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Funding Your ATV Trail

Jun. 26 2019 Miscellaneous By ___

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Many quad users enjoy recreational trail riding because trails provide a safe and convenient route through an area that allows riders to explore the environment on their four wheelers. The maintenance of these trails is essential to ensure safe riding, and the further development of new trails is necessary to increase recreational riding opportunities. If you want to take on an ATV trail creation project, you’ll want to know about available funding sources.

This guide by Crossroad Powersports should help to simplify the process by telling you what organizations could financially support your trail and ways you can improve the chance that your project will be approved. If you have any questions about local ATV trails, come talk to us at our dealership in Upper Darby, PA!

Where To Start?

First, you’ll want to form some kind of committee to assist you with your project. One person’s proposal may not garner much attention, but a local, or even statewide, ATV riding club making a proposal can give it more weight. People in these clubs may also have access to resources you wouldn’t be able to get on your own, like state government contacts or financial resources to cover remaining costs after a federal grant is applied.

Next, you need to determine your goal. Maybe you want to improve an existing trail in your area so it’s easier to ride. For this, you can request funds to help evaluate the conditions of the trail so you know what modifications you wish to make.

Perhaps you already know what it is you want to do with your trail, like adding more amenities to make it more appealing. You can propose a project with the outlined amenities and request funds to develop those.

Or maybe you’re looking to create an entirely new trail where one doesn’t exist in your area, so you’ll need to get the land and also provide funding for construction equipment and materials. For this, know that you cannot plan your trail on areas controlled by the Bureau of Land Management or National Forest lands.

Once you know the direction you want to go, work with your committee to draft a proposal for your plan. You also cannot use these funds to facilitate motorized access on specifically non-motorized trails, nor may you use them to condemn property.

T.R.A.I.L.S. Program

One potential funding source is the T.R.A.I.L.S. Program. Launched in 2006 by powersports titan Polaris® Industries, the T.R.A.I.L.S. grant program assists ATV clubs and grassroots movements to preserve trail access and promote safe, responsible riding. Organizations that receive funds from T.R.A.I.L.S. must be 501(c)(3), 501(c)(7) government or non-profit organizations.

T.R.A.I.L.S. stands for Trail Development, Responsible Riding, Access, Initiatives, Lobbying and Safety, which are the tenets on which this program was founded. These grants offer a maximum of $10,000 to approved projects.They are reviewed every April and October, following submission deadlines of March 1 and September 1.

Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative & ACT

Another powersports giant, Yamaha, administers the Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI) program which allocates upwards of $120,000 in funds each year to eight grant and scholarship candidates. The projects they approve include increased access to trails and improving riding areas for OHVs. Applicants may submit projects that support trails and riding areas for motorcycles, snowmobiles, side by sides and four wheelers alike. Since 2008, Yamaha has granted over $3.5 million to over 300 projects.

Applicants for OAI must be part of non-profit or tax-exempt organizations. Yamaha accepts applications quarterly and they may be submitted online or through the mail. Visit the OAI website to submit your project.

Yamaha also has the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) program, which offers six scholarships per year to college students who want to foster land stewardship and increased safety practices, including a focus on improving safety for agricultural usage of quads.

Recreational Trails Program

This federal assistance program helps administer recreational trail funds to states courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Each state:

  • administers its own offshoot of the program, often through a state resource like the Parks and Recreation department
  • has its own State Recreational Trail Advisory committee, which may either be simply advisory or may be able to select the projects to which funds are allocated
  • provides a maximum amount of 80% of a project’s funds, so other sources of funding will be necessary.

If you need assistance with gaining funding for a trail project, contact the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) to learn who the NOHVCC representative for your particular state is. This person can help you through the process of obtaining approval and funding for your project.

Once your trail is improved or create, you’ll want to be among the first to ride on it! Make sure that your quad is ready to go by bringing it in for a checkup at our service department. If you’re interested in checking out some great four wheelers for your next recreational trail adventure, visit Crossroad Powersports in Upper Darby, PA. We carry a wide array of new and used ATVs for sale for all our customers in Philadelphia, PA, and Wilmington, DE.