Announcements
New for 2026: Here’s a sneak peek at program changes:
- Grants will be offered every year through 2030.
- Federally recognized Native American Tribes may submit applications directly to the National Park Service.
- Urban Indian organizations and non-federally recognized Tribes now are eligible to apply. They may apply through RCO or through an eligible Native American Tribe.
- Eligible project locations were updated.
Eligibility Resources
The objective of this program is to improve parks, recreational opportunities, and conservation areas in urban areas, consistent with the requirements of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and manual. Projects must be in a qualifying area, which is defined any one of the conditions below:
- An urban area with a population of twenty-five thousand or more in the most recent census
- Two or more adjacent urban areas with a combined population of twenty-five thousand or more in the most recent census
- An area administered by a federally recognized Indian Tribe or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian community organization
To search for qualifying urban areas, use the U.S. Census TIGERWeb. If needed, contact an RCO grants manager for help.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources applicants may use to help document need and low-income status:
- Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Census Geomapping Tool: This map can be used to check the proposed project area’s low-income status. If needed, contact an RCO grants manager for help.
- Project Need Mapping Tool: This map is used to evaluate other RCO grant programs. It compiles data on green space availability, social vulnerability, and poor health outcomes from various statewide datasets.
- Outdoor Recreation Inventory: This map includes information on more than twenty-three thousand outdoor recreation areas, facilities, trails, and water access sites. It is used to understand the quantity and distribution of key outdoor recreation opportunities across the state. The dashboard also includes a service area analysis for outdoor recreation opportunities, such as accessing a local park or trail.
- Trust for Public Land ORLP Grant Application Tool Kit: This toolkit includes a readiness and eligibility checklist, sample timelines, and other helpful resources.
Typical Projects
- Renovating community parks
- Building skate parks, swimming pools, and trails
- Building athletic fields and sport courts
- Nature-based projects that support recreation
Who May Apply?
- Local agencies
- Special purpose districts, such as park and recreation districts
- Federally recognized Tribes (apply directly to the National Park Service)
- State agencies
- Urban Indian Organizations and non-federally recognized Tribes
Planning Requirement
To apply for this funding, applicants must have completed a comprehensive recreation or conservation plan. See details on the planning page and in Manual 2: Planning Guidelines.
Funding
An estimated $50 million to $120 million annually may be appropriated by Congress nationwide.
Grant Limits
$300,000 to $15 million
Administrative Costs
Administrative or indirect costs are eligible; contact RCO to determine amount. Architecture and engineering costs for development and renovation projects are limited to 20 percent of the total construction cost.
Match Details
Match may include the following:
- Appropriations or cash
- Bonds
- Donations of cash, land, labor, equipment, and materials
- Federal (very limited), state, local, and private funds and grants
- Applicant’s labor, equipment, and materials
For local agencies, at least 10 percent of the total project cost must come from a non-state, non-federal contribution.
Eligible Projects
- Land acquisition for parks and other outdoor recreation purposes in qualifying areas
- Development of new or renovation of existing outdoor recreation facilities that provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public in qualifying areas
- Combination of acquisition and development or renovation
Ineligible Projects and Costs
- Game refuges or fish and other wildlife production facilities
- Historic sites and structures
- Lands acquired from the federal government at less than fair market value
- Land and facilities used primarily for semi-professional and professional arts and athletics
- Land for indoor facilities, except for covered swimming pools and ice rinks
- Land for agricultural purposes
- Land to help meet a public school’s minimum site size requirement
- Railroad hardware, trestles, stations, yards, etc.
- Luxury lodges, motels, cabins, and similar elaborate facilities that serve food and have sleeping quarters
- Museums and sites to be used for museums or primarily for archaeological excavations
- Scholastic and intercollegiate facilities
- Incidental costs relating to acquisition of real property or interests such as appraisal, titling, permits and surveys
Long-Term Commitment
All property acquired or developed with these grants must be kept forever. This requirement is applied to the assisted park or other recreation area as a whole. Exceptions for boundaries that would apply to a lesser unit of a park will be considered only if the unit is a stand-alone recreation area (i.e., its borders do not include other areas of the park) and is self-sustaining (i.e., it does not rely on nor serve adjoining park area for access, utilities, support facilities). The State and the National Park Service must agree to any boundary that does not comprise the whole park, and the National Park Service may not consider proposals that are inconsistent with this policy.