Modern Vespa

Thinking of trailering scooters down to MD/NOVA some upcoming weekend, and would like to stay outside DC and ride in on a Saturday to see the Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms. Would any DC area locals want to suggest a scenic and/or backroads route/direction into DC (up to 1-1/2hr +/-), and/or have ideas on where to stay?

There is an awesome plaza north of the Capital that has a fountain and cherry trees. Also, it's not far from the Dubliner, which is an excellent Irish pub/restaurant.

Besides a tour bus or taking Metro and walking from one of the stations closest to the National Mall, riding a scooter is the ONLY way to see the blossoms. Trying to drive and park a car is futile.

Do as we did a couple of years ago and scooter in and park along one of the drives in the vicinity of the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin, the heart of cherry tree country. There will be absolutely no car-size parking spaces, but you can park for free in any gap between parked cars that is big enough.

If you are coming in from somewhere to the northwest of the city, I'd suggest coming down either the George Washington Parkway on the south side of the Potomac River or Clara Barton Parkway/Canal Road on the north side.

Check the weather forecast. This weekend looks a mess. Possibility of accumulating snow and even if it doesn't snow, high temps in the 30s. We had April in February, now getting January in March.

Been to the Dubliner many times. Excellent!

When i lived in Richmond and C'ville VA i used to go up every year to see the festival. Pretty damn awesome. Miss the mainland sometimes.

I would sometimes park at the Pentagon north parking lot (weekends) & walk over - but it's quite a hike, and I'm not sure if one can still do that. Parking is a real issue... The GW parkway, previously recommended, is a great ride, though... Do the whole thing...

The George Washington Parkway (GW Parkway) and Clara Barton are both great.

Sample Route from Georgetown...

Up Canal road, Across the Chain Bridge, up 123 to GW Parkway, across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, down to the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. This is probably a 30-45min trip, but very pretty.

If you take Canal road you can always follow it out to the MD side of Graet Falls.

I would honestly wait till next weekend. This coming weekend is going to be in the lower 30s and rainy. Definitely not scooter weather in the District.

Thanks all - for your route suggestions, looking forward to making this trip if everything aligns. Oh yes, this weekend in March was always probably too early. I was thinking later, and hopefully the blossoms may cooperate...

https://cherryblossomwatch.com/peak-bloom-forecast/