lala

I am going to be planning a trip to DC. When is the "cherry blossom" time that everyone mentions. Is it March or April?

Thanks

Jen

Yes. The official cherry blossom web site says that last year's festival was March 22 - April 7. The exact dates depend so much on the weather from one year to the next, it's impossilbe to predict more than a couple of weeks in advance.

http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/

BUT the area is so crowded during that period, IMHO it's not he best time to visit. I'd vote for Late September or October -- the weather is nice and there are few if any school groups and other tourist crowds to deal with.

Chris

Jen, I agree with you about the crowds, but since this is a travel board, I couldn't resist commenting on the Crowd Thing. I live in the DC area, have for 35 years. Never went down to the the Cherry Blossoms because of the Horrible Crowds. One year, my husband and I said, let's just Adjust Our Heads to the fact that there will be crowds and traffic and check them out. We did, and WOW -- they were beautiful, it was wonderful. We found a reasonable parking space, walked around the Tidal Basin, it was stunning. Walked through the Roosevelt Memorial, too. Yes, traffic crawled, but all in all no worse than Saturday at the mall. If you want to see the Cherry Blossoms--come! No one would dissuade you from seeing Times Square because it's crowded, would they?

Spider

It is crowded, but if you leave your car behind it's not so bad. Take the Metro and enjoy. Spring is the best season of the year in DC.

Jen

That's fine if you're a local, but crowded times for tourists also mean it's harder to find hotel rooms and their rates will be higher than at other times. Also, if you're a traveler, there's a good chance that if you plan far in advance, your travel dates will miss hthe peak bloom anyway.

r-travels

I've been to DC during the Festival 3 years in a row now, and I wasn't even trying - just seems the time I could get a good flight deal & time off work coincided. But I never had a problem getting a room OUTSIDE DC. Stayed at Econolodge ($72) on Glebe Rd (free shuttle to Pentagon City Metro), Red Roof Inn ($45) in Laurel (had rental car, ~ 10 minutes to Greenbelt Metro), and Qual Inn Iwo Jima ($60) in Arlington (walkable to Rosslyn Metro). Didn't feel the rates were unreasonable either. Last year the actual bloom was in sync with the schedule festival the best in those 3 years, & we walked all the way around the basin. I've found very reasonable rates in DC during the winter and the summer, but you have to brave the cold or the heat, so I've only done winter.

Be aware that so many people try to use the Smithsonian Metro stop that they often have to close it down (the stop). But don't let that discourage you from using the Metro to get around, it's a great system, and overall, if you can stay close to a Metro Station, then don't worry about if you are downtown or not. I like the Dupont Circle area.