Ultra traffic jam: Here's a guide to navigating downtown Miami even if you don't boogie

Miami Herald

25-03-2025

There'll be a popular fiddler on the roof playing to sold-out rooms down the block at the performing arts center. But the biggest sound — and traffic generator — coming out of downtown Miami for three days this weekend belongs to the 25th anniversary edition of the electronic Ultra Music Festival at Bayfront Park.
For a quarter century hundreds of thousands of you have attended Ultra each year. Millions more know of the traffic congestion the EDM event brings to the Biscayne Boulevard streetscape that also encompasses the Miami Heat's Kaseya Center home and the nearby Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
If you're going, have fun. If you don't have to be in the neighborhood starting Friday, go another weekend. Whatever your plans, here are the details on how to navigate Miami streets on one of the liveliest weekends of the year.
2025 Ultra Music Festival general details
When: The Ultra Music Festival runs Friday-Sunday, March 28-30, at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. Bayfront Park closed to the public on March 12 and will remain so until April 9. The dog park and kid's playground closed on Monday and will remain closed until April 4.
▪ Friday: Gates open at 4 p.m. until midnight.
▪ Saturday: Gates open at noon until midnight.
▪ Sunday: Gates open at noon until 10 p.m.
Road closures
The road closures and detours will begin about 9 p.m. Thursday to prepare and continue until about 7 a.m. Monday, when barriers should be removed, according to the Miami Police Department.
▪ Biscayne Boulevard northbound traffic will be re-routed to the southbound lanes at Southeast First Street and return to the normal traffic flow at Northeast Fourth Street.
▪ Biscayne Boulevard southbound traffic will be re-routed westbound at Northeast Sixth Street and detoured to Northeast Second Avenue and/or North Miami Avenue. There will be no southbound traffic on Biscayne Boulevard from Northeast Sixth Street.
▪ Access to PortMiami will remain open as normal through Northeast Fifth Street. Police recommend that drivers use the Port of Miami Tunnel, which can be accessed from I-395.
Public transportation
There are several public transportation options for Ultra.
▪ Metrorail and Metromover. Miami-Dade Transit offers extended services to reach Bayfront Park for Ultra March 28 through March 30. Metrorail and Metromover service will start at 5 a.m. and run through 2 a.m. the following morning on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, service ends at midnight.
The Coconut Grove Metrorail Station is closed for renovations. Free bus shuttle service is available.
Parking at any Metrorail garage or surface lot is $4.50 for the day and remains open into the following day given the long hours of Ultra.
Cost and where to disembark: Metrorail is $2.25 for a one-way trip or $5.65 for a one-day pass to the Government Center station. From there, transfer to Metromover's Inner Loop (free) and disembark at the College/Bayside, First Street or Bayfront Park Metromover station.
▪ Tri-Rail and Brightline will also be running on extended hours.
— Final Brightline late-night trains from MiamiCentral Station depart at 1 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and 11 p.m. on Sunday night.
— Tri-Rail special late-night trains depart from the MiamiCentral Station at 1 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and 11 p.m. on Sunday night. Ride from West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, Hollywood and other cities to arrive at MiamiCentral Station in Downtown Miami, a short walk to and from Bayfront Park.
▪ Rideshares like Uber and Lyft. There will be a rideshare geo-fence for drop off on East First Avenue, but will allow people to be picked up as far east as East Second Avenue.
▪ Freebee downtown circulator will be running a special route during the Ultra weekend:
— Friday: 7:30 a.m.- 11:30 p.m.
— Saturday: 10 a.m.- 11:30 p.m.
— Sunday: 10 a.m. -9 p.m.
Parking
Public transportation is recommended as lots tend to fill and are more expensive than taking Metrorail — about $30 flat rate all day, no in and out. All Miami Parking Authority parking garages will be open including:
▪ The College Station garage at 190 Northeast Third Street, which has about 600 spaces.
▪ Lot 92 at 233 Northeast Fifth Street — the Miami Dade College lot — has 225 spaces. Lot 92 is across the street from Ultra's stages.
Top 5 parking spots
PayByPhone compiled its five favorite parking spots for Ultra and noted how far away they are from Bayfront Park.
— The Burdines Lot at 60 SE Second St. has 100 parking spaces. It's about a 10-minute walk.
— To the north of the festival, on-street parking is available along Northeast First Avenue and Northeast Second Avenue from Northeast Third Street to Northeast 11th Street. These are an 11- to 22-minute walk.
— Municipal Lot 92, mentioned above with its 225 spaces, is about a 15-minute walk.
— Over the bridge in Brickell, on-street parking is available along Southeast Fifth and Sixth streets and Brickell Bay Drive. It's about a 15-minute walk.
— To the west of the park, on-street parking is available along Northeast First and Second streets. This is up to a 20-minute walk.
Safety Walk
Feel uneasy walking alone during Ultra? Miami's Downtown Development Authority has extended its hours for its Safety Walk program. The Miami DDA's Downtown Ambassadors will be offering free safety walks between noon and 2 a.m. March 28 through March 30. Call 305-415-3896 to request a safety walk.
Miami Heat game
There is one at-home Miami Heat game at nearby Kaseya Center on Biscayne Boulevard on Thursday before Ultra starts — but traffic measures will begin on nearby streets before the game ends.
▪ 7:30 p.m. Thursday: the Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks.
Arsht events
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts has several events happening near Ultra.
▪ Parking: 'Reserving parking in advance through arshtcenter.org/parking is always a good idea, especially during special event weekends,' said spokeswoman Suzette Espinosa Fuentes.
▪ Arrive early: Espinosa encourages guests to arrive early at least an hour before curtain. The lobbies will be open with concessions and there is seating on the outdoor Thomson Plaza. 'Guests can enjoy the Miami breeze until curtain,' Espinosa Fuentes said. And hear the boom-boom beat of Ultra, too.
▪ Arrival tip: 'Arriving to the Arsht from the north is also advisable as we have seen that most of the Ultra traffic remains south of I-395,' she said.
▪ Events during Ultra weekend at the Arsht's concert hall and opera house:
— 'Fiddler on the Roof.' The classic musical's run continues through April 6 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
— Miami City Ballet Spring Mix. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Ziff Ballet Opera House.
Weather
Miami should see mostly sunny weather with highs in the upper 70s and lows in the lower 70s Friday through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Miami. Expect breezy conditions Friday and Saturday with gusts up to 25 mph.
Rain chances are minimal Friday with a 20% chance of showers on Saturday night and 40% on Sunday.
More information
Ultra set up a Community Hotline for any questions you may have regarding the electronic music festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary with this year's edition. Call 786-767-7272. The hotline opened on March 12 and is operational until April 8. Visit https://ultramusicfestival.com.