Federal grant programs / Department of Transportation

Recreational Trails Program (20.219)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$375 million
• Grant awards2,832
• Typical award$75,000
• Awarded in FY 2025$68.1 million
• Size rank437 of 1824
• Type of assistanceFormula grants, formula grants (apportionments)

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $56.8 million in fiscal 2021 to $68.1 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 437th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 56% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 50 states and territories.

What the program funds

The purpose of this program is to provide funds to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. The funds represent a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from nonhighway recreational fuel use.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

The FHWA may enter into contracts with for-profit organizations or contracts, partnerships, or cooperative agreements with other government agencies, institutions of higher learning, or nonprofit organizations using its administrative funds. For funds available to the States: the Governor of each State must designate the State agency or agencies responsible for administering this program. The State must have a State recreational trail advisory committee that represents both motorized and nonmotorized recreational trail users, which shall meet not less than once per fiscal year. If the State Recreational Trail Advisory Committee does not meet in a fiscal year, or does not have required representation, the State becomes ineligible for an apportionment. The State agency may accept project proposals from private organizations, or from municipal, county, State, or Federal government entities, and other government entities. The projects must satisfy one or more of the permissible uses. States may provide subgrants to Federal, State, and local government entities and to private entities, at the discretion of the State.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Funds from this program may be used for: (1) Maintenance and restoration of existing trails; (2) development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and trail linkages; (3) purchase and lease of trail construction and maintenance equipment; (4) construction of new trails (with restrictions for new trails on Federal lands); (5) acquisition of easements or property for trails or trail corridors; (6) assessment of trail conditions for accessibility and maintenance; (7) development and dissemination of publications and operation of educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection (as those objectives relate to one or more of the use of recreational trails, supporting non-law enforcement trail safety and trail use monitoring patrol programs, and providing trail-related training), (limited to 5 percent of a State's funds); and (8) State administrative costs related to this program (limited to 7 percent of a State's funds). Funds may not be used for: property condemnation; constructing new trails for motorized use on National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands unless the project is consistent with resource management plans; or facilitating motorized access on otherwise nonmotorized trails. The USDOT encourages States to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with qualified youth conservation or service corps to perform construction and maintenance of recreational trails under this program.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title 23 U.S.C., Part 133(h), 206, and former 213(f) and (g) , Subpart § 1110,Public Law 114-94 .23 U.S.C.The Federal share is subject to a sliding scale under 23 U.S.C. 120(b). Funds from any other Federal program may be used for the non-Federal match if the project also is eligible under the other program. Recreational Trails Program funds may be used to match other Federal funds if the project also is eligible under the other program. States also may allow a programmatic match: if some project sponsors in a State provide more match funds than required, other sponsors in the State may provide less. Some in-kind materials and services may be credited toward the project match. States may allow some pre-approval planning and environmental assessment costs toward the project match. See http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/guidance/matchingfunds.cfm.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Apportionments to the States are based on statutory formula. All 50 States and the District of Columbia are eligible to receive apportionments. For FY 2024: $81,995,075 was potentially available (after the 1% return); $81,176,110 was apportioned (Connecticut and Indiana opted out for FY 2024). Awards ranged from $816,847 to $5,698,627; the average was $1,656,655.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2016: States will obligate approximately $75-$85 million for about 1,200 projects. RTP-funded projects provide accessibility improvements, access to health and fitness, active transportation for safe and livable communities, youth employment, economic stimulus, and habitat conservation. Examples of RTP-funded projects include trails, trail bridges, and trail facilities for uses including hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles. States obligated $69 million for about 1,000 projects. RTP-funded projects provide accessibility improvements, access to health and fitness, active transportation for safe and livable communities, youth employment, economic stimulus, and habitat conservation. Examples of RTP-funded projects include trails, trail bridges, and trail facilities for uses including hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles. See the Recreational Trails Program Annual Reports at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/. States obligate funds for similar projects each year.Fiscal Year2017: States obligated about $83 million for about 1,200 projects.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.