2026 Trail Grants

Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Trail Grants program invests in building, activating and advocating for essential trail network infrastructure that make trail access a reality for more people, in more places across the country.

2026 Grantees

RTC’s 2026 grantees are proof trail infrastructure is essential, not optional, for rural, suburban and urban communities nationwide. They’re advancing the construction, land acquisition and activation that turn plans into places for safe walking and biking.

Since 2008, RTC has invested over $4.5 million in grant funding across more than 310 organizations.  

The 2026 grantee cohort highlights the urgent need for sustained public investment for trails nationwide. RTC received applications from more than 170 organizations requesting a combined $3.1 million to advance trail infrastructure. The call for proposals is set to reopen in spring 2027, with details to come through the TrailNation Collaborative.  

Meet the 2026 Grantees

RTC is proud to award more than $435,000 to over 35 community organizations and agencies this year, funding necessary investments for the physical infrastructure and activation that makes it safer and more convenient for people to walk, bike and be active outside where they live, whether they’re commuting across town or enjoying nature.

The 2026 Trail Grantees include:

Latino Outdoors (National): Supporting Latino Outdoors’ Vamos Outdoors programming to provide members of Latinx and other underrepresented communities with transformative outdoor experiences.  

HBCUs Outside (National): Working with six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to develop outdoor experiences on multiuse trails that introduce students to the opportunities inherent in this infrastructure.  

Special Olympics (Regional Chapters): Supporting on-trail activation, outdoor camps and trail kits for athletes to encourage community independence and physical activity.  

Lotus Rising (CA): Conducting a mapping and connectivity analysis for the Altadena Town Trail & Greenway to strengthen trail connections across the community.

DC Go Go Trails (DC): Creating a concept design plan for the Shepherd Branch Trail in DC wards 7 and 8, including a demonstration installation to provide visual examples of what the future trail could look like.  

Equiticity (IL): Conducting a Phase I feasibility study to explore converting the Altenheim Line into a multi-use trail, part of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways & Trails Plan.

Casco Bay Trail Alliance (ME): Providing matching funds for a preliminary engineering study of the Portland to Yarmouth segment of the Casco Bay Trail.

University Circle Inc. (OH): Conducting an alignment study for the Harrison Dillard Trail, part of the Cuyahoga Greenways Network. 

Salmonberry Trail Foundation (OR): Supporting design and permit-readiness work for conversion of the Williams Creek Trestle along the Salmonberry Trail.

Friends of the Lowline (SC): Supporting Phase 1 construction of the Lowcountry Lowline, which will convert a historic rail corridor into a 1.7-mile linear park through the Charleston peninsula.

Spokane county (WA): Providing matching funds to close the Argonne Gap along the Centennial Trail.

Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts (WI): Supporting acquisition of the Hurley to Montreal Trail corridor from Canadian National, connecting to the existing Iron Belle Trail across the state line in Michigan.

This year’s grantees also include members of the TrailNation Accelerator, RTC’s program that helps rural and small-town communities plan, connect and activate trail networks that serve people and places equitably. Supported by the REI Cooperative Action Fund, the year-long cohort experience brings local leaders and trail champions together to learn, plan and take action.