This Park Near NYC Has More Cherry Blossom Trees Than Washington, D.C.—and It’s a Must-visit This April

When I first moved to New Jersey more than two decades ago, a friend told me about a park that had more cherry blossom trees than Washington, D.C. I figured she was exaggerating. But then in 2018, I signed up for the Essex County Branch Brook Park 10K and couldn’t believe the vast number of trees in such close proximity to New York City. The following year, I ran the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, D.C., and remember being disappointed by the experience.

As it turns out, the nation’s capital may grab cherry blossom headlines with its collection of 3,800 trees, but the far lesser known Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey, actually has it beat by a whopping 1,500 trees.

Located just about 12 miles west of New York City, the 360-acre green space boasts more than 5,300 trees in 18 varieties, crowning it thecountry’s largest collection of cherry blossom trees. This year the park celebrated the 49th anniversary of its Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival, with with events continuing through April 30.

Unlike many other areas where peak bloom is waning or has already passed, right now is the heart of Branch’s Brooks flowering season, with this year’s peak running through April 18, according to the Branch Brook Park Alliance. Additionally, with its wide variety of trees, blossoms ebb and flow from late March to early May.

The four-mile-long park also has a famous roots, having been designed in 1867 by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, best known for his work on New York City’s Central Park. Plus, Branch Brook Park has the distinction of being the nation’s first county park opened for public use, as well as being on both the state and nation’s register of historic places. 

The park first started blossoming in 1927 when 2,500 cherry trees were donated by philanthropist Caroline Bamberger Fuld. By 1978, an annual Cherry Blossom Festival started as a community celebration to celebrating the floral beauty. And by 2006, many of the original trees had disintegrated because of age, and an aggressive planting program was launched to both strengthen the existing trees and add to the numbers.

While the park may not have the marquee name as other places, the secret has been getting out, with crowds topping 10,000 visitors during peak days. A $10 million Cherry Blossom Visitor Center was added last year.

“Standing in front of the cherry blossom trees is where many of our lives’ cherished moments unfold,” Branch Brook Park Alliance Chairman Thomas Dougherty said in a statement. “In addition to the beauty of the park, the festival is an opportunity to celebrate and thrive because of the tourism.’

Indeed, that’s the feeling I have associated with the park. During the pandemic, Branch Brook Park became like a second home, and my haven. I spent countless hours walking around its pathways and even working on my laptop in my car beneath its blooms.

A couple weeks ago, I was walking around Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin as the capital’s blossoms were starting to come into view. While the subtle pink-white petals were no doubt sweet, I smiled to myself knowing that I had a little secret back home, where the flowers shades are more variegated and virbant, and bloom period lasts longer, proving why the Garden State lives up to its name.