One of the best things about spring is when the cherry blossoms bloom, but you don’t have to travel to D.C. to bask under a canopy of truly gorgeous flowers. As it turns out, New Jersey actually has more cherry blossoms than our nation’s capital!
At Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark and Belleville, everyone will be on “bloom watch” soon enough, checking out those gorgeous pink and white flowers. This year is extra special, as it is the 50th anniversary of the weeks-long celebration.
The Branch Brook Park Alliance has several events planned to celebrate the cherry blossom season and the beginning of spring. Every Wednesday in April, sign up for a 30-minute Cherry Blossom Talk to learn everything you want to know about the trees and fields.
For those who are active, April 4 is the Cherry Blossom Challenge Bike Race, April 12 is the Cherry Blossom 10K Run, and April 18 is the Essex County One-Mile Fun Run.
Festivalgoers can stop by anytime during April 11 and 18 for the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival. Essex County Family Day is on April 18, followed by the culminating BloomFest! festival on April 19, with a packed schedule of events on the Oval in the Northern Division, including Japanese cultural demonstrations, children’s activities, live music, a crafter’s marketplace, food and more.
The 360-acre Essex County Branch Brook Park has the honor of being the nation’s first county park and is located in the North Ward of Newark, between the neighborhoods of Forest Hill and Roseville. A portion of the park is also located within the Township of Belleville. Here you’ll find over 2,700 Japanese cherry trees just waiting to burst into hues of pink and white bloom. (If that’s not a perfect Instagram backdrop, we don’t know what is!). For the 50th anniversary, Branch Brook Park Alliance in partnership with Essex County will plant 50 new Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom Trees.
If you’re curious to see how the blooms are coming along, you can check out a live webcam before you head over to the park. We highly encourage you visit at anytime during daylight, when you can see the beautiful whites and pinks wave under the sun. Even on an overcast day the trees look beautiful against the backdrop.
The park is very easily accessible off Route 280, and there are several entrances into the park. There are signs guiding you around, and you can pull over in any area and park your car to walk through the scenery.
Definitely make a stop near the Prudential Concert Grove so you can sit down for a picnic, walk the trails or gaze out at the waterfront. You can see the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the distance.
See the stunning blooms via a reel on our Instagram page or via a slideshow for 2025.
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