If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and love cherry blossoms as much as I do, you may be surprised that you can enjoy them right here every Spring! To be sure, they aren’t nearly as plentiful here as they are in Japan, where they are literally planted everywhere, but there’s enough for you to be able to enjoy these Springtime blossoms and participate in your own mini-Hanami if you want. In this post, I’ll share with you the best places to see cherry blossoms in the San Francisco Bay Area!
p.s I’ve uploaded a video featuring my favorite garden (Filoli) to see cherry blossoms in the Bay Area on YouTube! Please give me a follow there if you love gardens, nature & flowers too! 🌸
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When Do Cherry Blossoms Bloom in the Bay Area?
Cherry blossoms are beautiful but fleeting, blooming for only around two or three weeks. In California, they typically bloom between mid-February to early May. The bloom time depends on the type of cherry blossom tree, and also the temperature and weather.
Based on my observations, these are the approximate bloom times for cherry blossoms in the Bay Area:
Mid-to-late February: East Bay cities, including Berkeley
Mid-March to Mid-April: Filoli, Japanese Tea Garden, Hakone Gardens
Late April to Early May: Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park’s Lindley Meadow, the Presidio
Because of their short blooming period, sakura (the Japanese term for cherry blossom trees) blooms have traditionally symbolized the fleeting nature of beauty and life itself for Japanese people. The blooms remind us to truly and fully enjoy the beauty of life while we can!
Btw – you may be interested in my new California Flower Bloom Calendar post that I’ve put together to share with fellow flower lovers!
What Type of Cherry Blossom Trees Grow in the Bay Area?
The types of cherry blossom trees that can be grown in an area depends on the climate. Here in the Bay Area and most of Southern California, the climate is more suitable for the Kwanzan cherry trees (which have an upright shape(, than for the weeping cherry trees that form a dramatic arching cascade of flowers. However, you can still find some weeping cherry trees in the Bay Area, at the stunning Filoli.
The Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms in the Bay Area
Here’s a summary of the best places to see cherry blossoms in the Bay Area, with details below.
- Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside
- Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. (also in Golden Gate Park: Lindley Meadow & the San Francisco Botanical Garden)
- Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco
- Hakone Estate Gardens in Saratoga
- Japantown in San Francisco
- City of Berkeley
Cherry Blossoms at Filoli
Filoli is a spectacular garden in rural Woodside with both Kwanzan and weeping cherry blossoms blooming at different times throughout March and April. I visited Filoli three times last Spring in March and April and there were different cherry blossoms in bloom at different areas each time! The garden is sooo pretty in April with the cherry blossoms, tulips and so many colorful Spring flowers blooming at the same time! It has my vote for the prettiest Spring Garden in California!! You can see more pictures in The Most Beautiful Garden in California post!
You can see some of these beautiful cherry blossoms in my Spring flowers at Filoli video on my YouTube channel!
Cherry Blossoms at the Japanese Tea Garden
What better place to enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms, which are native to Japan, than at a traditional Japanese garden? The Japanese Tea Garden inside Golden Gate Park has several stunning mature cherry trees right near the front entrance, and more throughout the garden. (There are also several outside next to the entrance and around the corner.) The scene just past the entrance, with the tea house in the background and a pond with a small waterfall framed by a large blooming cherry blossom tree in front, is so beautiful that there’s often a traffic jam there! The garden is very pretty this time of year, with many other colorful flowers in bloom as well. It’s definitely worth a visit, but be prepared for long lines and some crowds, especially during the weekends. Also, don’t miss the many koi fish in the ponds founds throughout the garden – I love watching them swim around the waters!
The cherry blossoms typically bloom at the Japanese Tea Garden in March-April.
I have a post with more pictures on the Cherry Blossoms at the Japanese Tea Garden. I’ve also posted a video clip of the Japanese Tea Garden cherry blossoms on my YouTube channel.
Cherry Blossoms Inside Golden Gate Park
Cherry Blossoms can be found throughout Golden Gate Park! The best part is that there are several different varieties that bloom at different times so they can be enjoyed for a longer time during the Spring.
Cherry Blossoms at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens
Located right next to the Japanese Tea Garden is the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, where you can find some cherry blossoms within the Jean Wolfe White Garden. Spanning a huge 55 acres, the garden is home to over 8,000 types of plants, trees, and flowers.
This garden is also my favorite place to see spectacular magnolias in February. There are over 200 of them here! You can see some photos of these magnolias on my blog post here.
Cherry Blossoms at Lindley Meadow
Located inside Lindley Meadow in Golden Gate Park is a small grove of seven lovely pink cherry blossom trees that bloom in late April to early May. I love to stroll under the shade of these trees and admire the blooms in the Spring. There’s a picnic table nearby so you can enjoy lunch with family and friends too. You can enter Lindley Meadow from Fulton Street and 30th Ave.
Cherry Blossoms at the Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is another one of my favorite places to see cherry blossoms in San Francisco, because I love visiting the Palace of Fine Arts any chance I get! There are cherry blossom trees located throughout the area, including just outside and also inside the Palace of Fine Arts. The soft pink blooms look so amazing against the beautiful classical columns here – it’s no surprise that they’re a popular wedding background in the Spring! The following three pictures were taken on May 1, 2022 (and yes, we did see a wedding in progress on that day!)
