The Underline Opens New 1.17-Mile Stretch With Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest

• A new 1.17-mile section of The Underline has opened between Dadeland and South Miami, bringing the 10-mile linear park to seven completed miles.
• The new section includes the Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest, a nature-focused children's playground sponsored by Nikki Spoelstra with a $500,000 donation.
• The segment also features a butterfly garden, birdhouse village, micro-forest, new pathways and a replacement canal bridge.
• The remaining section through Coral Gables and the University of Miami is expected to open by the end of 2026, completing the 10-mile park.

What The New Underline Section Adds

The newest section of The Underline is now open, extending the linear park and trail system 1.17 miles from Dadeland to South Miami near Red Road. The opening brings the massive 10-mile project closer to completion, with seven miles now finished and accessible to the public. Families were among the first to experience the new segment during its Aug. 15 opening, with activities centered around the new Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest. The opening also featured food vendors, live music and community programming near South Miami City Hall.

The Underline's founder, Meg Daly, described the progress as a major shift from the project's early days, saying, “There is still a lot more to come, but it’s really exciting to go from dream to reality.”

What The Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest Offers

The centerpiece of the new section is the Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest, a wooded playground designed to connect children with nature while giving families a new recreational destination along The Underline. The play forest includes an outdoor reading room, musical instruments, playground areas and covered seating for parents. The design fits into The Underline's broader focus on landscaping, environmental education and outdoor activity.

Spoelstra, a former Miami Heat dancer and local influencer, contributed $500,000 to sponsor the play forest. She said the project reflects several of her personal interests, explaining, “Nature, exploration and creativity are all things I’m passionate about.”

She also said she wanted the project to have a lasting impact that her children could experience.

What Other Features Are Included

The new section goes beyond the playground, adding several landscape and community features throughout the 1.17-mile stretch. Visitors can explore a butterfly garden, a village of birdhouses and a micro-forest made up of fast-growing trees and shrubs designed to replicate the characteristics of a natural forest. The project also included replacement of a bridge over a canal just north of Southwest 80th Street. The original bridge dated back to the period when the corridor was part of Henry Flagler's railway system. The new section also connects directly to a meditation garden at South Miami Hospital, which had been completed several years earlier but remained inaccessible while the adjacent portion of The Underline was under construction.

What The Underline Means for Miami-Dade

The opening continues the transformation of the land beneath Miami-Dade's elevated Metrorail system into a 10-mile linear park designed to connect neighborhoods through walking, biking, recreation and public spaces. Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes a significant portion of The Underline, said the project is already changing how nearby residents use their neighborhood.

“People in Miami-Dade are so used to broken promises that they are excited to see it come to life,” Regalado said. “It really is building community.”

The Underline's 10-mile corridor is being developed as a combination of transportation infrastructure, public park space and community amenities. The organization says the broader project is intended to create a greener, safer and more connected corridor beneath the Metrorail line.

What Comes Next for The Underline

The biggest remaining piece runs through Coral Gables and along the University of Miami and is expected to open toward the end of 2026. That section will include some of the most elaborate features planned for the entire corridor. Once complete, the project will create a continuous 10-mile linear park and trail stretching through multiple Miami-Dade communities. Daly has already promised a celebration when the final section opens, describing it as “a 10-mile-long party.” For a project that began as what she called a “crazy idea,” the opening of another completed section marks another major step toward turning that vision into a permanent piece of Miami-Dade's public realm.