist Jessica Faith says blossom viewers will have great weather on Saturday: mild temps and sunny skies. Here’s the forecast.

Be ready for crowds, especially with two major cherry blossom events happening near the Tidal Basin. The National Kite Festival will bring hordes to fly colorful kites near the Washington Monument. At The Wharf, Bloomaroo will celebrate the season with live music and fireworks.

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing Vice President JD Vance to eliminate “divisive race-centered ideology” from Smithsonian museums, educational and research centers, and the National Zoo.

Titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the order states, “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” It goes on to say: “Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

The order calls for Vance, along with Vince Haley, the assistant to the president for domestic policy and Lindsey Halligan, the special assistant to the president and senior associate staff secretary, to work with Congress to prohibit the Smithsonian from receiving appropriations for exhibitions and programs that, “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” It also requests that future appropriations “celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women’s History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum.”

NPR reached out to the Smithsonian for comment but hasn’t heard back.

The executive order further calls for the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of the order.

This is the latest in a series of executive orders issued by the president since he took office in January aimed at rolling back Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts previously promoted by federal agencies – among them the National Endowment for the Arts’ Challenge America program. It primarily supported small non-profits reaching “historically underserved communities that have limited access to the arts relative to geography, ethnicity, economics, and/or disability.”

This latest executive order blames the Biden Administration for advancing a “corrosive ideology” that, it states, sought to revise historical truth. “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth,” the order states. “Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.”

The order includes additional provisions seeking to reinstate public monuments, memorials and statues that were “removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology,” as well as improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.