The cherry blossom hunt has begun in Toronto: these pink and white trees are finally reaching full bloom in the city, and everyone wants to see them before they’re gone! While High Park is the most popular spot in the city to see the sakura trees, the blossoms there haven’t totally reached peak bloom yet. But there’s another underrated location in the city filled with cherry blossom trees that have — and it has the added bonus of being way less crowded!
Robarts Library, a massive building on University of Toronto’s St. George campus, is home to a beautiful grove of 70 cherry blossom trees gifted to the university by the Consulate General of Japan in the early 2000s. And as of this week, the trees are fully in bloom!
Visitors to this quieter spot have captured the trees in all their pink glory. While those in the know about cherry blossoms in the city know this is a key place to visit, it’s still a lesser known destination for sakura — meaning the chances of you being able to snap a picture of the trees without crowds of people below is high!
But make sure to act fast: the cherry blossoms here have a shorter peak bloom period (which refers to trees that achieve at least 90 per cent open blooms), meaning the flowers will likely start dropping by the end of the weekend.
Of course, the timing works out well for cherry blossom enjoyers: when these ones fall, the sakura trees in High Park will officially reach peak bloom! Cherry blossom expert Steve Joniak has noted that peak bloom will begin in the park by May 1 and potentially last until May 5. Bloom time is dependent on weather; cool, calm weather will extend the bloom period for cherry blossoms, while more volatile, windy and rainy weather could cut it short. Toronto’s current weather forecast is showing a bit of rain on May 1 and some as well on May 4–5, so plan your visit accordingly!
There are plenty of other places in the city to see cherry blossoms if the crowds at High Park don’t appeal to you; Cedarvale Park, Exhibition Place, Woodbine Park and Centennial Park all have plenty of blooms to enjoy.
And if pink flowers in general are your thing, check out the best places to see magnolia trees in bloom!