Cherry Blossoms at the Hakone Estate Gardens in Saratoga
Another place to see cherry blossoms is at a beautiful 18-acre Japanese garden located in the South Bay – the Hakone Estate Gardens in Saratoga. Here you’ll find dozens of cherry blossom trees as you arrive just outside the entrance. The setting here is just beautiful and even more special with the pink and white sakura blooms. This garden was originally a private estate and is now open to the public. It features a variety of gardens, multi-tiered waterfalls and koi ponds, a dry garden, a bamboo garden, and more.
The cherry blossoms at Hakone usually bloom in March-April.
Cherry Blossoms at Japantown
Japantown is where the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is held every year and is also home to several streets with cherry trees. A great place to start is at the Peace Plaza, located between the East and West Malls, where there is a row of cherry blossom trees. As you walk around the area, you’ll likely notice more pink blooms scattered about!
Cherry Blossoms in the City of Berkeley
Ken and I saw both cherry blossom and magnolia trees in full bloom in the City of Berkeley in early to mid-February! I’ve known about the beautiful magnolia trees in the area for awhile now (see my post of where to find magnolias in the Bay Area) but didn’t know about the cherry blossoms until recently!
Specifically, we saw a row of them at the Dorothy Bolte Park in the northern part of the city as we were exiting Tilden Park. They are located right next to the street, and there’s also a giant flowering magnolia tree across the street, next to the Acacia Steps. There are magnolia trees and cherry blossoms located throughout the city! The climate in the Berkeley/Oakland area is great for plants.
I’ve also recently read about a small grove of 35-40 cherry blossom trees at the west entrance to UC Berkeley, on University Drive near Oxford Street. They were planted there in 2013 in to honor university alumni of Japanese ancestry. I’m looking forward to seeing these beautiful trees myself at my alma mater!
Other Places to See Cherry Blossoms in the San Francisco Bay Area
Once you’re aware of the beautiful cherry blossoms blooming, you’ll probably start noticing more of them as you travel around. Some place I’ve seen them in San Francisco include the Presidio, the Sue Bierman Park near the Embarcadero, at Alamo Square Park located next to the historic Queen Anne homes, and in front of various apartment buildings and homes.
Other places to see cherry blossoms in the Bay Area: Hayward Japanese Garden, Piedmont Park in Piedmont, Central Park in Fremont, Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, and the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose.
The Best Places to Enjoy a Picnic or Mini Hanami in the Bay Area
If you want to enjoy a picnic with friends and family while enjoying cherry blossoms in the Bay Area, I would say that the best places to do that are at the Palace of Fine Arts or at Golden Gate Park’s Lindley Meadow, both of which have grassy lawn areas for picnicking. The Palace of Fine Arts is a beautiful setting to walk around and enjoy as well. (But please note that if you drive and park there, you should take care to remove all valuables from your car due to recent high levels of car break-ins in the area…)
If you live near Berkeley, Dorothy Bolte Park, a smaller neighborhood park, has a few very pretty cherry blossom trees that bloom in February and is also suitable for a picnic.
The gardens that have cherry blossoms have refreshments for sale, but typically do not allow picnics inside. The other public places listed that have cherry blossoms are not public parks and typically don’t have a large enough grassy area for picnics.
Cherry Blossom Photography
As with many other beautiful Spring blooms, cherry blossoms are short-lived, blooming for only around two weeks or so. But if you capture them on camera, you can enjoy them year-round! If you want to capture the beauty of these small flowers, make sure to bring a lens with a long focal length, ideally a macro lens if you want to capture the small details. My favorite lens for cherry blossom photos is my Nikon 105mm macro lens. I have written a post on the best lenses for flower photography for situations if you’re interested!
Spring Flowers Similar to Cherry Blossoms
If you love cherry blossoms, you may also be interested in other similar Spring blooms such as peach blossoms, plum blossoms, and magnolias in the Bay Area! They are all also very stunning and beautiful!
My YouTube Channel!
I’ve started a YouTube channel! If you love nature, flowers and gardens as much as I do, make sure to give me a follow there! 😊🌸🌿
I’ve created a YouTube video highlighting the beautiful cherry blossoms and tulips at Filoli in the Spring!
Step Inside the Most Beautiful Spring Garden!
Featuring the best of Spring Flowers at Filoli over the past 2 years! Tulips, cherry blossoms, daffodils and much more!🌸
Thank You!
Thank you for stopping by my blog! I hope you found this post useful, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
Pansy ❤️
Hi, I’m Pansy!
Hello, thanks for stopping by! I’m Pansy, California-based travel blogger, photographer and lover of ALL the pretty flowers! You may notice that most of my travels, photography & DIY center around flowers and nature! 🌸🌼🌿
I recently started a YouTube channel where I feature beautiful gardens, parks & flower fields! Make sure to follow me there if you love flowers & gardens! 😊
If you’d like to contact me, please send me an email or DM me on Instagram!
Pansy ❤️
Loved your site, incredible well designed, and enough information to capture the best of the blossoming site. Thank you
Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment Marite! I really appreciate it!! 💛
Great info – so helpful!! And your site is lovely. Especially appreciate the travel details, lovely photography and tips.
Thank you!
wow thank you so much for the wonderful compliment Lori!! I really appreciate it!! I hope you have a wonderful day. 💛
Great site!
Hi Brittney – thank you so much, I really appreciate it! I’m glad you found it useful! 🩷