New Jersey is waking up — here are 10 things worth doing this April

It is spring in New Jersey. Finally.

Yes, I know. One day it is 75 degrees and you are thinking about pulling the grill out. The next morning it is 38 and you are looking for your jacket. That is April in Jersey. Always has been. The daffodils and forsythias are doing their thing, the days are getting longer, and if you looked at the baseball standings on Opening Day -- the Yankees won, the Mets won, the Phillies won -- optimism is genuinely in the air for the first time in a while.

Personally, I will be hiking and biking (and sure to hit the Barnegat Branch Trail)  in the sunshine this spring and rewarding myself at a great Jersey craft brewery with some well-earned springtime suds. That is the plan and I am sticking to it.

But if you are looking for something to do this April across the state, New Jersey is delivering. Here is where to go.

BELOW ARE MY PICKS - SEE JEN URSILLO'S LIST FOR EVEN MORE: Can't miss Jersey April festivals 

North Jersey: blossoms, bikes and baseball

Branch Brook Park in Newark is the one. Over 5,300 Japanese flowering cherry blossom trees in 18 varieties -- more than Washington D.C. has, which is a fact worth sharing loudly and often. Peak bloom is projected for April 9 through April 16 and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival. The full celebration runs April 11 through April 19 with races, guided tours, family activities and Bloomfest on the final Sunday. It is free to walk the park and it is one of those places that genuinely stops you in your tracks. Go on a weekday if you can.

While you are up north, the Somerset Patriots home opener is right around the corner in Bridgewater. Minor league baseball on a warm April night is one of the best deals in New Jersey. Cheap tickets, cold beer, no traffic headaches. Hard to beat.

Central Jersey: eight million reasons to go to Cream Ridge

Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge opens for tulip season around April 10th. Eight million tulips. That number does not feel real until you are standing in the middle of it. Visitors can walk the fields, pick their own stems to take home -- a dollar per stem on weekends -- and the farm adds food trucks, a weekend makers market and a bakery barn to the mix. Tickets sell out fast, especially on weekends. Book ahead.

And on April 25th and 26th, Lambertville's ShadFest returns along the Delaware River for its 43rd year. Two days of hand-crafted art, jewelry, live music, food and family activities in one of the most charming river towns in the state. Walk the bridge over to New Hope on the Pennsylvania side and make a full day of it.

South Jersey: the drive-in is back

The Delsea Drive-In in Vineland opens its 2026 season on April 3rd. Built in 1949, closed in 1987, brought back in 2004 -- New Jersey's only surviving drive-in is a South Jersey institution and opening weekend always feels like a reunion. Two screens, double features, and a price that makes the multiplex feel embarrassing by comparison. If you have never taken your kids to a drive-in, this is the one.

Down at the Shore, the beach badge offices are starting to open for early sales in all shore towns.  (Well except for the FREE beaches in AC, Strathmere and Wildwood!)  You cannot go in the water yet -- well, you can, but you will regret it -- but walking the boards in April with nobody around and a cup of coffee in your hand is one of the most underrated Jersey experiences there is.

April is New Jersey at its best. A little unpredictable, a little stubborn about the cold, but full of potential. Get outside while the crowds are still manageable.

Summer is coming fast.