Recreational Trails Program

The Recreational Trails Program is a federal grant program funded by the Federal Highway Administration and administered at the state level in Georgia by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The program supports recreational trails and trail-related facilities serving both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. For the 2025-2026 funding cycle, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources identified trail construction, trail maintenance, and trail education as activities supported through RTP funding. The program therefore serves recreational trail development and related needs within Georgia while using federal funding administered by the state agency. Eligible applicants for the Recreational Trails Program include qualified local governments, authorized commissions, and state and federal agencies. Local governments must be qualified as determined by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Nongovernmental entities that have IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status have more limited eligibility: these organizations may apply for education funds only. The source does not provide an award floor, award ceiling, total program funding amount, estimated number of awards, or a required cost-share or matching percentage. Accordingly, no specific award amount or match obligation can be established from the supplied information. For the 2025-2026 funding cycle, all eligible applicants were required to complete an online pre-application. The pre-application period opened September 1, 2025 and closed November 1, 2025. The pre-application was a competitive first phase rather than simply an administrative registration requirement. Following review of the pre-applications, successful pre-applicants were to be invited to complete a second-level application. Applicants were permitted to submit pre-applications to both the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program and the Recreational Trails Program, but the applications had to concern separate projects. The supplied information does not identify specific narrative questions, attachments, financial documents, scoring weights, or other individual components required in the online pre-application or second-level application. Applicants were expected to be notified in March 2026, at which point the second-level application window was scheduled to open for successful pre-applicants. Final approval of Project Agreements was anticipated in Winter 2026. The source describes the pre-application phase as competitive but does not provide detailed evaluation criteria or scoring weights. Educational workshops and tutorial resources were made available to assist applicants. The tutorial materials address the RTP overview, funding, the pre-application, and the second-level application. Motorized-project tutorial material also addresses project types, funding basics, the pre-application, and criteria. Applicants seeking additional information about the program overview, second-level application, grant management, and successful application practices are directed to the nonmotorized tutorial materials described by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources also administers Georgia Trails Education Grants promoting trail safety and environmental protection. The supplied page states that proposals are being accepted for the 2026 federal fiscal year. Education grant projects must have a direct relationship with a recreational trail or trails and may include education programs or the production of trail-related educational materials such as displays, print materials, video, audio, and interactive computer displays. Education grant funds are available for one year and must be used for the project during that period. The page provides a separate proposal submission link for these education grants, but no explicit proposal deadline is contained in the supplied text. Because this education opportunity is separately identified from the primary 2025-2026 RTP competitive funding cycle, its open proposal statement does not replace the November 1, 2025 RTP pre-application deadline. Program contacts identified by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources include Stacy Garnier, RTP Grants Specialist, at stacy.garnier@dnr.ga.gov or 404.463.1030, and Ouicia Jolly, RTP Grants Coordinator, at ouicia.jolly@dnr.ga.gov or 404.463.1779. The supplied material also specifically directs education grant questions to Ouicia Jolly. The stated 2025-2026 RTP pre-application deadline has passed as of August 14, 2026, and the source does not explicitly state that the RTP funding cycle recurs annually, biennially, or on another regular schedule. Therefore, a future RTP application deadline or next cycle date cannot be established from the supplied information.

Complete the required online pre-application for the competitive first phase; use the DNR tutorial materials covering funding, pre-application, criteria, second-level application, grant management, and successful application practices; if applying to both RTP and the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program, submit separate projects.