Cherry Hill's Cherry Blossoms Rank Among Best In NJ

CHERRY HILL, NJ — If you're looking for incredible springtime sights, Cherry Hill has some of the best cherry blossoms New Jersey offers, according to the state tourism division.

Visit New Jersey ranked the Garden State's top 12 cherry blossom destinations. Chapel Avenue made the list, released Wednesday, at No. 12.

Chapel Avenue features a 2-mile stretch of cherry blossoms between Haddonfield Road and Kings Highway. A group of residents developed the concept in the early 1970s, seeking to unify the township in a community-wide celebration of Cherry Hill's diversity. Cherry trees continue to get planted on the street.

The stretch of cherry blossoms also serves as a solemn, living memorial of the lives lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The township's name comes from a 19th-century farm on Kaighn Avenue (Route 38) called Cherry Hill. Owner Abraham Browning grew cherry trees on the property. In 1961, residents voted in a referendum to change the municipality's name from Delaware Township to Cherry Hill.

Cherry trees and cherry blossoms are closely related. But the former gets planted to yield fruit, while cherry blossoms create a springtime spectacle.

The top-12 list comes from Visit New Jersey — run by the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism.