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Reefline Miami: The City's New Underwater Sculpture Park

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  Published in Travel and Leisure on Monday, November 24th 2025 at 11:34 GMT by Travel + Leisure

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Reefline Miami: The City’s New Underwater Sculpture Park

Miami’s waterfront has just gained a fresh, aquatic attraction that combines art, marine conservation, and adventure. Reefline Miami—an expansive underwater sculpture park located off the city’s South Beach—offers visitors a chance to dive into a living gallery where steel, stone, and sea creatures mingle beneath the waves. The park, a brainchild of the Reefline Foundation and a consortium of artists and architects, is the first of its kind in the United States and the newest addition to a growing global network of underwater museums.

The Vision Behind Reefline Miami

The concept behind Reefline Miami is simple yet ambitious: use art to encourage marine life to thrive in an area that has long struggled with pollution, overfishing, and habitat loss. The park’s design team, led by renowned marine architect James T. L. Johnson and visual artist Maya Ortiz, envisioned a series of sculptural “habitats” that would attract coral, sponges, and a diversity of fish. By creating stable structures on the ocean floor, the park offers a scaffold that replaces damaged reef and supports new growth, while simultaneously giving divers a unique playground to explore.

The project’s origins date back to 2019, when the Reefline Foundation received a grant from the Coral Preservation Trust. A team of marine biologists, architects, and local stakeholders worked together to secure permits and design a park that would be both ecologically beneficial and artistically compelling. Construction began in early 2023, and the park officially opened its doors to divers in March 2025.

Sculptures That Invite Life

Reefline Miami features 15 major sculptures, each designed to mimic natural forms and to serve as a habitat for marine organisms. The pieces range from 8 to 30 feet in length and are constructed from recycled steel, concrete, and titanium alloys that are designed to resist corrosion while allowing water flow. The design philosophy is to create “micro‑habitats” that resemble coral polyps, sponges, and mangrove roots—structures that naturally host marine life.

One of the most striking pieces is the “Kelp Spiral,” a twisting form that resembles a towering forest of kelp. Divers can swim through the crevices and find an array of fish, nudibranchs, and even juvenile sea turtles seeking shelter. Another highlight, “The Whale’s Tale,” is a 20‑foot long steel whale sculpture whose gills have been transformed into perforated channels that funnel water, encouraging nutrient exchange and promoting coral colonization.

The sculptures are arranged in a 1,200‑foot gallery that extends from 70 to 120 feet below the surface. The depth range makes the park accessible to both recreational divers with open‑water certification and advanced divers seeking more challenging environments. The park’s lighting system—energy‑efficient LED panels embedded within the sculptures—provides subtle illumination that highlights the colors of the reef while reducing the impact on nocturnal species.

A Dynamic Ecosystem

Beyond the sculptures themselves, Reefline Miami has become a bustling marine ecosystem. Since its opening, biologists have documented an impressive increase in coral cover and fish diversity. The park’s design encourages the settlement of reef‑building corals such as Acropora and Porites, which in turn attract a range of predators, including groupers and barracuda.

An ongoing study led by the University of Miami’s School of Marine Sciences tracks the health of the park’s reef. Preliminary data indicate a 35% increase in coral density within the first year of operation, a significant boost for the region’s overall marine health. The park also serves as a living laboratory where students can observe coral growth, fish behavior, and the impact of environmental stressors in real time.

Visiting Reefline Miami

For those eager to experience the park, Reefline Miami offers a variety of dive packages. The “Explorer’s Pass” includes a guided dive with a certified instructor, a reef health workshop, and access to the park’s underwater museum. For the adventurous, the “Deep Dive” package takes you into the deeper sections of the gallery, where larger sculptures and rare fish species can be encountered.

The park is open year-round, with dive times scheduled from dawn to dusk to accommodate the natural rhythms of marine life. Visitors must book through Reefline’s official website, where they can also learn about safety guidelines, dive certification requirements, and the park’s environmental policies. For those unable to dive, the park’s on‑shore visitor center offers interactive displays, VR experiences of underwater scenes, and educational talks by marine scientists.

Conservation and Community

Reefline Miami is more than an art installation—it’s a community initiative. The park’s founding team partnered with local schools to develop a “Dive‑and‑Learn” program, allowing students to explore marine habitats firsthand. In addition, the park has established a “Green Reef” certification program that encourages divers and dive shops to adhere to eco‑friendly practices, such as using biodegradable sunscreen and limiting touch on reef structures.

The park’s management also engages in regular clean‑up campaigns. Volunteers and local environmental groups come together each month to collect debris from the surrounding waters, ensuring that the park remains a safe habitat for marine life. These efforts have helped reduce litter in the area by an estimated 20% over the past year.

Looking Ahead

Reefline Miami is poised to become a flagship destination for underwater tourism and marine conservation in the United States. Plans are already underway to expand the park by adding five new sculptures that will mimic deeper‑water ecosystems, such as cold‑water sponges and deep‑sea corals. The team is also exploring collaborations with other underwater parks in the Caribbean and Pacific to share best practices and support global reef restoration initiatives.

For travelers seeking a unique blend of art, adventure, and ecological stewardship, Reefline Miami offers an immersive experience that transforms the way we view the ocean. Whether you’re a seasoned diver, a marine biology student, or simply someone looking to witness the beauty of the underwater world, the park invites you to dive in and become part of a living, breathing gallery that celebrates both human creativity and the resilience of marine ecosystems.