Spring finally showed up. This weekend there's a decent mix of things happening across Long Island — from a blooming spring festival at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay to a Saturday night party at the Parrish Art Museum out in Water Mill, a lively street fair in Sound Beach, an environmental film festival in Southampton, and the annual spring gathering at Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. And if you've been waiting to get out for a good meal, Long Island Restaurant Week kicks off Sunday. Here's what's worth your time this weekend.

Branches in Bloom: Spring Festival at Planting Fields Arboretum — Oyster Bay, Nassau County

Saturday, April 25 | Planting Fields Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771 | Open daily 9 AM – 5 PM

Planting Fields Arboretum is one of the best-kept secrets on Long Island for spring. The Arbor Day celebration brings the grounds to life with family activities, outdoor art projects, and the estate's own gardens coming into full bloom — azaleas, rhododendrons, the formal walled gardens. It's the kind of place where you show up for two hours and stay for four.

This is a Nassau County gem that a lot of Long Islanders drive past on the LIE without ever stopping. If you haven't been, April is genuinely the best time. The crowds are lighter than summer, the gardens are peaking, and the kids can actually run around without you worrying about the heat.

Parking inside the arboretum fills up fast on a nice spring weekend. The lot off Planting Fields Road is the main entrance, but spots go quickly by late morning. If you're coming from the main part of Nassau — Hicksville, Syosset, Woodbury — you're looking at 20 to 30 minutes on the LIE to Route 106 north. Rather than circling for parking with everyone else, a lot of families we take out here just have us drop them off at the entrance and pick them up when they're done. Makes the whole day easier.

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery Spring Festival — Cold Spring Harbor, Suffolk County

Saturday, April 25 | 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery reopens its spring season this weekend with its annual festival — one of those genuine Long Island traditions that's been running for decades. Kids get to feed the trout, learn about native fish species, and explore the outdoor ponds. It sounds simple, but it's the kind of afternoon that kids actually remember. Adults tend to enjoy it too once they're there.

Cold Spring Harbor sits right on Route 25A in Suffolk, east of Huntington. Coming from the Nassau side, you're taking the LIE to Exit 49N and then winding north. It's about 45 minutes from most of Nassau County. Parking on-site is limited — especially on a Saturday when the weather cooperates. If you're making a day of it and continuing east to other spots on the North Shore, we can handle the driving while you focus on the afternoon.

Downtown Sound Beach Spring Festival & Street Fair — Sound Beach, Suffolk County

Saturday, April 25 | 11 AM – 4 PM | Sound Beach Blvd between Huntington Rd & N. Tyler Ave, Sound Beach, NY

Sound Beach's annual spring street fair is a solid Suffolk County tradition. The main drag gets closed off for local craft vendors, small businesses, food trucks, and live entertainment. It's a genuine neighborhood event — not a big production, but exactly what a spring Saturday in Suffolk should feel like.

Sound Beach is on the North Shore of Suffolk, east of Port Jefferson. From central Nassau or western Suffolk, you're looking at an hour or more on the LIE depending on where you're coming from — and street fairs like this tend to create parking chaos in the surrounding blocks. If you're making a day of the North Shore and combining this with the Hatchery or a stop at Port Jefferson, it's worth having a plan for getting around rather than repositioning the car every time.

Spring Fling 2026 at Parrish Art Museum — Water Mill (Southampton), East End

Saturday, April 25 | 7:30 PM | 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976

The Parrish Art Museum's Spring Fling is the East End's opening-weekend social event of the season. This year features live performances by Real East End Brass and Daviana Pace, along with food, drinks, art, and dancing. It's not a quiet gallery night — it's a full party in the museum. Tickets are required; check the Parrish website for availability.

This is the Hamptons crowd's way of saying spring is officially here. The Parrish sits on Montauk Highway in Water Mill, just west of Southampton village. From Nassau County you're looking at 90 minutes minimum on the Southern State to Sunrise Highway — longer on a Saturday afternoon as people head east. After a few drinks and a night out at the museum, driving back on Montauk Highway in the dark is not the move. This is exactly the kind of evening where having a car service handle the round trip makes sense. You enjoy the event, we handle the Sunrise Highway both ways.

Docs Equinox Environmental Film Festival — Southampton Arts Center, East End

Friday–Sunday, April 24–26 | 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, NY 11968

Running through Sunday, Docs Equinox is an environmental documentary film festival at the Southampton Arts Center featuring curated film screenings, filmmaker Q&As, and panel discussions. If you care about conservation, climate, or ocean issues — this is the serious arts event of the weekend on the East End. It runs across multiple sessions, so check the Southampton Arts Center schedule for specific film times.

Southampton village in late April is still relatively quiet compared to summer — parking on Jobs Lane is manageable, though the Arts Center lot fills up for evening screenings. If you're combining this with the Parrish Spring Fling on Saturday evening, plan your route along Montauk Highway carefully. The two venues are close to each other, but the post-event traffic leaving Southampton on a Saturday night can back up.

Long Island Restaurant Week Spring Edition Kicks Off — Statewide, Long Island

Sunday, April 26 through Sunday, May 3 | Restaurants across Nassau and Suffolk Counties

Long Island Restaurant Week's spring edition begins Sunday with prix-fixe menus at participating restaurants across Nassau and Suffolk — typically a three-course dinner for around $40 per person. It's one of the better excuses to get out to restaurants you've been meaning to try. Participating locations span from Great Neck to Montauk, with strong representation in Huntington, Patchogue, Garden City, and along the North Fork.

The transportation angle here is practical: if you're planning a nice dinner in Huntington village or heading east to a North Fork restaurant this week, you know how the parking situation goes on a Saturday night. Huntington village in particular gets tight on weekend evenings. Having a driver handle it means you can actually enjoy the wine without watching the clock.

Getting Around Long Island This Weekend

Late April is the sweet spot on Long Island — before the Hamptons traffic really builds, before the beach crowds arrive, but warm enough to actually be outside. The Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway are manageable this weekend, but if you're heading to the East End for the Parrish event or the film festival, Saturday afternoon is always slower than you expect.

A few things that help:

The LIE to Route 25A is the better route for the North Shore (Planting Fields, Cold Spring Harbor, Sound Beach). The Southern State to Sunrise Highway is your line for the South Fork and Hamptons. Both get congested on Saturday afternoon once the weather breaks.

If you're making a full day — North Shore in the afternoon, East End in the evening — that's a lot of driving across Long Island in one day. We handle that regularly. One call and you're door-to-door all day without repositioning a car between stops.

Ready to skip the parking and the driving? Request a quote here and we'll take care of the rest.

Best Things To Do on Long Island This Weekend — April 25–26, 2026