$2.2 million in federal trail money will fund 15 Alaska projects

Alaska just put more than $2.2 million in federal money into trails, and the more telling part is who is now in charge of them.

For years, the federal Recreational Trails Program lived at the Department of Natural Resources, the agency that runs parks and public land. On October 1, 2025, under Administrative Order 361, it moved to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, the agency that builds the state's roads. The state rebuilt the program under a new name, the Alaska Trails and Local Access System, or ATLAS, and is now treating trails less like a recreation perk and more like part of how Alaskans get around. The money itself comes from the Federal Highway Administration.

This is the first round of awards under that new system. Fifteen projects across the state will share the $2.2 million, which averages out to under $150,000 each. Fourteen are fully funded. One, the Petersville Trails and Rescue Center, got only part of what it asked for.

None of it is free money. Every recipient has to put up at least 10 percent from non-federal sources to unlock the federal share, so each project carries local investment behind it.

The list is a good snapshot of what trail money actually buys here. It pays for a new Tucker Sno-Cat to groom winter trails, tundra mats and brushing in the Chugach National Forest, a bridge on the Iditarod National Historic Trail, a community nature trail in Kake, and repairs in Sitka and at Chilkat State Park. The awards reach from Southeast to Southwest to the Interior, and cover both motorized users, from off-road-vehicle riders to the crews grooming winter trails, and non-motorized ones like hikers.

A new state advisory committee scored the applications before the department made the final calls. Commissioner Ryan Anderson framed ATLAS as a way to maintain trail systems statewide while helping residents and visitors safely reach the outdoors.

The funded projects

Safety and education

• Buskin River Safety and Education Project

• Silver King State Recreation Area Groundwater Education Project

Motorized

• 35 Mile ORV Riding Park (Phase III)

• New Tucker Sno-Cat for grooming

• Petersville Trails and Rescue Center (Phase III, partial funding)