Where to See the Gorgeous Cherry Blossoms in Southern California This Spring

You don’t have to venture all the way to Washington D.C. or fly to Japan to see sakura. In fact, you can view cherry blossoms in Southern California. If you want to add seeing these pretty white and pink flowering trees to your spring bucket list, I’ve got you.

Below is a comprehensive list of botanic gardens (requiring paid admissions) and free public parks that have cherry blossom trees of different varieties to make your spring viewing pleasure. When I went on researching and building out my journey to see sakura on this side of the world, I scoured the web, IG and TikTok, so you don’t have to.

I’ve split the list of where you can see cherry blossoms in Southern California into 3 parts: Botanic Gardens, Public Parks, and Festivals. Keep reading to find which suits you the best, whether its based on location, pricing, curation or general vibes.

Cherry Blossoms at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, San Diego

When to see the Cherry Blossoms in Southern California

First thing, we need to cover in this post, is timing. This is one of the most crucial parts of looking for cherry blossoms, anywhere in the world. Whether you’re trying to catch sakura in Japan or here in The States, the season of peak bloom is quite short, and if you miss it, you’ll need to wait for next year.

Factors that will determine the timing of peak bloom of cherry blossoms are mainly going to be:

variety type or species of the tree
environmental conditions leading up to flowering (temperature/amount of sun)

For ornamental cherry blossoms in Southern California, the season usually starts from late February to early April. The peak time when most people will see the fullest blooms is during March. Certain kinds of trees will blossom earlier in the season and others start later. For instance, Pink Cloud trees will flower earlier in the season (late February-early March) and the Akebono trees later in the season (March-early April).

Fun fact: Some cherry blossom species are known to be hardier against the climate in SoCal, so they tend to bloom earlier than the other varieties.

Botanical Gardens to See the Cherry Blossoms in Southern California

Here are some of the most popular botanical gardens where you can see cherry blossoms in Southern California. Although these will require admission tickets, the crowds are generally more controlled and there’s plenty of other things to see and do outside of the cherry blossoms.

1. Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum, San Diego

Japanese Friendship Garden, Lower Garden entrance

This beautiful and serene garden in San Diego was full of cherry blossom trees when I visited! I see the reason why this is often claimed to be the best place to enjoy the cherries. There are almost 200 cherry trees donated by Yokohama (Japan) to its sister city of San Diego. The annual cherry blossom festival is a celebration of that (more info below). These cherry blossom trees can be found mostly on the lower garden (The Grove). You can find bloom status banner at the top of the JFGM website. It is currently at 40% bloom (mid-March). This is such a gem of a place, because when all 200 cherry trees are in peak bloom, it will make you feel like you’ve been transported to Japan.

Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum

2215 Pan American E Rd, San Diego, CA
Admission starts at $14
https://www.niwa.org

Cherry Blossoms at Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego

cherry blossoms in Southern California, San Diego — Peaceful vibes at the Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego

2. The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

If you want to see the cherry blossoms earlier in the season, you can find the early blooming Okame trees in the Chinese Garden and Pink Cloud cherry blossom trees in the Japanese Garden. The Pink Cloud and Okame cherry trees typically bloom from late February until early March. You may be able to still see the last traces in mid-March. While you’re there, don’t miss the equally as pretty apricot and peach blossoms in the Chinese Garden!

The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens

1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA
Admission start at $29
https://www.huntington.org

3. Descanso Gardens

The great thing about Descanso Gardens is that there are three different cherry tree varieties blooming, so there’s a bit of flexibly with timing your trip. The Pink Cloud blooms early at the end of February and goes past peak around early March. Towards mid-March the Akebono and Beni Hoshi varieties start the bloom and take over the Japanese Garden until mid-April. You can find these blooms in the Japanese Garden and the Promenade.

Descanso Gardens

1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Admission starts at $18
https://www.descansogardens.org

4. South Coast Botanic Garden

Finding cherry blossoms within the 87-acres here will be much more of a hunt and good timing is key. There are three different ornamental cherry blossom varieties here: First Lady, Pink Cloud and Taiwan Cherry. As you know the Pink Cloud tree blooms early in the season, but the Taiwan Cherry blossoms start to bloom even before that, followed by the First Lady trees. From earliest to latest flowering: Taiwan Cherry > First Lady > Pink Cloud. Knowing this, the best time to find them will be beginning of February until the end of the month! Out of the six gardens on this list, I would say this would have the fewest and most sporadic cherry blossom trees. Try your luck!

South Coast Botanic Garden

26300 Crenshaw Boulevard, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
Admission for adults is $18
https://southcoastbotanicgarden.org

5. Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden

Part of California State University Long Beach, The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden may be known for their koi fish pond, but you can also find Pink Cloud cherry blossom trees growing in the garden with a plethora of other botanical specimens. You can follow the EBM TikTok to check bloom status.

Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden

1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA
Free admission, but reservation is required
https://japanesegarden.innosoftfusion.com

6. SuihoEn The Japanese Garden

Closed for construction until April 2026, but adding this to the list just in case it opens in time with the sakura still flowering. Last year it was blooming mid-April! The cherry blossoms here bloom typically from March into April. In the meantime, it is a block away from Lake Balboa (see below) if you are in the area to look for the cherry trees in the park.

The Japanese Garden

6100 Woodley Ave, Van Nuys, CA
Admission $5 for adults, $3 child/senior
https://thejapanesegarden.com

Public Parks with Cherry Blossoms in Southern California

Free Entry! Looking to do a casual viewing of cherry blossoms in Southern California without the admission ticket? Here are some parks with cherry blossom trees planted for your viewing this spring.

1. Huntington Beach Central Park (Orange County)

Go in March to see these cherry blossoms. I’ve visited mid-March and the sakura trees have already flowering. I noticed many newly planted trees from the April 2025 Cherry Blossom Tree Planting Ceremony in dedication to the Sister City Association of Huntington Beach. There are 50 You can find them in the east side of the park near the “Secret Garden” and behind the Huntington Beach Central Library along the walking path. This is a huge park with a lot to do, including walking trails and equestrian paths. I come here often for the dog runs, trails and enjoying the lake.

Huntington Beach Central Park

18002 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA
https://huntingtonbeachca.gov/business_detail_T9_R214.php

2. Gloria Molina Grand Park (Downtown Los Angeles)

24 cherry blossom trees make its home in the Community Terrace of the Gloria Molina Grand Park. These trees were planted as 2012 Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial, celebrating the 3000-tree gift from Tokyo, planted in Washington D.C. There is an annual LA-Nagoya Cherry Blossom Festival honoring the cherries and the Los Angeles-Nagoya sister city relations. The best viewing time for these cherry blossom blooms is early March to mid-March.

Gloria Molina Grand Park (Block 3/Community Terrace)

200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA
https://grandparkla.org

3. Lake Balboa, Anthony C. Beilenson Park (Van Nuys)

Not sure how many trees are still flowering currently, but hundreds of cherry blossom trees line the bank of Lake Balboa. Walk along the 1.3 mile lake walk/jogging path and enjoy the (possible) sakura views. Best time to try your luck is early to mid March. Best advice is to call the park to check blooms. There has been a history of uneven flowering here.

Lake Balboa

6300 Balboa Blvd, Lake Balboa, CA
https://recreation.parks.lacity.gov/aquatic/balboa

4. Columbia Park (Torrance)

Over 200 cherry blossom trees have been donated by Soka Gakkai International’s symbol of spring and friendship. Home to the annual cherry blossom festival (more info below), it’s another great public park to enjoy viewing the sakura trees. I personally think it’s a bit of a hidden gem of where you can see cherry blossoms in Southern California.

Columbia Park

4045 190th St, Torrance, CA
https://www.torranceca.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/1054/1094

5. Victory Park (Pasadena)

25 Akebono cherry trees were planted in 2021 thanks to Pasadena Community Foundation to replace the Pink Cloud trees that were lost due to infection. Luckily for us, 50 of the 75 Pink Cloud cherry blossom trees survived giving us two varieties to enjoy at Victory Park.

Victory Park

2575 Paloma St, Pasadena, CA
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/parks/victory-park

6. Echo Park Lake (Los Angeles)

Although, the cherry blossom trees are a bit scattered here, it’s still a notable mention for easy access within Los Angeles. There are some sakura trees along the walkways of Echo Park. Plus, it is just a great place to have a picnic or rent a swan boat for a leisurely day.

Echo Park Lake

751 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles, CA
https://recreation.parks.lacity.gov/aquatic/lake/echo-park-lake

7. Monterey Park City Hall

You can find cherry blossoms blooming at the Monterey Park City Hall. This is also a 5-minute walk from Barnes Park, where their annual cherry blossom festival is held (more info below).

Monterey Park City Hall

320 W Newmark Ave, Monterey Park, CA
https://www.montereypark.ca.gov

Cherry Blossom Festivals in Southern California

There are a few dedicated cherry blossom festivals between Los Angeles and San Diego that happens every year to celebrate hanami (viewing of cherry blossoms), filled with event programming, food, and different vendors. Here are the ones I have found that are happening this year:

Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum Cherry Blossom Festival (San Diego)

March 12-15, 2026 – Tickets start at $18, more info: https://www.niwa.org/cbw

Past festivities/Need more info:

Orange County had cherry blossom festivals at Huntington Central Park. I would keep tabs, in case they come back for 2026 or beyond.

Similarly, Los Angeles’ LA-Nagoya Cherry Blossom Festival was held last year in Grand Park, but no info for 2026.

I plan to keep this page updated with news and photos. Before starting my research and due diligence, I never knew there were this many opportunities to see cherry blossoms in Southern California! Of course, in making this blog post, I didn’t cover every street in SoCal that cherry blossoms are found, because that would require a spreadsheet.

Hopefully you found this information useful!