Sakura Watch, May 14, 2019 - Cherry blossoms continue to be on full display in High Park. After days of rain and cold weather, I was pleasantly surprised to find the peak bloom in High Park has survived fantastically well! In fact, it appears the trees hardly lost any blossoms at all!

Watch the latest YouTube update below:

Bloom by the Sports Fields (near Bloor St entrance)

The trees by the sports fields look beautiful and full of blossoms. They appear to have managed to keep over 95% of their blooms intact on the trees! You do see a few blossom petals beginning to fall under the breeze, but the number of those is well under 5% of the total bloom in this area of the park.

Bloom on Cherry Hill (near Grenadier Restaurant)

The trees on Cherry Hill, across from Grenadier Restaurant are also looking just as full, with over 95% of their blooms intact. A bonus for bird watchers is migrating birds that can easily be spotted enjoying the nectar from the highest blossom clusters on the trees.

Bloom along Grenadier Pond & Dock

After making your way down the hill and walk along Grenadier Pond, visitors will find the trees also have over 95% of their blossoms intact. The flowers that were closed on the weekend have now opened, giving these trees an even fuller look. 

Once you get closer to the Dock, this favourite spot also has several low hanging branches that are great for capturing photos without having to disturb the trees. Plus having Grenadier Pond glistening in the background on a sunny day also makes for a beautiful backdrop for any photo.

Bloom near Children’s Adventure Playground & High Park Zoo

Our last stop is near the Children’s Adventure Playground and High Park Zoo. Still slow to progrees, these trees were only showing about 75% of opened blossoms. Many flowers were actually still closed, which gives visitors an extended opportunity to view cherry blossoms days into the upcoming long weekend.

See photos of the all the areas down below:

Road Closures Ended

High Park now once again allows all vehicles to enter the Park. For more on parking locations and blossom map, see my Maps & Directions page. But keep in mind parking is limited and the park will likely be very busy during evenings and weekends.

Your best options are to walk, bike or take TTC. And remember there are 14 other locations throughout the city that people can experience the cherry blossoms without crowds as large as High Park is expected to have.

Bloom to continue for at least next few days

Overall, throughout High Park, there is still so much to experience and take in that I would say this peak bloom is the best gift Toronto could have gotten after such a miserable cold and wet spring. And for now, it looks like it will be the gift the keeps on giving over the next few days.

How long the cherry blossoms last will depend on the amount of rain forecast this week. If the rain falls, so will the petals. I am already seeing a few petals falling in the breeze, but the real blossom blizzard should hold off until the long weekend. Watch for more updates later this week to see how much of the bloom will survive for the long weekend.