Non-Motorized Trails Grants

The Non-Motorized Trails Grant Program is administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife as part of the Colorado State Recreational Trails Grant Program, with funding support from Great Outdoors Colorado and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. The program is designed to improve outdoor recreation opportunities across Colorado while ensuring the protection of wildlife, habitat, and cultural resources. It has operated for more than 30 years and supports a wide range of trail-related initiatives, reflecting the state’s commitment to sustainable recreation and environmental stewardship. The primary purpose of the grant program is to create new or maintain and enhance existing non-motorized recreational trails. Eligible project types include trail construction, maintenance, planning, support, and stewardship. Construction projects may involve building new trails or trailheads and associated facilities, while maintenance projects include repair, rerouting, or reconstruction of existing infrastructure. Planning projects cover feasibility studies, design, and engineering, while support projects focus on volunteer capacity building, training, and education. A pilot stewardship category also supports dedicated trail crews working on existing systems. Funding is available across multiple categories with no minimum request amount. Construction and maintenance projects may receive up to 250000 dollars, planning and support projects up to 45000 dollars, and trail stewardship projects up to 150000 dollars. A mandatory cost share requires applicants to provide at least 25 percent of the total project cost as matching funds, with at least 10 percent of that match provided as cash. Eligible expenditures include labor, materials, equipment rental, design services, and project administration within defined limits, while ineligible costs include promotional expenses, prior work, and unrelated organizational activities. Eligible applicants include local, county, federal, and tribal government agencies, recreation and metro districts, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. All projects must occur on land controlled by the applicant or an authorized partner and must remain open to the public for a minimum of 25 years. Applicants must demonstrate land access through documentation such as deeds, leases, or easements. Additional compliance requirements include adherence to federal and state regulations, insurance requirements for non-governmental entities, and completion of all necessary permits before award. The application process consists of multiple stages. Applicants must first submit a letter of intent and project site map as a pre-application step in early September. Full applications are due in early October and must include detailed project descriptions, budgets, environmental documentation, maps, letters of support, and governing body authorization. Applications are submitted via email and evaluated through a structured review process that includes staff review, subcommittee scoring, public comment, and final approval by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. Applicants are also required to present their projects in January as part of the evaluation process. Key deadlines for the 2026 to 2027 cycle include application opening on August 3, 2026, letters of intent due September 4, 2026, and full applications due October 2, 2026. Award decisions are made in March 2027, with project start dates occurring between April and June 2027 after contract execution. Projects must be completed within two to two and a half years of award. The overall timeline from application to contracting typically spans eight to nine months. For additional information or application support, applicants may contact the Colorado Parks and Wildlife State Trails Team via email at trails@state.co.us or directly reach out to program staff. The program emphasizes careful planning, environmental stewardship, and community engagement, and it prioritizes projects that demonstrate clear benefits to public access, sustainability, and long-term trail system improvement.

Provide clear measurable project scope align budget with activities address wildlife concerns early and secure permits before submission