Book Early for the National Cherry Blossom Festival and Save

The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the District of Columbia. Each year, more than a million people travel to Washington, D.C. to catch the trees at their most spectacular.

Amtrak is a proud sponsor of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and we want to make it easy and fun to join in on this favorite spring tradition. If you’re planning to travel to the Festival by Amtrak this year, you can save up to 25% on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional routes when you book your travel 14 Days in advance.

The annual event takes place over four weeks each spring when the trees are expected to be in peak bloom. It can be tricky to forecast how bud development will be affected by the season’s winter weather, so even if you arrive at the festival before or after peak bloom, you can still watch the blossoms emerge in real-time, turning the Tidal Basin into a brilliant shade of pink.

In addition to the popular 10-mile and 5k run, annual must-see events include the Kite Festival and the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks. If the weather is nice, be sure to grab a paddleboat and enjoy a floating tour of the nation’s monuments, or simply take a stroll through the trees to photograph springtime at its finest.

Throughout the festival, special exhibits celebrating Japanese heritage and culture will take place across the region. This year, see Infinity Mirrors, the celebrated artwork of Yayoi Kusama, at the Hirshhorn Museum. Also check out the District’s first-ever Japanese film festival, which will offer recently acclaimed Japanese films with English subtitles.