21 Things to Do in Spring in Miami

The famous tennis tournament will come to Miami on March 19, 2018, for two weeks with 200 of the world’s best tennis players competing for the win. The event will take place at Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park.

The Miami Beach Gay Pride parade celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a week-long event from April 2–8, 2018, that includes parades, parties, and over 125 LGBT-friendly vendors, as well as musical performances, food and celebrity sightings. The event is free and open to everyone.

Spring means the weather is still pleasant enough for a day trip through the Everglades National Park, so don’t miss an airboat tour of the swamplands for a chance to catch sightings of alligators, birds, and other species native to the park.

Now in its 35th year, the Miami Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College and the Miami Film Society, will bring the best in cinema to the Magic City. The festival includes films by award-winning directors and starts on the first Friday in March, running for 10 days with screenings at venues such as the Miami Beach Cinematheque, O Cinema, Coral Gables Art Cinema, and others. The festival will also include CinemaSlam, a film school competition for students in South Florida.

The largest urban park in Florida boasts miles of bicycling trails for both novice and pro cyclists to enjoy.

The biggest water park in South Florida, spanning 30 acres, reopens for the season on March 10, 2018. Beat the heat with a splash at their enormous wave pool, and float through a quarter-mile-long lazy river. Or get an adrenaline rush plummeting down waterslides.

If you haven’t heard of Ultra by now, you’re living in a hole. The most famous electronic music event during Miami Music Week (March 20–25, 2018) swings by the city every spring just long enough to halt the traffic on Biscayne Boulevard. From March 23–25, 2018, thousands of young music lovers dressed in neon costumes and funky hairdos swarm the beaches and the city to attend the musical events and performances on Miami Beach and Bayfront Park. Don’t miss the parties and the concerts. Click here for the lineup.

Nestled on the lawns of the New World Center in Miami Beach, SoundScape features a cinema series showcasing flicks outdoors for free—just bring your own blanket. Watch flicks under the stars all through spring, as the park will feature movies every Wednesday of the month. You can watch classics such as Casablanca to Disney favorites like Beauty and the Beast.

Go on a drinking binge to sample over 300 local, national and international beers at the Sprung! Beer Festival. The event is appropriately taking place in Wynwood on April 7, 2018, and includes games as well as the Kitchen Lab—a learning workshop from Miami’s top chefs that gives guests lessons in food and beer pairings.

Aside from the beer, Wynwood is known for its art. Walk throughout the photogenic neighborhood to explore the colorful graffiti murals that decorate the walls.

Built in 1923, the historic Venetian Pool boasts a refreshing haven in the heart of Coral Gables. Go swimming in its spring water-filled pools, waterfalls, and grottos. The watering hole is one of Miami’s best-kept secrets.

Beginning in March until October, this natural phenomenon brings swarms of viewers to witness the sea turtle nesting and hatching along the shores of the Atlantic. Don’t miss watching the mama turtles bury their eggs in the sand, or watch the turtle babies hatching out of their eggs to waddle into the water. It’s too cute—but make sure to watch from a distance to give them their space.

Grab a basket and head to the lawns of Museum Park, the 30-acre public park in Downtown that hosts the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science. The lawns edge right to the shore of Biscayne Bay, offering scenic views of the city and landscape that make it perfect for a picnic and afternoon stroll in spring.

Are you a fan of butterflies? Don’t miss a visit to the butterfly conservatory at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, complete with over 40 species of the winged beauties.

The Barnacle, a historic house built in 1891, is a reminder of the “Era of the Bay” when Miami travel was done only by boat. Once the former home of one of Coconut Grove’s pioneers, Ralph Middleton Munroe, the house is part of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which sits on the shore of Biscayne Bay and boasts colonial-style architecture as well as a boathouse and vast lands for guests to explore.

Cinema lovers can enjoy trekking through the Miami locations that were featured in films—from cult classics like Scarface to action flicks such as Bad Boys 2. Check out our list here.

Spring means it’s still not too hot to grab a kayak and paddle through the mangroves surrounding Matheson Hammock Park, which also offers paddleboarding and kite surfing. You can also spot manatees here.

The place to be seen, The Raleigh, with its beachfront pool, is known for hosting a party or two on the weekends.

It goes without saying, but lounging on the beach is one of the best things you can do in the 305 in spring. Just make sure you watch for the crowds during spring break!

Whether you opt for the daytime or nighttime tour, this unique helicopter tour displays the beauty of Miami’s scenic landscape and glittering skyline, which will remind you of the reason you visited the 305 in the first place!