The Underline Has a Finish Date. Its Station Connections Don't Yet.
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
"Sketchy or missing altogether." That was how the Miami Herald described the trail connections through the Douglas Road station and both Dadeland stations this summer. In the same report, the Herald said the only unbuilt section of The Underline was the middle stretch through Coral Gables along the University of Miami. In early October, the Herald reported that construction is expected to wrap up by December, years early thanks to a large federal grant.
The county's own schedule for Dadeland South runs to April 2027. So for at least the next several months, the 10-mile linear park under Metrorail works best as two shorter trails, each with its own ends and its own uses. If you live anywhere along U.S. 1 from Brickell to Dadeland, it helps to know which half you're on and where each one breaks.
Each half took shape over several years.
The county's Phase 3 page says detour notices were posted during construction, but it doesn't list a street-by-street route around the gap. The train overhead is the simplest bridge. Miami-Dade allows riders to walk bicycles onto Metrorail cars and use the designated bike and luggage areas.
The northern miles now have fixed places to meet and weekly classes. At the river end, the Brickell Backyard Urban Gym at 700 SW 1st Avenue hosts free UYoga every Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. Nearby, Inter Café's Brickell container was serving coffee at The Underline as of June 2026, according to Inter. Farther south, the trail calendar also lists a free Thursday UYoga session at Vizcaya Station Plaza.
In Coconut Grove, Inter Grove Gallery fills three blocks between SW 24th and SW 27th Avenues. The Coconut Grove Spotlight covered its November 2025 opening, which included a bike-share station, a bocce court and public art. The same report named two nearby businesses, LnS Gallery at 2610 SW 28th Lane and Daily Bread Marketplace at 2400 SW 27th Avenue. At the time, both described the trail as good for walk-in traffic.
The newest major stop on this half is in Coral Gables. Chewy Bark Park opened on January 31, 2026, at 4579 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, near SW 42nd Street and Grand Avenue. It has separate areas for small and large dogs, water and waste stations, and agility features. The City of Coral Gables put an extra $379,000 toward it.
The southern end has a different feel, more garden than plaza. Where the southernmost segment begins, Mariposa Gardens pairs native pollinator plants with a cluster of Underline-green birdhouses. Near the butterfly garden, and again just past SW 70th Avenue, there are micro-forests. These are dense plantings of native trees and shrubs, designed to grow quickly, cool the air around them and support wildlife along a busy stretch of U.S. 1.
For families, the main stop is the Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest at 6130 Sunset Drive, next to South Miami City Hall. It opened on August 15 with balance logs, stepping logs, musical chimes and sensory features, and it connects directly to the trail.
This is where the mid-year Herald quote still applies. The Herald found the trail link on the garage side of Dadeland North blocked. Cyclists could walk their bikes through the station on a marked path about a tenth of a mile long. Reaching Dadeland South meant going through a narrow fenced alley past construction signs and cones.
The Underline was designed to connect bus and Metrorail stations to the neighborhoods around them, so these breaks matter. According to the county, construction at Dadeland South started in spring 2024, pedestrian detours are in place, and completion is expected in April 2027. That means the trail itself should be done months before its southern end connects cleanly to the station it was built to serve. The Douglas Road station is also under major renovation.
In practice, if you're bringing a bike to either end, plan an extra few minutes for the station area. If you're riding straight through, use the train to get past the middle gap.
These are the events listed on The Underline's calendar as of late October. As with any outdoor program, dates can change.
Of the meeting points the calendar names, the Urban Gym, Inter Grove Gallery and Chewy Bark Park are all on the north half. The south half's draw for now is its landscaping and the Play Forest, more than any regular programming.
According to the Herald, the middle section will include some of the trail's most elaborate features. The Underline's map lists four planned Coral Gables spaces as under construction:
Those courts and the plaza are in the stretch that will join the two halves.
Finishing the trail also changes who pays to run it. The Herald reported that building the Underline cost about $140 million. Operating the full trail is expected to cost about $9.5 million a year once it's complete. Miami-Dade has agreed to provide operating money for three years, with the amount shrinking each year. The Conservancy first asked Coral Gables for $4.49 million over five years. In late September, Coral Gables commissioners approved redirecting $500,000 from city projects to support the trail's operations in fiscal year 2027, along with $180,000 for fiscal year 2026. The deal also gives the city a seat on the Underline Conservancy board. Friends of The Underline aims to raise 60% of next year's operating costs from private donors and sponsors, and Miami and South Miami are also expected to contribute.
So the next phase of the Underline depends less on construction crews and more on funding. That money will pay for the yoga mats, landscaping crews and programming that make the trail worth using.
If you'd like to talk through what the trail's progress means for your part of U.S. 1, Chuck Levine is glad to help. Schedule a free consultation.
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