Disclosure: this Tampa Bay spring adventure guide contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase a product featured in this post - at no extra cost to you.
Plan your Tampa Bay spring bucket list and get ready to enjoy all the outdoor fun the season offers with these Florida spring adventures.
From Tampa Bay spring festivals to Central Florida fruit and flower picking, Florida botanical gardens and Tampa Bay Earth Day cleanups, we’re sharing the top things to do during spring in Tampa Bay.
Florida Spring Adventures: Tampa Bay Spring Festivals
Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival on Clearwater Beach
Disclosure: our family received free tickets to experience the Sugar Sand Festival. All opinions expressed are my own.
Put some sugar sand in your bucket and add this festival to your Tampa Bay spring bucket list! A “sandtastic” Florida spring adventure, the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival dazzles on Clearwater Beach every April.
The festival’s main attraction is its exhibit of elaborate sand sculptures created from Clearwater’s famous sugar sand by world-class artists. General admission to the sculpture exhibit is $14 per person and free for children 3 years old and younger.
In 2023, the Sugar Sand Festival theme was “Decades: A Blast from the Past!” The sand sculpture exhibit was a nostalgic adventure through the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. With sand sculptures of favorites like “I Love Lucy,” Scooby Doo, E.T. and Kevin from “Home Alone”, plus scenes like the moon landing, MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the invention of the World Wide Web and the rise of texting, the exhibit featured so many cool things to see.
In addition to the sand sculptures, the family-friendly Sugar Sand Festival features free activities and entertainment for all ages. Free activities include a children’s play area, street performers, artisans, live entertainment, fireworks, sand sculpting classes, speed sand demonstrations and the master sand sculpting competition.
Ecofest: A Tampa Spring Adventure for Earth Day
A free Tampa Bay Earth Day event held on the grounds at MOSI, Ecofest features live music, green workshops, demonstrations, informational booths, and green living products and services.
Ecofest is a community event organized by Learning Gate Community School and MOSI. It celebrates the many businesses, organizations, and individuals in the Tampa Bay area dedicated to the principles of sustainability – Ecology, Equity and Economy.
Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival
A top spring thing to do in Tampa that’s perfect for lovers of food, wine, rollercoasters and concerts, Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival is included with park admission every weekend from mid-March – mid-May. With a diverse lineup of flavors in both food and musical acts, the festival truly offers something for everyone.
Tampa Riverfest
A free family-friendly Tampa spring event, Tampa Riverfest is a two-day festival along the Tampa Riverwalk held the first weekend in May each year. The festival features family-friendly activities and events showcasing Tampa’s cultural institutions, local musicians and restaurants.
Enjoy Taste of Riverwalk on Friday night and RiverFiesta on Saturday. Both nights of this Tampa spring festival feature a balloon glow at sunset. Tampa Riverfest adventures also include a wiener dog derby, a lantern parade, yoga, a water ski show and a paddle invasion.
Cuban Sandwich Festival: A Tampa Spring Adventure for Your Taste Buds!
Held annually in May in Tampa’s historic Ybor City neighborhood, the home of the Cuban sandwich, the Cuban Sandwich Festival is a Florida spring adventure for your taste buds.
Along with live entertainment and food and cultural vendors, this Tampa spring festival features Cuban sandwich chefs and contestants from all over the world competing for the title of best Cuban sandwich. Savor the season with this delicious addition to your Tampa Bay spring bucket list.
Want to experience more flavors of Ybor City? Check out an Ybor City food tour.
Florida Spring Adventures: Tampa Bay Area Fruit and Flower Picking
Visiting a Tampa Bay area u-pick farm is a fun, tasty and educational Florida spring adventure.
What should you wear for a visit to a Florida u-pick farm? Be sure to wear sturdy shoes and light comfortable clothing appropriate for the Florida heat. Don’t forget water bottles, sun protection and bug spray! It’s also a good idea to bring your own containers for fruit picking in case the farm does not provide them.
Florida Blueberry U-Pick Farms To Visit Around Tampa Bay
Blueberry season in Central Florida runs from April – May and you can find several u-pick blueberry farms around Tampa Bay.
Starkey Farms in Trinity is a local favorite that offers both blueberry and blackberry picking. In Plant City, Wish Farms and Keel Farms open for u-pick Florida blueberries on most Saturdays throughout April.
To find other u-pick farms close to you, use this handy Florida u-pick farm locator.
Need some ideas for delicious ways to enjoy fresh Florida blueberries? Check out our friend Tracy from Food Wine Sunshine’s Best Blueberry Grilled Cheese + 12 Berrylicious Ways To Enjoy Blueberries.
