Last Updated on 2023-03-18
In Taiwan, many people travel to different parts of Taiwan or even fly to Japan to enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms in spring. Similarly, cherry blossom viewing is a popular activity in the United States and Canada, with cities like Washington D.C., Seattle, Portland, and New York being popular destinations. This year, I visited downtown Portland twice to view the cherry blossoms, but unfortunately, I missed the peak bloom both times. Luckily, I didn’t miss out on the beautiful cherry blossoms near my home in Lake Oswego. Even though it was just a view from the side of the road, I still want to share this beautiful scenery with all of you.
Sakura viewing and photography spots in Portland, Oregon
Before sharing the beautiful cherry blossom scenery of Lake Oswego, let me share with you some famous cherry blossom spots in downtown Portland first! I hope that next year, I can visit these photo spots and write another article to share with you all.
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Waterfront Park, located in downtown Portland, boasts a vast expanse of pink blossoms that stretch along the riverbank from Burnside Bridge to Steel Bridge. The view is so extensive that it’s impossible to take it all in with just one glance.
4 recommended photo spots in Waterfront Park:
- Along the riverbank of Waterfront
- Burnside Bridge
- Steel Bridge
- The northern end of Japanese American Historical Plaza
I found out that by searching “Cherry Blossom Tracker in Portland” on Google, you can find out the blooming status of the cherry blossoms. This way, I won’t miss them next year!
Oregon State Capitol Park
In addition to Waterfront Park in Portland, the Oregon State Capitol Park in Salem, the state capital, is also a great place to enjoy cherry blossoms, which is about an hour’s drive from the city. The cherry blossom trees in the Oregon State Capitol Park are relatively low compared to those in the city, making it more suitable for close-up photography. Additionally, the surrounding buildings are mostly white, giving the cherry blossoms a more aesthetic atmosphere.
Cherry Blossom Tree Standing Next to Home in Lake Oswego
Why is the title “Cherry Blossom Tree Standing Next to Home”? Because the photos taken today are not like the vast cherry blossom forest at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, but rather scattered in pairs and threes along the streets and near homes.
The reason why I did not succeed in going to the city to chase cherry blossoms this year is actually a silly little story. All of the photos in this set were taken within a 5-15 minute walk from my house. At the time, I thought that since it only takes 10 minutes to drive to downtown Portland, the cherry blossom status on both sides should not be too different! Therefore, the weekend after taking these photos, I looked at the cherry blossom trees near my house still blooming abundantly and thought that the city should be about the same!
Although it only takes a 10-minute drive from my house to downtown Portland, I did not have a car at the time. Secondly, driving into the city is not a very wise choice, and taking public transportation would take 2 hours, so that day, in order to save time, I directly opened Uber and spent $20 to go to the city. However, when I arrived in the city, I found that the cherry blossoms had already mostly fallen, and the green branches had already emerged. I felt like crying!
In order not to waste the money I had already spent on transportation, I was lucky that Waterfront Park was already a popular gathering place on weekends, with the Saturday Market (only on Saturdays!) and people playing various instruments together. Although there were no romantic cherry blossoms, there were passionate people who accompanied me through the weekend.
So if you want to see cherry blossoms, be sure to search for “Cherry Blossom Tracker in Portland” on Google to track the state of cherry blossom blooming, so you won’t waste a trip like I did!
I have another story to share, which made me realize how lucky we are in Taiwan.
Although Taiwan is a subtropical island, due to its terrain and climate, we can still see cherry blossoms without traveling abroad. Why am I talking about this? One of my colleagues is from Mexico, also a subtropical region, and she told me that it was her first time seeing a tree turn pink. At that moment, I realized that in Taiwan, we can probably drive for only 2-3 hours to see romantic cherry blossoms, and we are very fortunate. If my colleague had not come to work in Portland, she might have never seen cherry blossoms before!
It’s hard to deny that when looking back at these cherry blossom photos, I still feel the excitement of taking pictures and seeing those romantic flowers after a long time. I also wanted to take pictures of cherry blossoms in Chicago last year, but the blooming period coincided with my super intense midterm exams, and the cherry blossom spot was quite far away, which required a long drive. When I finally had the time to go there a week later, the cherry blossoms had already left me behind.
Time really waits for no one.
Hi BFFs!
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