Program Overview

Revised August 1, 2025

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is an assistance program of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The RTP provides funds to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for motorized and nonmotorized recreational trail uses, including hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 authorized the RTP from Federal fiscal years 2022 through 2026 as a set-aside from the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside under the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG). States receive funds apportioned by statutory formula. For FY 2022 through 2026, up to $84.16 million are available (unless States opt out). The amount set aside is equal to the State's FY 2009 RTP apportionment.* See Funding Levels by State.

* Note: From FY 1993 through FY 2012, the RTP funds were distributed to the States by legislative formula: half of the funds were distributed equally among all States, and half were distributed in proportion to the estimated amount of nonhighway recreational fuel use in each State. The RTP funds come from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, and represent a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from nonhighway recreational fuel use: fuel used for off-highway recreation by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, and off-highway light trucks.

Each State administers its own program, usually through a State resource or park agency. See the State contact list. Each State has its own procedures to solicit and select projects for funding. Each State has a State Recreational Trail Advisory Committee to assist with the program that must meet at least once each year.

States may make grants to private organizations, or to municipal, county, State, Tribal, or Federal government agencies. Some States, by policy, do not provide funds to private organizations. Projects may be on public or private land, but projects on private land must provide written assurances of public access.

States may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with qualified youth conservation or service corps to perform appropriate projects.

Eligible Projects

RTP funds may be used for:

• Maintenance and restoration of existing recreational trails.
• Development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and trail linkages for recreational trails.
• Purchase and lease of recreational trail construction and maintenance equipment.
• Construction of new recreational trails (with restrictions for new trails on Federal lands).
• Acquisition of easements and property for recreational trails or recreational trail corridors.
• Assessment of trail conditions for accessibility and maintenance.
• Development and dissemination of publications and operation of educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection related to the use of recreational trails, including supporting non-law enforcement trail safety and trail use monitoring patrol programs, and providing trail-related training (limited to 5 percent of a State's apportionment).
• State costs incurred in administering the program (limited to 7 percent of a State's apportionment). [RTP administrative costs are not allowable in a fiscal year if the Governor opts out of the RTP for that fiscal year.]

States must use 30 percent of their funds for motorized trail uses, 30 percent for nonmotorized trail uses, and 40 percent for diverse trail uses. Diverse motorized projects (such as snowmobile and motorcycle) or diverse nonmotorized projects (such as pedestrian and equestrian) may satisfy two of these categories at the same time. States may consider projects that benefit both motorized and nonmotorized users, such as common trailhead facilities. Some States give extra credit in their selection criteria to projects that benefit multiple trail uses.

Recreational Trails Program funds may not be used for:

• Property condemnation (eminent domain);
• Constructing new trails for motorized use on National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands unless the project is consistent with resource management plans; or
• Facilitating motorized access on otherwise nonmotorized trails.

RTP Webpage: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/

RTP Guidance: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/guidance/ This page links to the RTP Guidance, other relevant FHWA procedures, financial management, accessibility, and summaries of State practices. The RTP Guidance webpage is consistent with the Transportation Alternatives webpage.

• RTP State Contacts:
  www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/rtpstate.cfm
• TAP State Contacts:
  www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/transportation_alternatives/state_contacts.cfm
• RTP Funding:
  www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environment/recreational_trails/funding/
• RTP Annual Report Archive:
  https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/#rtpdb
• RTP Project Examples:
  https://www.americantrails.org/communications/awards/crtAwards
• RTP Project Database:
  https://recreationaltrailsinfo.org/
• Trail Publications:
  www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/

Archive Presentations

• Federal Transportation Funds Benefit Recreation
  A narrative description (and presentation) of how FHWA programs can benefit recreational interests.
• Program Summary (dated October 2019, last updated late 2021)

Interagency Agreements Archive

• Executive Order 13195: Trails for America in the 21st Century
  To achieve the common goal of better establishing and operating America's national system of trails.
• National Park Service, National Trails System
  • The National Trails System Memorandum of Understanding (for 2017-2027)
  • The National Trails System Memorandum of Understanding (in effect 2006 to 2016) [EXPIRED]
  • Memorandum of Understanding for the Administration and Management of National Historic and National Scenic Trails (in effect 2001 to 2006) [EXPIRED]
• Memorandum of Understanding to Promote Trails Training and Trails Resource Information Exchange (HTML
  • National Trails Training Partnership
• Memorandum of Understanding to Promote Public Health and Recreation (HTML / PDF 54 KB)
  The Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Interior, Army, and Transportation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote uses and benefits of the Nation's public lands and water resources to enhance the physical and mental health and well being of all Americans, through sound nutrition, physical activity, and recreation in America's great outdoors. See Recreational Trails Program - Related Links for links to trail-related recreation resources.
• Memorandum of Understanding to Promote Public Health and Recreation (in effect June 2002 to June 2006) [EXPIRED] (HTML / PDF 147 KB)

NOTE: This August 2025 webpage revision consolidated information from three webpages (Program Overview, Program Brief, and Program Summary) that had a lot of the same information. The Program Summary information repeated information more fully explained in the RTP Guidance.