Cherry Blossoms in Washington

Arguably the best place for cherry blossoms around Seattle is the The Quad at the University of Washington. I’m not one for a bunch of strangers in my photos though so if you can’t make it there at dawn, or possibly get lucky for a smaller crowd at dusk, here are 4 other places I recommend.

1. Cherry Blossom Block (21st Avenue E between E Aloha Street & E Prospect Street) is lined with trees and adorable homes on both sides of the street. There is even a hanging swing about half way down the block for the ‘gram.

2. 12th Avenue NE (between NE 55th Street and NE 56th Street) has trees lining both sides of the street. While not as many as Cherry Blossom Block it is less crowded.

3. Newton Street (at the corner of 5th Avenue N) has a little row of cherry blossoms on one side of the street. It doesn’t seem to attract anyone taking photos so you’ll most likely have the sidewalk to yourself.

4. I’d say the Washington State Capitol building in Olympia falls in line right after the UW as the best cherry blossom viewing near Seattle.

I arrived about an hour before sunset and there were about 10 other people there. The property is quite large so everyone was fairly dispersed and it was very easy to capture photos without strangers in them.

As it got closer to dusk another dozen or so people arrived, but comparing this to the hundreds of people at the University it basically feels like you have the place to yourself.

Worth noting, stick around till after the sunset because that’s when all of the lights come on around the property. And one last thing, remember not to pick the cherry blossoms off of the trees, shake the trees etc. Leave them as you came so others can enjoy this short window too!