
The Trail Fund is a joint initiative of the Trails Move People Coalition, led by American Trails.
In 2022, we funded a total of $50,424 directly to seven projects. These projects returned a 3 to 1 investment through matching funds.
Click on the project name below for more details. View the awarded projects at-a-glance and total cost of funded projects.
Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
Amount Awarded: $7,000.00
On Saturday, November 5, 2022 the Bay Area Ridge Trail partnered with their local parks and land managers to host a myriad of volunteer trail work parties to build, maintain, and restore top-priority trail sections (totaling over 12 miles of trail) of the Ridge Trail in a variety of trail locations within the nine-county region of the greater Bay Area in California.
Friends of Panthertown
Amount Awarded: $5,000.00
Stewardship training was provided to local individuals, and upon successful completion of their trails skills training and maintenance work, these individuals are invited to join the Friends of Panthertown Stew Crew as trail stewards and ambassadors in Panthertown Valley in the Nantahala National Forest in Glenville, North Carolina.
Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS)
Amount Awarded: $5,000.00
The 2022 National Trails Workshop provided training to 200 to 300 current and novice trail stewards and brought them together for peer exchange and networking, many of whom will bring skills back to local trails to teach colleagues and volunteers.
River Revitalization Foundation
Amount Awarded: $5,000.00
A new bridge was built that connects two trails on the west bank of the Milwaukee River adjacent to the Estabrook Falls on the Westabrook Trail in the Milwaukee River Greenway in Glendale, Wisconsin. This project will brought in 50 volunteers improve three miles of trails within a larger 28-mile trail system along 6 miles of the Milwaukee River.
West Virginia University Research Corporation
Amount Awarded: $8,424.00
This national research applied the Recreation Specialization construct to mountain bike trail users for the first time to fill a gap in the literature and to help managers match diverse participants with the appropriate trails. This national study also examined the economic impact of mountain biking, and the methodology and data will be used as baselines for future studies at smaller scales.
Wild Alabama
Amount Awarded: $10,000.00
This project involved the organization of 150+ volunteers to do trail work on the following trails: 138 miles of the Pinhoti Trail (the longest trail in Alabama) that is within the Talladega National Forest, 50+ miles of trails within the Sipsey Wilderness area, and 20+ miles of trails within the Cheaha Wilderness area.
Wozu, Inc.
Amount Awarded: $10,000.00
Funding was used to purchase equipment to provide trail maintenance to help keep trails open for year-round use (including snow trails), in and around the community of Cannonball, North Dakota and along the historic Cannonball River, which is on the Standing Rock Sioux Nation.