IMBA’s Trail Accelerator Grants Could Be a Game-Changer for Rural Communities Ready to Invest in Trails

Many rural communities believe in trails.

What they often lack is not vision or volunteer energy, but capacity. Professional planning. Technical expertise. Strategic direction. The kind of groundwork that helps trail projects move from good ideas to fundable, buildable realities.

That is exactly where the 2026 Trail Accelerator Grants from the International Mountain Bicycling Association come in.

IMBA recently announced the next round of its Trail Accelerator Grant program, a national initiative designed to help communities accelerate trail development through professional planning, design, and education support. While these grants are open to a wide range of applicants, they are especially relevant for rural towns, small nonprofits, and emerging trail communities that are trying to build momentum with limited staff and resources.

What Makes These Grants Different

The Trail Accelerator Grants are not cash-only awards. Instead, they provide direct access to IMBA’s professional services, paired with required matching funds. That distinction matters.

For many rural towns, the biggest hurdle is not construction. It is everything that comes before it.

Professional trail plans

Feasibility studies

Network assessments

Community-wide planning

Strategic guidance for volunteer-led organizations

These are the documents and processes that unlock future funding, political buy-in, and long-term sustainability. Without them, even well-loved trail projects can stall.

IMBA’s Executive Director David Wiens put it simply in the announcement: professional planning accelerates progress by giving decision-makers and funders something concrete to support.

Two Grant Cycles, Two Types of Support

For 2026, IMBA is offering two application windows, each focused on a different phase of trail development.

Planning and Design Grants

Application window: January 15 to March 15, 2026

These awards typically range from $10,000 to $30,000 in professional services and may include:

• Conceptual trail network plans

• Detailed trail design and field flagging

• Assessment of existing trail systems

• Community-wide feasibility studies

• Planning and design for bike parks

For rural towns, this phase is often the missing link between early enthusiasm and long-term investment.

Education and Capacity-Building Grants

Application window: April 1 to April 30, 2026

These awards typically range from $3,000 to $10,800 and focus on strengthening the people and organizations behind the trails. Options include:

• IMBA Trail Care Workshops for volunteers and land managers

• Fundraising education and capital campaign coaching

• Strategic planning for grassroots trail organizations

This second round is especially important for communities where trail work is carried out by a small group of volunteers or part-time staff wearing too many hats.

Why This Matters for Rural Communities

We hear it often at Trail Builder Magazine.

Small towns want to invest in trails, but they are navigating:

• Limited budgets

• Volunteer burnout

• Unclear next steps

• Pressure to justify projects in economic terms

Trail Accelerator Grants help communities slow down just enough to do it right, while still building momentum. They create structure where there is chaos, clarity where there is uncertainty, and credibility where towns are trying to make the case to councils, land managers, and funders.

For communities exploring trails as part of a broader economic development or quality-of-life strategy, this kind of early-stage support can be pivotal.

Who Should Pay Attention

Eligible applicants include:

Local, municipal, state, or federal government agencies

501(c)(3) nonprofits that manage trails

Projects on private land are eligible as long as they are fully open to the public and free of charge.

If your town is asking questions like:

• Where do we start?

• How do we professionalize this effort?

• How do we build a plan funders will take seriously?

This program is worth a close look.

Our Take

At Trail Builder Magazine, we see this grant program as more than a technical resource. It is a capacity-building tool. One that can help rural communities move from informal trail advocacy to intentional, sustainable trail development.

Not every town needs to become the next destination hotspot. But many towns are ready to take the next step. These grants are designed for exactly that moment.

Full guidelines and application details are available directly from IMBA through the buttons below.