We headed to DC to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin this morning as the NPS declared peak bloom yesterday. Although the sky was mostly overcast, it was warm and the flowers were beautiful as usual. And, of course, it was busy!
We arrived at the Smithsonian Metro station via the Silver Line after parking at Tysons. It was pretty busy as it usually is for the cherry blossoms but we were early enough that it wasn’t excessively crowded.
As usual, our first stop was the southeastern corner of the Washington Monument. There is a dense cluster of cherry trees here. One of them had a nice pink color which tends to stand out as the majority of the sakura flowers in DC are whitish.
Typically, we walk counter clockwise around the Tidal Basin. Today, we decided to go clockwise to mix things up a bit! We reached the Tidal Basin a bit to the south of the paddle boat rental place. There are many cherry trees here and it has a nice view of the Jefferson Memorial to the southwest.
Sakura season yields some of the most beautiful views here in DC!
After crossing over the bridge that leads to the island that contains the East Potomac Park and the Jefferson Memorial, we looked to the north to see the Washington Monument, by far the tallest structure around.
Martin Luther King, Jr’s head could be seen from here above the trees at the MLK memorial on the opposite side of the Tidal Basin. He’s just a bit to the right of center here.
The scene here during sakura season is always a mix of the beauty of nature and hordes of people!
A few close ups of the sakura that grow right next to the tree’s trunk.
We continued on to head to the Jefferson Memorial.
We’ve noticed over the years that often, sakura that are in the process of blooming tend to be very pink, even on trees that have otherwise purely white flowers. These trees were like that as we could see the buds that were about to open were very pink while the flowers that were open were less pink or almost white.
The view of the paddle boat rental facility from the northeastern edge of the Jefferson Memorial.
The cherry trees that droop down, almost reaching the water, tend to make beautiful backdrops for photography.
A typical Tidal Basin cherry tree with mostly white sakura. There is a little bit of pink mixed i there though, which seems to be on individual flowers that are a bit late to open.
The Jefferson Memorial was cleaned back in 2021. It still looks beautiful today!
We took a look at Jefferson from the edge of the Tidal Basin.
A bit better view of MLK from here as now we can see more than just his head. It almost seems as if he’s looking down and thinking, what in the world is going on here?
Up ahead, we could see were the seawall is being reconstructed at the southwestern portion of the Tidal Basin. This project just began in August and is expected to be completed in 2026. The project is to fix the routine flooding of this portion of the path next to the water. The entire area has been fenced off and a barrier was in place floating on the water’s surface to prevent construction debris from escaping. Birds, including Double-Crested Cormorants, seemed to quite like this floating barrier.
Unfortunately, this project meant that Stumpy, the most famous cherry tree in DC, had to be removed. We did see him one last time last year. Clippings from Stumpy were taken though and are being grown by the National Arboretum so we will hopefully see his clones in the future here at the Tidal Basin!
This cherry tree has a little bit of pink in its flowers.
Continuing on, we could now see the entire statue of MLK from directly in front. It is a beautiful scene as he is flanked by cherry trees on both sides.
This big building in the background is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Another look at sakura blooming from a tree’s trunk.
This cherry tree seems to be a good example of one with white flowers initially blooming as pink.
The MLK quotation that can be seen here is pretty good:
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.
The last bit of cherry trees to the north next to the bridge that takes Independence Ave SW across the northern tip of the Tidal Basin. While it does look very busy, it was early enough that it definitely wasn’t the busiest that we’ve seen.
The Washington Monument and the Old Post Office Tower to the left. We visited the Old Post Office Tower almost exactly two years ago. The Old Post Office was the former Trump hotel in DC but is now a Waldorf Astoria. The National Park Service provides tours of the tower.
As we continued past the FDR Memorial, we looked back to see the busy path by the water and the seawall construction site in the background. Many trees seem to have been removed for the project, though its not really apparent from this perspective as the section visible in the background didn’t have very many trees.
The Washington Monument with a mix of colors below.
The top of the Washington Monument, as seen from the MLK Memorial. We usually visit the little NPS shop behind the memorial for Cherry Blossom Festival related souvenirs, particularly the annual magnet which features a different design every year. Unfortunately, it was closed due to technical issues! This year, the Cherry Blossom Festival is taking place during peak bloom. Part of the festival takes place here and includes merchandise tents. There were long queues to get into both that we saw though so we continued on, hoping that the NPS shop by the Washington Monument would be open.
Quite a bit of pink can be seen from this perspective when looking at the Washington Monument from in front of the MLK Memorial!
The view to the east across the Tidal Basin.
A close view of a cherry tree branch with a barely identifiable Jefferson Memorial in the background.
Another close look at some sakura.
Looking back, we could again see the seawall reconstruction site as well as the sakura lined path by the FDR Memorial.
An attempt at showing the difference in color between white and pink flowers.
The Washington Monument as seen from near the western end of the bridge that takes Independence Ave SW over the Tidal Basin. While some trees had leaves, the sakura haven’t started to grow them in yet.
A few scenes showing the mix of sakura and people as we walked across the bridge.
This cherry tree, by the east end of the bridge, had the pinkest flowers of any of the sakura that we saw today.
The Washington Monument with the pink sakura out of focus in the foreground.
We walked just a bit past the bridge before turning to head north to return to the Washington Monument. Before leaving the Tidal Basin though, we looked across to see the Air Force Memorial in the background. It’s over a mile away on the far side of the Pentagon.
An example of light pink and white flowers on different trees.
This is the very pink tree that we saw before from a bit further away, showing the difference in color between these pink flowers and the white ones behind it.
Upon reaching the Washington Monument, we saw many people in the grassy fields on its west side. Earlier, we were on the east side and only really saw the sakura crowds.
It turns out that the Blossom Kite Festival, a once a year event, happened to be today. Its not every year that peak bloom is the day before Saturday, the weather is forecast to go up to 80°F, the Cherry Blossom Festival is happening and the Blossom Kite Festival is happening! While kite flying tends to be a popular activity here, it was extra busy today with many kites in the air.
We were happy that the shop on the east side of the Washington Monument was open. We bought the 2025 magnet as usual. We were also happy that we went to the bathroom at Tysons Corner before taking the Metro here as we saw the most ridiculous bathroom line here!
We headed to the east, towards the Smithsonian Metro station, on the north side of the National Mall. We passed by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which was in the news today.
A bit of pink and white on a nearby cherry tree.
The scene while we waited for the light to change…
As we walked east along the National Mall, we had this view of the Capitol Building.
And, in the opposite direction, we could see the Washington Monument and a ridiculous number of kites!
The kites are not as obvious when using a wide angle lens to photograph the scene! They’re all still visible though if you look closely.
From here, we returned to the Smithsonian station to return to Tysons. The station was much more crowded than when we arrived, though most of the traffic was still more people arriving than leaving. We did have to queue for a few minutes to get in, though surprisingly one Metro employee was able to get everyone to more or less line up for the fare gates, quite an accomplishment!