*Just* in case you didn’t know, my favorite color is PINK!! And, well, I LOVE that the pink cherry blossom trees are well-known in my home city of Washington, DC. Peak bloom for the iconic cherry blossom trees for this year aka 2023 was this past week (March 23-29). And, it just so happened to be that my blogger bestie Lindsay of @sunshineandstairclimbs on Instagram was in town to visit me! We had the PERFECT cherry blossom-themed weekend here in the Washington, DC area! Today’s blog post will focus on our visit to the Tidal Basin at peak bloom.
The Tidal Basin is one of the most iconic places to see the cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC. Even though cherry blossom trees are planted in several different areas across the Washington, DC area even in the neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland and in my home neighborhood in Fairfax Station, Virginia, nothing really beats getting to see the cherry blossom trees at the Tidal Basin. People from ALL across the world come to visit the cherry blossom trees at the Tidal Basin! In fact, 2023 is the first year since COVID-19 that people from abroad are coming to see the cherry blossom trees along with Washington, DC area locals and visitors from all across the United States. That all being said, the cherry blossom peak bloom gets none other than CROWDED!
Personally, I get super overwhelmed and triggered by big crowds. I have NEVER liked crowded places and I refuse on the most part to be in a crowded place. I can likely thank my Mom for this one – LOL! I have learned since moving back to the Washington, DC area that there are a few times to go to certain places in the city than others if you want to see a big tourist and visitor heavy area that is popular (case in point: the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin!). On Instagram, I have seen SO MUCH hilarious content about the brutal crowds at the Tidal Basin in the midst of all the gorgeous photos that the fellow content creators took. The crowds are brutal at the Tidal Basin, y’all! In the case of visiting the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin, then it is best to go when the weather is rainy, cloudy, windy, overcast, all of the previously mentioned combined, OR at sunrise. In Lindsay’s and I’s case, we went to the Tidal Basin on an overcast Saturday afternoon the day that the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Kite Festival was postponed to that following Sunday.
Living in Washington, DC, I have noticed that people DO NOT like to come out in crowds if there isn’t a big event or it’s not a beautiful sunny day or it’s not 5am. That all being said, Lindsay and I were both so so so glad that we went on an overcast Saturday afternoon. It was Lindsay’s first time ever to the cherry blossoms, too! Lindsay had only been to Washington, DC once for a brief day before last weekend. Seeing the excitement on her face when she saw ALL of the monuments and cherry blossom trees along the National Mall made me SO happy. I feel beyond lucky to live in and call the Washington, DC area home. When I have friends come to visit, I feel so excited to see the excitement in their eyes when they come to the place that I call home.
Some of my favorite places alongside the Tidal Basin to see cherry blossom trees in the Washington, DC area are the following:
- Washington Monument
- The White House
- Smithsonian Gardens
- Old Town Alexandria
- There are ALSO probably many more places that I am forgetting to mention as well!
I am SO happy that Lindsay came to visit me to see the cherry blossom trees! And, until next year, I am going to smile at the memories made this year amongst the cherry blossom trees.
XOXO – Katie <3