Where to see cherry blossoms in Los Angeles

Witness the springtime bloom at the La Cañada Flintridge garden during a pair of mid-March tours (Mar 22, 23 11am–noon). As for those beautiful pink-flowering trees, you’ll want to head to the Japanese garden and promenade. Make sure to check the garden’s bloom status (or Descanso’s Instagram) before you make your plans. As of March 21, the Pink Cloud blossoms are finishing their bloom cycle, and the Akebono and Beni Hoshi blossoms (the delicate ones by the Japanese garden’s creek) have finally started to bud.

It’s tough to pick a favorite themed area at the Huntington, but the Japanese garden makes a pretty strong argument for the top spot—especially during cherry blossom season. Look to the subtropical garden–adjacent entrance, as well as the path to the ceremonial teahouse, to see Pink Cloud cherry trees. The less-crowded path outside of the Chinese garden is dotted with Okame blossoms, too. Throughout the gardens, you’ll also see pinkish peach, redbud, plum and apricot blossoms that might get less attention but are still every bit as photogenic. Check in with the Huntington’s exhaustively detailed bloom map. On March 17, the Huntington announced on its Instagram that its cherry blossoms have reached peak bloom, so catch them while you can. 

Set a course for this Palos Verdes landmark to spot some blossoms this spring. You can follow South Coast’s blog for bloom updates, though you should be able to easily spot them on your own while you’re there. An early cherry blossom bloom due to the dry and warm winter means the flowers are already starting to dwindle, but while the Pink Cloud cherry blossoms in the amphitheater lawn are no longer blooming, the cherry blossoms in Sakura Meadow are still going strong. Look out for blooming ornamental peach trees in all shades of pink throughout the garden. Just make sure to have a reservation before you go.

This popular lake and picnic spot in the Valley springs to life each March as cherry blossoms color the path around the lake’s perimeter. (Also, just to be clear, since the neighborhood is also called Lake Balboa, you’ll find the actual lake just inside of the corner of Victory and Balboa Boulevards, north of the L.A. River.) The lake sits just down the block from another key blossom spot: the Japanese Garden, a recycled oasis that’s fed by the water reclamation plant next door. I visited March 18 and found some really beautiful, full cherry blossom trees on a little path just past the admin building (a fellow bloom hunter snapping pictures told me, “They’re finally here! Spring is on the way”). But according to the garden’s staff, the full bloom likely won’t happen until later this month or April.