Sakura Watch April 20, 2024 - Full bloom has started, with trees beginning to show up to 75% of open blossoms in High Park. It was a cold and blustery morning on today’s visit, with even round of light snow and hail falling. Still, these conditions were not stopping some of the Sakura cherry blossom trees from revealing their beautiful bounty of blossoms. Though we’re still only at the beginning of the Sakura Hanami season for 2024, I can say that today there is enough to see and officially begin the practice–and dress appropriately! Read on to find out more about what I saw in each area of High Park…

Watch the Youtube video update below.

Getting Around High Park

When visiting High Park, there are four main areas to enjoy the Sakura cherry blossoms, and I have outlined them on my interactive Map and Directions page (link here).

Do note there will be NO vehicle access to the park on weekends and during the bloom, so you will NOT be allowed to drive in and park. Options will be limited to parking along Bloor St all along the park's length or on nearby side streets and paid P parking lots a short distance from the lakeshore and Bloor West Village. I will try to put together a special video and post about this soon.

Proper etiquette is always important, too, so as not to damage the trees in surrounding areas and wildlife habitats. Please don’t climb the trees, don’t pull, bend, shake or break branches, and don’t climb onto the trees themselves, as all of these things will cause irreversible damage and make the overall sakura hanami enjoyment less for everyone else. So now’s take a look at each section of the park.

the Sports Fields (by Bloor St Entrance)

Always the first to bloom in the park, the small collection of trees that frame the sports fields showed nearly 70-75% of open blossoms this morning, with a few trees further behind. The twin trees that first greet you from the Bloor Street entrance are the showiest and most beautiful trees to see and enjoy. For the keen observers, you will note there are other trees hidden and scattered amongst the walking paths and along the roadside walkway near the area as well. Here are some more detailed photos of this area:

Cherry Hill (by Grenadier Cafe)

The largest collection and most famous area of High Park is Cherry Hill, where, as of this morning, the percentage of open blossoms ranged from as low as 50% to as high as 75%. The trees along the hill from atop the walking paved path are still only at about 50% and continue all the way down the hill toward the pond.

However, the largest tree at the top of Cherry Hill, across from Grenadier Cafe, was much closer to 75% open blossoms, and what a beautiful large tree it is—always a show-stopper! Many of the newer planted smaller trees in the vicinity are also showing 75% and more open blossoms. The always popular supporting role of the Magnolia trees in the area is still a few days behind. Here are some more detailed photos of this area:

Along Grenadier Pond and By the Dock

Once you walk past the bottom of Cherry Hill, you will begin to follow along the path beside Grenadier Pond. You have multiple trees located along the path toward the dock and even further down. These trees are a little slower to bloom than the other areas, and as of this morning, they were showing about 40 to 50% of open blossoms. These trees are waiting for warmer, sunnier days as we head into next week before they hit 75%, likely by Monday or Tuesday.

These Sakura cherry blossoms also start to be more pink when they first bloom and then eventually begin whitening as they mature during the blooming process. Weather permitting, these will hopefully last until next weekend. Here are some more detailed photos of this area:

By Jamie Bell Adventure Playground and the Zoo

The final destination is also the slowest to bloom in High Park, next to the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground and High Park Zoo. Nearly all of this area's trees show less than 25% of open blossoms. In many cases, they are still in late Stage 5 and will need longer to bloom and open up to 75%, which will likely be towards the middle of the coming week. The bright side to this is because they do bloom so late, those who may have missed the trees in the other areas of the park will have the chance to experience Sakura Hanami in this area into the last weekend of April and possibly even early May, weather permitting. Here are some more detailed photos of this area:

Full Bloom has begun, Peak bloom around the corner

So it's official: Sakura Hanami has started in High Park!  To clarify, in Japan, they traditionally don’t announce ‘peak bloom’ until the trees typically show 90% of open blossoms. Well, I decided long ago when I started this blog that upon my observations, the trees tend to look full once they reach 75% of open blossom, hence Full Bloom. This way, visitors will have more time to enjoy the blossoms than waiting for 90%, which I would then call Peak Bloom.

How long they last will depend on the weather over the week ahead and how visitors treat the blooming trees. Rain and wind tend to knock down blossoms early, but warm and calmer weather will help them last longer. The other threat is from people pulling branches or shaking trees—see my tips below to help prevent damaging the trees or spoiling the event for everyone else.

Thanks for visiting, and watch for more updates soon.

Do Your Part to Help the Trees from Damage

As much fun as it is to get up close to enjoy the cherry blossoms truly, there are some who take it a bit too far and cause damage to the tree that can lead to irreparable harm so the trees can not protect themselves from insects and disease and eventually die. This leaves us with less mature trees to enjoy, so please, if you really want to enjoy the blossoms for many years to come, you need to do your part to help protect the trees and prevent any harm to them:

• Don’t pick or break off any blossoms

• Don’t pull down, shake or break off the branches

• Don’t climb, sit or stand on the trunks or branches - the mature trees are very old and not strong enough to support the weight and stress of people, even small children!

• Don’t leave any litter IN or around the trees - it’s so sad to see people putting their garbage in the hollow trunks of the older trees, which invites animals and other insects to nest inside and cause internal damage.

• DO take photos without harming the trees

• DO enjoy the blossoms and respect their immediate surroundings

• DO remember that respecting the trees from root to branch will help everyone to enjoy the blooming trees for many years to come

Donate to Support The Cherry Blossoms

The City of Toronto now accepts donations to help maintain existing trees and plant future ones. See this link for details.
Read more details and information on the City of Toronto - Cherry Blossom Website

Thank you all for visiting the site. Be careful, be safe, and watch for more updates soon.