"That can go either way," Ray Biggs of the Maryland Transit Administration told the Montgomery County Council's Transportation and Environment Committee in early October. He was answering the question of when the Purple Line opens, according to Maryland Matters. The contractual date is still Dec. 30, 2027, and he said the final date depends on safety testing.
The trail has a firmer schedule than the trains. In the same report, Maryland Matters said the Capital Crescent Trail was 74% complete and that the leg from Elm Street to Connecticut Avenue is expected to open by spring of 2027. That leg ends at Chevy Chase Lake. Once it opens, the shops and restaurants around Connecticut Avenue and Manor Road will sit at the end of a trail. Until then, which means all of this winter, you reach them by street.
The Bethesda end is already rebuilt
The western piece is done. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation built a 10-foot shared-use path on 47th Street that runs to the Elm Street Park promenade, and photos on the MCDOT project page dated August 6, 2026, show it finished.
The trail runs along the surface because a tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue didn't get funded in time. The county studied both a tunnel and a surface route through Elm Street Park. The Planning Board approved both in October 2021, and when tunnel funding slipped past the current funding cycle, MCDOT went with the surface option. That's why the trail now comes in from Willow Lane, follows the east side of 47th Street, and heads north through the park toward the future Purple Line Trail.
Elm Street Park is part of the same project, and it's still under construction. The two-acre park at 4600 Elm Street sits inside Town of Chevy Chase limits and is maintained by Montgomery Parks. Phase 3 started in September 2026 and covers the larger renovation at the park's north end. Montgomery Parks expects it to finish in 2027. The plans include an inclusive playground for ages 2 to 12 with an enclosed harness swing, a middle play area with 8-foot and 15-foot climbing towers, a fitness zone for ages 13 and up, and a balance ring called the "Ocean Ring" that is also meant as a place for teens to hang out. Fencing will separate the play areas from the trail.
So the trail is finished up to Elm Street Park, and the park is being rebuilt around it.
East of the park, the old trail bed is still a work zone
The Purple Line's construction updates for Bethesda and Chevy Chase list three active jobs in the stretch that matters to walkers. Crews are building the Purple Line and the Capital Crescent Trail along the former Georgetown Branch Trail between Elm Street Park and Rock Creek Park. Work in the Jones Mill Road underpass area includes utility relocations, retaining walls, and finishing the west side of the road. At the Connecticut Avenue station, crews are installing utilities and building retaining walls and other station elements. All three run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays and weekends as needed.
Test trains are the other reason to stay out. Light rail vehicles are being tested on the tracks between the Lyttonsville Operations and Maintenance Facility and Bethesda Station. Most testing happens between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., but the project says a train could move at any hour, day or night, and asks people to stay outside the project limits.
The trail closure has been posted since September 2017. When it's finished, the trail will cross Connecticut Avenue and Colesville Road on bridges and pass under Jones Mill Road, 16th Street, and Spring Street. Until then, the county's signed interim route uses the street grid.
The signed route, step by step
The official Georgetown Branch interim trail factsheet lays out the eastbound route from Bethesda to Rock Creek Park:
- Start at Bethesda Avenue and Woodmont Avenue and head north on Woodmont to Montgomery Avenue.
- Go east on Montgomery and cross Wisconsin Avenue.
- Turn left onto Pearl Street, which leads to Maryland Avenue, and continue to Jones Bridge Road.
- Follow Jones Bridge Road toward Connecticut Avenue and cross it.
- Cross Jones Mill Road, turn left toward Susanna Lane, then turn right onto Susanna Lane into Rock Creek Park.
- Follow the signs to the park entrance near Freyman Drive.
Going back west, the route runs from the Susanna Lane entrance along Jones Mill Road and Jones Bridge Road to Maryland Avenue and Pearl Street. The factsheet sends westbound cyclists along Cheltenham Drive, Norfolk Avenue, and Woodmont Avenue to Bethesda Avenue.
Signs posted along the route override any printed map, so follow them. Wisconsin Avenue has its own detour, too. The walkway between Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street is still closed, and pedestrians cross Wisconsin at Elm and Waverly Streets, then take Hampden Lane west to Woodmont Avenue and come back to Elm Street.
Where the first reopened leg will end
Chevy Chase Lake is the development at Connecticut Avenue and Manor Road, next to the future Connecticut Avenue station. The Elm Street–to–Connecticut Avenue leg is expected to end here in the spring. Its businesses keep very different hours, and that decides when the block works as a walking stop. Here is what the Chevy Chase Lake retail page lists:
| Stop | What it is | Address | Listed hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playa Bowls | Acai and pitaya bowls | 8525 Chevy Chase Lake Terrace | Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–8 p.m., Sat–Sun 10 a.m.–8 p.m. |
| Uncorked | Lounge and shop with a full bar, to-go food, wine, spirits, craft beer | 8525 Chevy Chase Lake Terrace, Suite 301 | Mon–Thu 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 10 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun noon–8 p.m. |
| Dok Khao | Thai street food, desserts, Asian drinks, homemade cake | Chevy Chase Lake | Sun–Thu 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m. |
| Sarah's Handmade Ice Cream | Handmade ice cream | 8551 Connecticut Ave. | Daily noon–9 p.m. |
| Elena James | Seasonal, locally sourced restaurant from the founders of DC's Nina May | 8551 Connecticut Ave. | Tue–Thu and Sun 5–9:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 5–10:30 p.m. |
On a weekday morning walk, Playa Bowls opens at 8 and Uncorked at 10. On a weekend, Dok Khao and Sarah's are both open by midday. Elena James serves dinner only and isn't listed as open on Mondays, so plan an evening around it.
Sarah's is the newest name here. Bethesda Magazine reported in January that it would open next to Dok Khao Thai, which opened in July 2025. In March, Bethesda Magazine reported that the shop had been open since late February 2026, with a grand opening the weekend of April 4 and 5. The development's other businesses include Molly's Dog Care, open seven days, and StretchLab at 8525 Chevy Chase Lake Terrace. Osteria Divina, an Italian restaurant from the team behind Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, has the address 3820 Chaplin Place.
A mid-November Sunday on the same avenue
Three days after this post goes up, the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase holds its Craft and Gift Market on Sunday, November 15, at 7931 Connecticut Avenue. The club's vendor form lists the hours as 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's also listed on Visit Montgomery. The market and Chevy Chase Lake are both on Connecticut Avenue, and the detour crosses Connecticut at Jones Bridge Road. That makes it easy to put the market, a stretch of the signed route, and a late lunch at Dok Khao into one Sunday.
What spring changes, and what it doesn't
The county's capital budget expects construction of the main trail along the Purple Line to finish by spring 2027. It treats the 47th Street path through Elm Street Park as a separate piece, and that piece is already built. When the Elm Street–to–Connecticut Avenue leg opens, you'll be able to walk from downtown Bethesda to Chevy Chase Lake on the trail itself, without the turns at Woodmont, Montgomery, Pearl, and Maryland. Going farther east, past Jones Mill Road toward the Rock Creek trestle, depends on finishing the underpass and trail work that Purple Line crews are doing now. Until then, Susanna Lane remains the way into the park.
Trains will take longer. Maryland Matters reported that the Purple Line overall is 92% built, and that riders will be able to pay with SmarTrip, CharmPass, or cash.
Thinking about how a finished trail and a new station could change your corner of Chevy Chase, whether you're staying put or planning a move? Stacy Berman tracks this corridor block by block and can tell you plainly what's built, what's still a work zone, and what that means for your street. Contact Stacy.
