The Best Uptown Parks to Spot Cherry Blossoms

Yoshino cherry blossoms in Sakura Park on April 9, 2025.

Cherry blossom season, which typically kicks off in late March and stretches through April, is in full swing.

To help you find the iconic spring blooms, the NYC Parks Department has narrowed down the top parks in the city for cherry blossom peeping, including four in Upper Manhattan.

Keep in mind that different types of cherry trees bloom at various times—Okame in late March, Yoshino in the first half of April, and the fluffy Kwanzan toward the end of April.

Here are the four uptown parks that made the cut. From south to north, they are:

Riverside Park

Morningside Heights Cherry Walk between 100th and 125th Sts

Named after the mix of Yoshino and Kwanzan cherry trees planted along its path, Cherry Walk runs by the Hudson River from 100th to 125th Streets. A bonus sprinkling of various cherry trees can be found on the Hudson River Greenway between W 135th and W 155th Streets. For a full list, check out this map.

Kwanzan cherry tree blossoms in Riverside Park on April 23, 2021.

Randall's Island Park

East Harlem Enter from East Harlem by foot or bike via the 103rd Street Footbridge or the RFK Triborough Bridge

Randall's Island has as many as eight varieties of cherry trees that blossom over the course of the season, culminating this year with a celebration of all its seasonal blooms at the annual Earth Day Festival on April 26.

Sakura Park (temporarily closed)

Morningside Heights Between W 122nd St and International House & Riverside Drive and Claremont Ave

This peaceful two-acre park with its iconic central pavilion is named after the 2,000 cherry trees that were a gift from Japan in 1912. Although the park itself is currently closed due to construction work on its pathways, you can still see the delicate white Yoshino cherry blossoms from the sidewalk that runs along the park's west side. The cherry trees here tend to bloom in the first half of April.

Kwanzan cherry blossoms in Marcus Garvey Park on April 15, 2024.

Marcus Garvey Park

Central Harlem Between 120th and 124th Sts & Madison Ave and Mount Morris Park West

Receiving an "honorable mention" for cherry blossom spotting, this Harlem park has a gorgeous row of Kwanzan cherry trees near the north entrance on Fifth Avenue and 124th Street.

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