Minnesota's Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Trails Assistance Program—popularly known as Grant-in-Aid (GIA) is a cost-share program
- First authorized in 1984.
- Facilitates development and maintenance of trails for use by All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), Off-Highway Motorcycles (OHMs), and Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) at the initiative of enthusiast groups or clubs, with the support and participation of local government sponsors.
- Funded by vehicle registration and trail pass fees plus a percentage of the state non-highway gas tax from each of the motorized groups. (The percentage of gas tax varies for each user group and is established by Minnesota Statute Chapter 296A.18).
- All aspects of OHV trail development and maintenance are eligible to receive GIA funds, including project administration, site planning, trail improvements, land acquisition for trail development, and trail maintenance.
How to apply
- Enthusiast groups or clubs apply through counties, cities or townships.
- Existing trails apply annually by November 30.
- New trail proposals are accepted at any time.
Applications, new trail proposals and more information can be obtained from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails Area Supervisor's office in the trail location.
Contacts
For specific trail information in your area, please contact the Trails Assistance Program Grants-in-Aid Parks and Trails person in your area.
Or:
MN DNR, Parks and Trails
500 Lafayette Road, Box 39
St. Paul, MN 55155-4052
Tel. 651-259-5279
Resources
- OHV GIA manual
- Trail planning, design and development guidelines
- National OHV Conservation Council (NOHVCC) Great Trails guidebook
OHV GIA forms
Note: If you experience issues with any of the fillable forms, you may need a more recent version of the free Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader. Using an older version can cause formatting and other problems.
- Form 1: Grant funding application - existing and new trails
- Form 2: OHV grant scope of work and cost worksheet maintenance/project
Use this form with existing and new proposals. - Form 5: Request for reimbursement (RFR)
- Form 6: Operator's work log, updated operator's work log, and work log instructions.
- Common trail sign order form Grant organizations are responsible for obtaining signs for the trail they operate. A limited number of signs are available from the DNR. Please use this form to request signs from your local area parks and trails office.