U-Pick Florida Peaches: A Super Sweet Tampa Bay Spring Bucket List Adventure
The season for picking Florida peaches is short but oh, so sweet! Don’t be fooled by their small size, Florida peaches are big on sweet flavor. You can find many u-pick farms around Central Florida open for u-pick usually from late April – mid-May.
We get our Florida peaches out in Lithia, Florida at The Southern Peach Company. Follow the farm on Facebook for their u-pick schedule.
Wondering what to do with all those fresh Florida peaches? Check out our friend Tracy from Food Wine Sunshine’s Best Peach Recipes to Make This Florida Peach Season.
U-Pick Wildflowers in Bradenton
Open daily in the spring months through May, the u-pick flower fields at Hunsader Farms offer a beautiful Florida spring adventure. Admission to the flower fields is $2 per person.
For an additional $8, you can pick a cup full of zinnias and wildflowers. The flower cups are provided but you are required to bring your own scissors or cutters. Sunflowers are also available for pick for $1 per yellow sunflower and $3 per red, purple, chocolate or orange sunflower.
Sweetfields Farm Sunflower Maze
A long-time favorite Florida spring adventure in our family, the Sweetfields Farm Sunflower Maze brightens up Brooksville, Florida each May.
A living labyrinth, the Sweetfields Farm sunflower maze is made up of a sunflower crop that is eight to ten feet tall. Exploring the maze is a whimsical journey for all ages.
In addition to the Florida spring sunflower maze, admission includes visits with farm animals, a hayride, a craft, kids’ play areas and more. Bring extra cash for food and drinks and sunflowers and produce available for purchase.
Florida Spring Adventures: Tampa Bay Gardens and Parks
Spring is the perfect time to enjoy Florida spring adventures at Tampa Bay gardens and parks. Check out Adventure-Seeking Mom’s guide to Tampa Bay area gardens: These Tampa Bay area gardens blossom with spring beauty.
Add an Earth Day Cleanup to Your Tampa Bay Spring Bucket List
Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful Cleanups
From March – June, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful participates in the Great American Cleanup. Your family can get involved by hosting a self-led spring cleanup volunteering for Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful.
Earth Day Cleanups with Keep Pinellas Beautiful
Keep Pinellas Beautiful puts multiple beach cleanups on the calendar for Earth Day weekend. Additionally, Sans Market hosts downtown St. Pete cleanup events in partnership with Keep Pinellas Beautiful.
Florida Summer Adventures Around Tampa Bay
The Florida adventures don’t end when spring does. Check out Adventure-Seeking Mom’s guide to Florida Summer Adventures Around Tampa Bay.
For even more ideas to help you get out and explore the beauty of the real Florida, check these 8 Amazing Florida Adventures The Go Beyond the Beach.
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Those sand sculptures are amaaaazing! Is it really just sand and water? It is slightly embarrassing that my castles always fall down when they can create such impressive 90s-themed images from sand!
Everything else looks fab too! I wouldn’t have expected peaches already in spring, and all the gardens and parks look sooo nice sitting here in the North with our April showers! 😉
p.s. Thanks for you mentioning the Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful’s earth day cleanup. What a great idea!
It is so incredible to see what these artists can make out of a pile of sand! I hope your April showers bring you lots of May flowers! Thanks so much for checking out our Florida spring adventure ideas.
This list really got me in the springtime spirit, everything looks so sunny and fresh – I’m ready to go fruit picking!
At first I thought the Sugar Sand festival had something to do with actual sugar, like edible sugar castles or something lol. I’d love the challenge of creating a sand castle that expansive. That’s cool that they do classes and demonstrations; I’d want to learn and try it myself!
Awesome that you included the cleanups – good for your kids for participating in that one picture and helping out their community!
Thanks so much for reading, Claire! I would love to take a sand sculpting class too. I hope you have some wonderful spring adventures ahead!
My parents lived kind of close to Tampa Bay so we would go there sometimes. This list has some new things for me to see at tryouts. I love seeing a Manatees in Tampa too. Those sand structures are amazing.
I’m so glad you learned about some new things to check out the next time you’re in Tampa Bay! We love seeing our Florida manatees too. They are so special.
So much to do! I was already sold on River Fest but the wiener dogs make it a don’t miss event. And all that fruit, especially the peaches look delicious.
The Tampa Riverfest wiener dog derby is the cutest! Spring is such and fun, fresh and delicious season in Florida!