5 places to see cherry blossoms in Toronto

Cherry blossom season is nearly here and there are many places to see the delicate blooms.

The timing varies each year depending on weather but typically trees flower from mid-April to early May.

The latest prediction for 2025 from Sakura Watch has the trees blooming between April 29 and May 9.

The City of Toronto asks those heading out to see the trees to follow a few etiquette rules. Climbing the cherry trees, pulling on the branches and plucking off the blooms can damage the trees. Stay on existing trails to protect ecologically sensitive areas. Keep the area beautiful by putting litter in its place.

Here are five places to see cherry blossoms in Toronto:

High Park

High Park has the largest number of cherry blossom trees, which is why the park is typically crowded this time of year.

In 1959, the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara, presented 2,000 Japanese Somei-Yoshino Sakura trees to the citizens of Toronto on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo. Many of these trees were planted on the hillside overlooking Grenadier Pond.

More trees have been planted over the years and can be found throughout the park. Locations include off West Road, south of the north gate, High Park Picnic Site 26, and Hillside Gardens.

High Park is easily accessible from High Park subway station.

Note that there is no vehicle or parking access to High Park during the cherry blossom peak bloom period. Only Wheel-Trans vehicles will be allowed into High Park during peak bloom.

Centennial Park

This park in Etobicoke, at 151 Elmcrest Rd., is more difficult to access via TTC. There is bus service along Rathburn Road and free parking near the trees.

This park boasts 463 trees planted from 2002 to 2011. The trees are along Rathburn Road, on Centennial Park Boulevard and northeast of Centennial Park Conservatory.

Trinity Bellwoods Park

This park draws crowds in the summer but it also has a nice collection of cherry blossom trees. The great thing about this location is you can get a photo of the trees with the CN Tower in the background. It’s also fairly accessible via transit from the streetcars on Dundas or Queen streets.

John P. Robarts Research Library

Located at 130 St George St., this library is part of the University of Toronto campus. About a 10-minute walk from St. George subway station, this spot is easily accessible for transit users.

The wonderful aspect of this spot is the high concentration of trees in a small area. A total of 70 trees were planted here in October 2005. The cherry trees are at the corner of Huron Street and Harbord Street, lining the walking path.

York University

The campus at 4700 Keele St., North York, is home to 250 trees, which were planted between May 2003 and 2007.

The trees are throughout the campus. The largest stand can be found outside the Calumet Residence on Arboretum Lane, with smaller clusters outside the Tait McKenzie Centre, Vanier College, the Kinsmen Building and along Campus Walk. The university has an interactive map for exact locations.

The Keele Campus is within walking distance of Pioneer Village or York University TTC stations, with Pioneer Village being the closest to the main grove of cherry blossoms near Calumet College.

For more cherry blossom locations, see the City of Toronto page here.