Alaska trail grant applications open Aug. 19, with a Sept. 29 public-notice deadline

Trail groups, tribal governments and local governments can start applying Wednesday for federal money that covers up to 90% of eligible trail project costs, with award recipients responsible for the remaining 10% as a non-federal match. State grant materials describe up to $100,000 as available to successful applicants.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities said its FY2027 Multi-Use Trails application period runs Aug. 19 through 11:59 p.m. Alaska time on Oct. 30. The department administers the money as Alaska's share of the Federal Highway Administration's Recreational Trails Program, a competitive matching-grant program that reimburses recipients for approved expenses after they're incurred.

Applicants must post a required local public notice by Sept. 29 and send DOT&PF proof of where and when it was posted by that same date. A 2025 notice for the prior cycle set a similar structure. Applications are accepted only through the online Submittable platform, with program information and the application link at dot.alaska.gov/atlas/multi-use-trails. "Applications submitted by email will not be accepted," the department said in its notice.

Eligible applicants include nonprofits, educational institutions, state and federal agencies, local governments, Native corporations and tribal governments. The money can go toward trail maintenance and development, trail-related facilities, and trail safety and education projects.

The program moved to DOT&PF this year after transferring from the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. Alaska News previously covered the first awards under the department's new ATLAS initiative, which sent more than $2.2 million to 15 trail projects statewide.

Application capacity concerns. At a February meeting of the Alaska Recreational Trails Advisory Committee, Andy Morrison said of a related snow trails cycle that villages without clubs were "effectively excluded from this funding." The First Nations Development Institute has raised broader concerns that grant application processes like this one can burden smaller or rural organizations with limited grant-writing capacity.

DOT&PF is holding an online application training Sept. 2 at 2 p.m. Alaska time, with advance registration required. Questions go to [email protected].