Cherish Cherry Blossom Season in Burnaby!
Charge up your iPhone, pack your DSLR and prepare to be dazzled by a postcard-perfect montage of pink, red and white blooms unfurling in Metro Vancouver during April’s cherry blossom season. Accent Inns Burnaby is perfectly placed to chase the blooms in Burnaby and beyond. Your Instagram following won’t know what hit ‘em.
While you’re in town, you won’t want to miss the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (April 3 to 29), which is jam-packed with sakura celebrations like picnics, self-guided walking and cycling tours, and blossom-inspired Haiku. (There’s even a handy map that pinpoints blossom sites in different neighbourhoods.) Though you can easily rent a vehicle to zip between sites, Accent Inns Burnaby runs a shuttle that travels regularly within the area – how convenient is that? Ask the staff for shuttle times and drop-off points, and plan your sightseeing accordingly.
Fun fact: throughout the season, more than 40,000 cherry blossom trees will unfurl in the Lower Mainland. Of course, it’s impossible to see every blossom, so we recommend sticking to a few key areas. A 12-minute drive from Accent Inns Burnaby will lead you to Burnaby Civic Square, where showy Akebono cherry trees – known for producing an abundance of flowers – stand serenely just outside the Burnaby Public Library. Treat yourself to a few peaceful moments in the shade of these majestic beauties.
Your next stop is just a 10-minute stroll away: Bonsor Recreation Complex (right beside Metrotown Mall!). Here you’ll find a cluster of Shirotae trees whose pure white flowers make for breathtaking site before our after your shopping pit-stop at one of the Lower Mainland’s best malls. Did you know that “Shirotae” means “white cloth” in Japanese? Now you do!
Further north you’ll find Deer Lake Parkway, where urban trails are lined by Akebono cherry trees. The park is also home to several galleries and museums, as well as the lovely Hart House, a Tudor-style, lakeside restaurant. Here, you can enjoy lunch and a glass of wine looking out at the lake, then forge ahead to view more blossoms.
Ascend Burnaby Hill to the Burnaby Mountain Park picnic area, where Somei-yoshino trees offer a stunning frame for the city sprawled beyond – these blooms are white and tinged with pale pink near the stem. Snap a few selfies before settling in the grass to properly soak in the view.
Your blossom bonanza doesn’t have to stop here! From Accent Inns Burnaby you can quickly hop on a Skytrain downtown to take in the official Cherry Blossom Festival celebrations, including the Haiku Invitational competition and celebrity reading, a picnic at Queen Elizabeth Park and more.
At day’s end, the Accent Inns Burnaby family will welcome you home with a fabulous family-style dinner at Ricky’s Country Restaurant, a steaming hot tub to soak your tired muscles and a comfy room to drift off into sakura-infused dreams. Don’t forget to share your cherry blossom Insta stories with us – our free in-room WiFi has you covered!