City of Toronto welcomes back crowds to see popular High Park cherry blossoms

The City of Toronto says it is welcoming people back, with no restrictions, to see cherry blossoms up close and in person at High Park for the first time in two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“As another sign of the progress Toronto has made in confronting COVID-19 and getting residents vaccinated, this year everyone will once again be able to enjoy the cherry blossoms in High Park with no plans in place to deter possible crowds,” city officials said in a news release on Tuesday.

The city said thousands of people head to High Park to see the blossoming Sakura trees.

Blossoming typically begins in late April or early May and lasts between four to 10 days, depending on the weather.

In the spring of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the city closed High Park during peak bloom season to avoid large gatherings. In 2021, fenced-off barriers were set up around the cherry blossoms although the park was open.

Instead, people were able to see the cherry blossoms through a “bloom cam” which was a 24/7 live camera footage that people could view from home.

City officials said bloom cam had almost 125,000 unique views and was watched for more than 36,600 hours, and the same popularity for the livestream continued in 2021.

The bloom cam will operate again this year, the city said.

Vehicle access and parking will be restricted during the cherry blossom season for the interest of public safety, officials noted.

There are also 15 locations across Toronto where people can see cherry blossoms, the city said.