It’s that time of the year again, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Branch Brook Park in Newark. I took a walk through the park to take it all in, and as I entered the main area, which I learned is called the “Susan G. Komen Grove,” I noticed the banner noting that 2026 is the 50th Anniversary of Essex County holding a “Cherry Blossom Festival.” The county sponsors several events during the course of the festival, including a bike race, a 10K run, a 1 mile fun run/walk, and something called Family Day. I just like to take a walk through the park and see the cherry blossoms at their peak.
Speaking from a bit of NJ pride: while the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. are very well known, Branch Brook Park has the largest collection of cherry blossoms in the United States, with over 5,300 trees across 18 varieties (compared to 3,700+ in D.C.). You can see a map of the area of the park where the cherry blossoms are most-heavily concentrated. The far right edge of that map is the area where I spent most of my time walking around.
The blossoms are still worth visiting past their peak, if you’re reading this in early-to-mid April and still want to go see them.
