What is it about spring that makes us want to try something new? Spring activities are a chance to turn over a new leaf and embrace our lives with a fresh sense of discovery and purpose. Whether you are a couple, a family, or trying something new on your own, committing to one of these pursuits will make this a season you won’t ever forget. Here are 20 spring activities to bring more inspiration, positivity, and meaning to your 2023 spring season.
READ MORE: 25 Joyful Spring Quotes to Inspire You
Outdoor Spring Activities
The weather is warmer, and the sun is shining (some of the time), so grab your light jacket and head outside for some much-needed time in nature.
1. Go on a Daily Meditative Walk
Did you know spring can be an acutely stressful season? Between spring school semesters, busy work schedules, spring cleaning, and the return of outdoor activities, it’s hard to take the time to appreciate this beautiful season. A fun spring activity to help you enjoy this time of year is a daily or weekly walk. Instead of focusing your walk on a destination or as a form of exercise (which is great) try to make your walk more of a meditative experience. Let your mind naturally wander as you wander your neighborhood. Take the time to notice your favorite parts of the spring season—like the blooming flowers, freshly green trees, buzzing bees, and the returning birds.
READ MORE: 12 Uplifting Spring Books and Devotionals
2. Play in the Rain
Even with warmer weather on the way, we still need to get through all those April showers. But don’t let the cloudy weather keep you down. Use rainy days as an excuse to have a little fun. When the weather predicts some rain, step outside instead of staying indoors. Dance in the rain, splash in some puddles, construct a boat out of leaves and watch it sail through streams of water, or grab your umbrella and go for a walk. It’s a sure way to keep your spirit up until summer days arrive. Soon you’ll find yourself more excited for rainy days than sunny ones. Just be sure to have a towel ready when you get back home.
3. Visit a Botanical Garden
Depending on where you live, April and May are usually the peak season to go and see some flowers. So, plan now for a trip to the best place to see all kinds of flowers and plants: a botanical garden. Simply Google the closest one to you and make a day of it. Check out their calendar for events, like walking tours, kids’ days, volunteer events, art festivals, learning workshops, and other fun spring activities. You’ll be surprised how much they have to offer. Take the whole family or go on a solo trip for some one-on-one time with nature.
4. Go Stargazing
Warmer weather also means a chance to step outside after sunset without those biting winter temperatures. When you do go outside at night, look up. The spring night sky is filled with amazing stars, planets, and maybe even some meteor showers. If you live in a city, drive out to a more rural area for a better view. Bring a blanket, a telescope if you have one, and maybe even a little hot chocolate to keep away that lingering winter chill. Try to find some of the spring constellations, like Orion, Leo, Virgo, and the Big Dipper. Let the brilliance of the night sky fill you with a sense of awe and wonder.
5. Volunteer with Your Local Park
Do you have a favorite local park that you love to visit, whether for picnics, dog walking, or other spring activities? Lend a hand in keeping that park clean and healthy. Many local parks need help with trash pick-up, planting new trees, and other landscaping work. Reach out to the park’s community organization—it may be the city or county’s parks department, or even a neighborhood organization—and see if they have any volunteering opportunities. Bring the whole family along or round up your friends for a day of fun, outdoor volunteer work. It will make the whole park a more enjoyable place during spring and beyond.
Spring Activities for Families and Kids
With spring break and more daylight, spring is the perfect time for families and kids to come together and focus on family time.
6. Start a Family Garden
Looking for a spring activity that will bring the family together while teaching responsibility and teamwork? Try planting a family garden this spring. Pick an area in your yard or join a local community garden. Map out your plot and decide what you are going to plant together. Consider giving everyone a type of plant to look after or dividing up tasks, like watering, tilling, and pruning. Or work together through every step to make sure each type of plant flourishes. Pick a day of the week when everyone is free so you can all meet in the garden for some fun family time.
7. Do One New Activity Every Week
With busy work schedules, school schedules, after school activities, and more, it’s difficult to find time to spend together as a family. And it is even harder to pick something everyone will enjoy. This year, when you sit down to write your calendar of spring activities, set aside some time for one new activity on a monthly or weekly basis. Let each member of the family pick something they want to do with everyone. It can be anything from doing a new art project together, going to the zoo, having a family sports day, or checking out a street festival. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as everyone is together and having fun.
