You’ll never be short on monuments, museums and historical sites to visit in big east coast cities. But even for die-hard urbanites, it’s nice to go beyond the desktop Zen garden and be one with nature—even for a few hours. Here are some places in Washington DC, New York and Boston, where you’ll discover nature…the way urban planners intended….
In spring, the avenues of Washington D.C. are lined with frothy pink blooms, thanks to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The annual celebration commemorates the blossoming relationship between Japan and the US in the early part of the 20th century. With nearly 7,000 in bloom, these East Asian flowers symbolize good fortune and love. Today, over one million people come to see the beautiful blossoms hugging the Tidal Basin at West Potomac Park, an area also laden with interesting landmarks. You can’t miss the towering Jefferson Memorial found on the south side of the Basin, one of the many monuments throughout the West Potomac Park that pay tribute to former U.S. presidents. So you can bask lazily in the sun while pondering the nation’s greatest leaders…
Summer is a great time to take a bite of the Big Apple where you might find New York City’s nickname as the City that Never Sleeps doesn’t apply to every square block. In fact, cat napping in the 843 acres that make up Central Park is a common site. Nearly 600 acres of the park are made up of fauna and flora that somehow block out the hustle and bustle of city life from within. With 152 species of tree, 275 species of bird, 16 species of fish and 10 species of mammal, you’ll find yourself as close with nature in the park as you would a yellow taxi cab anywhere else you turn in the city.
In the northeast, New England is renowned for its fall foliage. In the fall months, usually from September to October (and sometimes even into November,) you can see the colors change right in Boston along the Charles River or through the Boston Public Garden. It’s also a great season to visit one of Boston’s lesser-known tourist venues, the Arnold Arboretum. Ask an Explorica Tour Director about adding this stop to your itinerary. With guided tours, free events and one of America’s top bonsai collections that includes 250-year-old Hinoki Cypress, what better place to go than North America’s oldest public arboretum to learn about the biology and ecology of woodland. But don’t come hungry unless you visit on Lilac Sunday—the second Sunday in May honoring the arboretum’s 194 different species of lilac—as this is the only day of the year when picnicking is allowed on the grounds.
Spring, summer and fall are great times to hit the urban outdoors, but you’ve got to admit, there’s something cool about ice, right? If you’re visiting these cities in the winter, bundle up, grab a hot chocolate and head out for some outdoor ice-skating at DC’s National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, the Wollman Rink in New York’s Central Park or the Frog Pond in the Boston Common. In rain or snow, there’s still plenty of nature to explore indoors, too. Visit the New England Aquarium in Boston, home to penguins, sharks and even an octopus. Check out the Natural History Museum in New York City where you’ll stand small next to full size models of dinosaurs. And in DC, be amazed in the National Zoo’s Amazonia with its mock tropical rainforest. Whatever the season, there’s always a way to entertain the wild side—tamely, of course—in any of these major cities.