Branch Brook Park

Branch Brook Park is a county park in Newark, New Jersey, covering around 360 acres with lawns, playing fields, winding paths, streams, ponds, and lakes. The grounds offer open areas for relaxation and shaded sections along the waterways where trees line the banks.

The park was established in 1895 on a former Civil War training ground and swampland. Frederick Law Olmsted redesigned the landscape starting in 1900, introducing curved paths and natural waterways.

The annual Cherry Blossom Festival draws visitors who walk among the trees and picnic beneath the pink and white blooms. The Japanese flowering cherries were planted over several decades and transform the grounds into a sea of petals each spring.

Visitors find tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, and designated paths for jogging and cycling spread across the grounds. The park is accessible on foot and offers parking at several entrances along main roads.

The grounds hold the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the United States, with over 4,000 specimens and more than 18 different varieties. Some of the oldest trees were planted in the early 1930s and reach considerable heights.

Location: New Jersey

GPS coordinates: 40.77028,-74.17639

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:30