8. Plan a Picnic
Enjoy even more outdoor time with the whole family by planning a picnic. Have each member of the family pick out their favorite snacks and sandwiches, then head to your local park, beach, or your own backyard. Let everyone also pick out a fun picnic activity to play, like freeze tag or cloud watching. Designate a blanket from your home to be the picnic blanket and keep it in your car trunk or by the door so you can have a spontaneous picnic any time the family wants to create some cherished memories.
9. Go on a Nature Walk
Spring is the season of budding plants, singing birds, and buzzing insects. Meet the world as it reawakens with a nice, long nature walk. You can do this spring activity at a local hiking trail, park, or even through your own neighborhood. Look up seasonal fauna and flora that you want to keep an eye out for as you walk and mark them down as you spot them. Check if your city or county hosts a nature walk and join other families on an adventure. See the ways that communing with nature brings us peace and connects us to one another.
10. Fly a Kite
“With your feet on the ground, you’re a bird in flight with your fist holding tight to the string of your kite,” goes the iconic song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Disney’s Mary Poppins. Flying a kite is one spring activity we will never get tired of doing. According to the American Kitefliers Association, the earliest accounts of kite flying go back to China in 200 BC. Take part in this ancient pastime by grabbing your own kite and heading to the closest open field. Wait for a day when it is particularly windy—spring is the best for this—and let your wings soar through the sky.
Spring Activities for Adults and Couples
Whether you are looking for more alone time or a chance to connect with your spouse or significant other, use the spring season as a chance to try something new.
11. Start a New Positive Micro Habit
For many people, spring is a time of renewal—starting over, trying new things, and adding better habits into their daily life. Whether your goal is to take up a new hobby, be more positive, eat better, exercise more, or even quit a bad habit, starting a new positive habit isn’t always easy. This spring, bring a new micro habit into your schedule. Micro habits (small habits that can be done within a few minutes) include anything that improves your life in a meaningful way. Examples include waking up 15 minutes earlier, starting your day with a few minutes of prayer or meditation, stretching during your workday, or making a calming cup of tea before bed.
READ MORE: 18 Best Micro Habits to Improve Your Life in Minutes
12. Begin Couples Journaling
Journaling before or after a busy day lets us slow down, reflect, and focus on the most important things in your life. And couples journaling is a great way to do this with your spouse. For your spring activity, take up couples journaling together. Here are some tips for how to get started:
- Pick out a journal together.
- Keep the journal in a place where you both have access to it.
- Pick out a pen color for each of you so you know who wrote what
- Give yourself some journal prompts, like “what do I love most about my spouse?” or “what am I most grateful for in our lives?”
- Designate when you will each write in the journal—will you do it separately throughout the day and read it together before bed? Or maybe sit together to talk and write down your thoughts in the journal as you go?
13. Share Your Feelings Through Bouquets
Did you know there is a language of flowers? Also called floriography, this age-old practice was popular during Victorian times as a way for people to communicate with each other through bouquets of flowers. Roberta Messner from Huntington, West Virginia received one such bouquet when she was ill and had not seen her friends in a long time. “The red carnation meant, ‘Our hearts ache for you,” she said of the bouquet they sent to her. “The daisy announced loyal love; the jaunty sunflower, adoration; the iris, faith and hope. The yellow tulip wanted to see sunshine in my smile again. The blue hyacinth recalled my constancy. The pink carnation had a few words to say about never forgetting me.”
Pick someone you’d like to send a bouquet to—your spouse, your mom, your sibling, your closest friend—and look up the different meaning behind each flower to send them a unique, heartwarming message.
