The Best Places to see Cherry Blossoms in Vancouver

As the rainy season comes to an end, it seems like the whole city is celebrating by coming into bloom with beautiful, white, puffy flowers. Amazingly, there are over 2,100 locations in Vancouver that host cheerful cherry blossom trees, lighting up the streets and painting neighbourhoods in awash of colours from a blush of pink to pure snow white.

But, if you’re on the hunt for the perfect place to see cherry blossoms in Vancouver for your next photo-op, check out the list below and get your camera ready. While the flowers still look amazing on cloudy days, it’s always best to go when the clouds are gone and the sun is shining. Pink blossoms and blue skies just go together!

The locations below offer a great opportunity to check out multiple cherry blossom trees, while also being relatively low traffic-wise, so you don’t have to worry about walking out onto the middle of the road to snap your pictures.

Kitsilano / Point Grey

• West 22nd Avenue: Cherry blossom trees seem to stretch for miles along eight consecutive blocks from West 22nd Avenue from Arbutus Street to Carnavon Street.

• Lower Mall (UBC): Along the Lower Mall, near the Nitobe Gardens at the UBC Point Grey campus you can take in a stretch of trees from Vanier Place to University Boulevard.

• Regent College (UBC): Approximately 60 young trees are planted around the perimeter of the building, located at 5800 University Boulevard.

• Cypress Street: On Cypress Street just past West 4th (heading to the ocean), there is a nice line of cherry blossoms that commonly attract picture-takers.

• Vanier Park: Behind the Museum of Vancouver there is a great photo opp of an Akebono cherry tree in front of the H.R. Macmillan Space Centre.

Downtown

• Burrard Street Skytrain Station: Where the opening festivities take place! The Art Phillips Park at the skytrain station offers an amazing canopy of blossoms.

• Granville Plaza: Located at the foot of Granville (in the public plaza outside the West building entrance to Waterfront station), there is a cluster of pink trees with a great view of the North Shore.

• Nelson Street (West End): Head to English Bay and go from Broughton Street to Jervis Street and along Bidwell Street to Cardero Street for some great views.

• West End / Stanley Park: Many trees at Chilco mini-park, running from Comox, through the park, and along the street to Nelson. This area was a 2008 VCBF Festival Favourite.

• Stanley Park: An awesome double row of Shirotae lines the path leading from the bus loop to the Japanese Memorial in Stanley Park.

East Vancouver

• Buchanan and Rosser Street (Burnaby): Near Brentwood Town Centre there are five rows of ‘Akebono’ cherry trees in a park-like setting where Buchanan meets Rosser.

• West 7th Avenue (Fairview): A canopy of Kanzans (type of tree) stretches seven city blocks in the Fairview neighbourhood (West Broadway Corridor) from Hemlock Street to Heather Street. Other canopies can also be found on surrounding streets.

• Akali Singh Sikh Temple: Along two blocks of East 3rd Avenue from Rupert Street to Skeena Street there is a perfect line of cherry trees drawing the eyes to the Sikh Temple at East 3rd Avenue and Skeena Street.

• Graveley Street (Burnaby): Akebonos line both sides of the street on Graveley from Lilloeet Street to Windermere Street.

Other Locations

• Queen Elizabeth Park: Clusters of trees can be found throughout the whole park, including the entrance on 33rd from Cambie, as well as the duck pond.

• VanDusen Botanical Gardens: Beautiful good-sized ‘Beni-shidare’ along with several other ornamental cherry blossom trees.

• Granville Island: There are several trees along the eastern edge of the Granville Island seawall at False Creek, as well as near the community centre in Sutcliffe Park.

To see if there are any other cherry blossom trees near you, check out the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival neighbourhood map.

Where’s your favourite location to view cherry blossom trees in Vancouver? Let us know in the comment section below!