Tidal Basin

Walk the path around a 107-acre basin lined with cherry trees, past the Jefferson, FDR and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials.

West Potomac Park, between the Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials · Washington, DC

About Tidal Basin

The Tidal Basin is a man-made, 107-acre body of water in West Potomac Park that uses the tides to flush the Washington Channel. A walkway circles the water past the Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials, with the Washington Monument in view to the north. Its cherry trees are the focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festival each spring. A rebuilt seawall with wider, more accessible walkways reopened in April 2026, and paddle boats rent from a dock at the eastern end.

#cherry blossoms
#walking trail
#memorials
#paddle boats
#waterfront

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Tidal Basin, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sightseeing
Iconic
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
No admission fee
The domed rotunda on the Tidal Basin, a 19-foot bronze Jefferson, his words carved in marble, and DC's best cherry-blossom backdrop.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Sightseeing
History Buff
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
No admission fee
Walk through four open-air rooms of red granite, cascading water and bronze sculpture that trace FDR's four terms beside the Tidal Basin.
0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Sightseeing
Iconic
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
No admission fee
See Dr. King's 30-foot granite likeness emerge from the Stone of Hope beside the Tidal Basin, ringed by a wall of his words.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Sports & Outdoors
Constitution Gardens
No admission fee
A quiet park on the National Mall with a pond and island memorial.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.5 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Date Night
Enid A. Haupt Garden
No admission fee
Rest on the brick paths of a four-acre Smithsonian garden behind the Castle, with a Victorian-style parterre, a Moongate pool and a Moorish fountain court.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.8 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Lady Bird Johnson Park
No admission fee
An island park in the Potomac River near the Pentagon, honoring Lady Bird Johnson and featuring spring bulbs, memorials, and river views.
0.8 mi awayMore like this