Peak Bloom at the National Arboretum

A few days before the famous cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin were due to hit peak bloom, we headed to the National Arboretum to see what was in bloom there. The arboretum covers more than 450 acres in northeast DC and isn’t a big tourist spot, so we knew that it wouldn’t be as crowded as the Mall on a beautiful spring day. Even though the parking lot was full, we had plenty of room to run!

And run we did - though we got chased down by a security guard and told that kites aren’t allowed on site, which we hadn’t realized. Whoops.

We didn’t follow the official Beyond the Tidal Basin map but still saw so many gorgeous flowering trees. I don’t think I’ve ever been there during peak azalea season, so that will have to be the next visit in a month or so!