Toronto Cherry Blossoms | High Park
High Park is home to the most cherry blossoms trees in Toronto. It is probably the busiest place to see them, but not without good reason!
Cherry blossoms on the hill in High Park only three days apart! April 21, 2024 and April 24, 2024
Living in the west side of the city it’s quite easy for me to stop by High Park located at 1873 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6R 2Z3. So I ended up visiting the park twice in the same week, and the difference in how the blossoms looked in just three days was significant.
My first visit was on the morning of Sunday April 21st. I arrived at the park at around 10am in the morning and there were already people there. You can see crowds of people exiting from High Park Station just across from the North park entrance.
Popular cherry blossom hill where most trees are
The path towards the popular cherry blossom hill is about a 10 min walk in from the North entrance at High Park Ave. The roads are closed to vehicles during this time so it allows for more accessibility to the top of the hill. This walk may feel long to those who do not walk long distances. Something to keep in mind if you want to bring your older family members. But you don’t need to get too far before you see the first set of trees located by the field just before the route starts to head downhill.
You’ll know you got the cherry blossom hill when you hit it. There are so many trees in full bloom right now it would be very hard to miss. Though the path is still accessible, the road starts to get quite steep around here. You’ll have to be prepared to go back up the distance you go down. But the hard work won’t be for nothing! The hill is filled with cherry blossom trees and you’ll see blossoms in all directions if you head into the grass.
On Sunday the trees were not yet fully bloomed. Some of the blossoms were closed but the ones that were bloomed were a beautiful pink colour. My next visit on Wednesday April 24th really showed me how quickly the cherry blossoms change. The hill was now filled with extra fluffy branches and the blossoms were more white in colour. I recently learned that as blossoms mature they go from pink to white.
Baby pink blossoms by Grenadier Pond. April 24, 2024
At the bottom of the hill, the cherry blossoms show continues along the Grenadier Pond. These trees lie on flatter ground and still have a baby pink hue to them. Along the pond there were people playing instruments and even a painter painting the blossoms @artistnile.
High Park is a very large and filled with a labyrinth of paths up and down the hills. There’s plenty of grass space where you can also hold a picnic and watch the blossoms along the pond. After the cherry blossom show, I climbed up the grassy hill overlooking the pond to do some reading and unplanned sun bathing. The crowds are concentrated at the trees and the park is massive so its easy to pull away and find somewhere to sit alone and enjoy the greenery.
I went between 3pm-5pm on Wednesday and found the initial crowd to be busier than Sunday morning. As the afternoon progressed and I headed out there was definitely more people coming in. One thing I do love about the crowds is seeing people in their best outfits, especially the old grandmas taking photos with their bestie. You’ll see photographers with their nice cameras and super big lenses. I also like to ask couples and families if they want me to take a picture for them so they have a non-selfie version of their visit.
But if your goal is to see the blossoms with the fewest amount of people, going in the early morning on a weekday will make a huge difference. After years of visiting High Park, I can confidently say the early bird really does get the worm. Well, one that has weekdays off. But finding a beautiful sunny day during Toronto spring weather also makes the biggest difference on the experience.
If you would like to follow the High Park cherry blossom cycle closely check out Sakura in High Park! They provide an in depth report of how the blossoms are looking across the park every year and even a map of where to see them within the park. I check their blog for an update every time spring comes along.
Hope this motivates you to go out and see the cherry blossoms before the season is over!
Watch our tiktok video!
How to get here
Parking - paid/free street parking
Parking along High Park Ave available
The closer blocks to Bloor St. have Green P meters, further blocks are free with a walk
TTC accessible - High Park Station
Visited April 21 & 24, 2024
