Where to see the cherry blossoms in Brooklyn this weekend

You might have noticed that the Brooklyn streets are looking a little more colorful these days: Spring is officially here and it’s all thanks to the blooming cherry blossoms. These beautiful trees are finally gracing us with their pink and white hues and this weekend is the height of it all: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival is here!

Even if you can’t catch the festival, here are our top picks of where to check out the blooms this weekend (because they won’t be around forever!).

Photo: Patch.com

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Sakura Matsuri is Brooklyn Botanic Garden's annual cherry blossom festival and is taking place this weekend. Enjoy 52 acres of the most beautiful cherry blossoms, plus a timetable of events celebrating Japanese culture, including live music, dance performances, art demonstrations, tea ceremonies, Japanese inspired food and more. The garden has more than 200 trees, with rows of bright pink blossoms flowering all down Cherry Esplanade.

You can even check the Cherry Watch, the Garden’s web page that is updated each day with live updates on the petal blooming status of every tree in the main collection. Plus, the Botanic Garden is right by Prospect Park, as well as our Flatbush and Bed-Stuy houses, so you can make a day of it. Find out more and get your tickets here or RSVP to the Facebook event here.

McCarren Park

McCarren Park is a Brooklyn oasis of calm and happiness. It makes us even more happy now that there are cherry blossoms to stare at. This 35-acre greenland is a Brooklyn favorite, always filled with sunbathers, games of kickball, soccer and tennis, and runners. Located between Greenpoint and Williamsburg and right by our East Williamsburg House, the park is home to flowering Eastern Redbud trees this spring. These trees grow to about 30 feet tall and are lit up at nighttime for the perfect view.

Photo: Brownstoner

Prospect Park

If you’re not ready for the crowds or the ticket price of the official Cherry Blossom Festival, adjacent to the Botanic Garden is beautiful Prospect Park. Enter at the Grand Army Plaza and walk along the stone path in the Long Meadow to see the full view. You can look up where all the different types of trees and flowers will blossom in the park with the Prospect Park Alliance’s Spring Bloom Guide. Bring a picnic and spend your Saturday chilling on the grass beneath the cherry trees!

Greenwood Cemetery

Greenwood Cemetery has both pink and white cherry blossom trees blooming. Walk along Battle Avenue and Crescent Water to see the highest number of trees, although the cherry blossoms are dotted all through the graves and mausoleums. The cemetery is famous and worth a visit on its own merits, being the home of beautiful stone architecture and the graves of several deceased famous New Yorkers.

Brooklyn's cherry blossom season lasts from mid-March until late April. But different cherry tree species bloom at various times during the spring. While specific dates are difficult to predict, some trees usually bloom before others. Do not pass up the opportunity to see this lovely location. Outpost Club apartments have the greatest view of the cherry blossoms.