14. Start a New Reading Habit
Spring can be an opportune chance to step outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. And bringing a book along with you will make that outside time even more enjoyable. This spring, commit to reading more and take up a new reading habit. Reading on a regular basis can reduce stress, help with sleep, improve brain connectivity, and increase vocabulary and comprehension—all things that would be helpful to focus on during spring, with busy schedules and shifting sleep schedules from the start of daylight-saving time. Here are a few things you can do to start that new reading habit:
- Make a comfortable reading spot for yourself
- If you can’t commit a lot of time, go chapter by chapter
- Add your reading time to your calendar so you never forget
- Use a reading habits tracker like Libib, BookSloth, Goodreads or Bookly
15. Take Up a New Hobby
Try something new this spring by taking on a new hobby, either on your own, with your spouse, with a group of friends, or with your family. Pick something that you’ve always wanted to try, like an art craft, a sport, or even a musical instrument. Add your new hobby into your calendar so you always set aside time to do it. Don’t focus so much on being good at your new hobby. Seeing yourself improve will always feel rewarding, but instead focus on how doing the hobby brings you joy. If you try one hobby and don’t enjoy it, don’t be afraid to put it down and pick up a new one. Doing a new hobby on your own can be a great way to set aside some much needed alone time, while doing a hobby as a couple or with friends will bring you an even deeper sense of connection with your loved ones this spring.
READ MORE: 15 Ways to Form a Positive Reading Habit
Spiritual Spring Activities
In the busyness of the spring season, don’t forget to slow down and focus on your spiritual life.
16. Pray or Meditate in a Garden
Praying or meditating in a new location can revitalize your practice and give you a new perspective on life. This spring, start a habit of praying or meditating amongst the flowers. Go into a public park, a community garden, or your own backyard. Pick a spot that is comfortable where you can have a little quiet. Slowly breathe in and out and savor the scents around you—from the nourishing soil to the fragrance of the flowers. As you pray, focus on the life around you and remember how you and every singing bird, blooming flower, and buzzing insect was created by God. As you meditate, focus on your breathing and each part of your body to bring yourself to a space of absolute peace.
READ MORE: 7 Spring Prayers for Hope and New Beginnings
17. Pick a Bible Verse for the Day
Take up the spring activity of picking a verse from the Bible for each day. Pick a beloved verse to revisit and add it to your daily prayer. Or think about something you want to accomplish that day and find a piece of Scripture to guide you through it. Try opening the Bible once a day to a random page and seeing what words God has in store for you. Here are some spring Bible verses to get you started:
- Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. —Zechariah 10:1
- Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. —Hosea 6:3
- For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. —Song of Solomon 2:11-12
READ MORE: 20 Bible Verses About Spring and New Life
18. Start a Gratitude Journal
Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be reserved for November. Focus on the spiritual importance of gratitude in your life this spring by starting a gratitude journal. Pick out a journal and put it somewhere that you’ll remember to write in it, like near your bed or on your desk. Choose a time during the day when you will sit down and write or keep the journal on hand to write throughout your day. Fill the journal with things you feel grateful for—from your best friend to a tasty meal to a video that made to laugh to a powerful moment of prayer. Take your gratitude practice a step further by reaching out to your loved ones with notes letting them know why you are thankful to have them in your life.
READ MORE: Gratitude vs Thankfulness: The Big Difference
19. Literally Stop and Smell the Roses
While doing all these spring activities, we sometimes forget to stop and actually enjoy the blessings of this season. This spring, make an effort to observe and enjoy the world around you. When you are doing your daily spring walk, listen to the dulcet sounds of birdsong. If you visit a botanical garden, stop to smell the sweet fragrance of the different kinds of flowers. When you go to a baseball game with the whole family, look up to the sky and marvel at the clouds between innings. Don’t let the days of this beautiful season pass you by without taking the time to notice it.
20. Start a Daily Devotional Habit
Are you looking for a spiritual practice and positive habit that will bring you closer to God? Try adding a daily devotional habit to your list of spring activities. While a devotional won’t give you everything you need in your spiritual life, it will keep you grounded and connected to your best self. As Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27). To start this spring habit, pick a time of day, a place to sit and read your devotional, and consider reaching out to others to join you.
Spring activities can get us outside into the sunshine, bring us together with our families, give us a chance to focus on ourselves, and renew our spiritual lives. Try one of these suggestions and see just how quickly spring becomes your favorite season.
