Federal trail money in Kansas almost never lands directly on a private LLC. It runs through a public sponsor — a city, county, school district, tribe, or nonprofit — and you qualify by bringing the land, the plan, and the local match while that sponsor holds the grant.
Most of these are 80/20 reimbursement programs. You (or the city) pay the bills, then get reimbursed up to 80 percent. The local 20 percent cannot come from another federal source. Land and Water Conservation Fund awards also put a permanent public-recreation restriction on the property, so ownership and access have to be structured for that before you apply.
## The programs that actually fund bike and walking trails
**Recreational Trails Program (RTP), Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.** This is the pure trail program. Eligible work includes new trail or trailhead construction, reconstruction, upgrades, planning, and land acquisition or easements, motorized and non-motorized. Kansas sets aside 30 percent for motorized use; non-motorized walking and bike projects compete for the rest. ADA and environmental benefit score well. The 2025 round closed November 14, 2025, and KDWP is not taking applications right now. Contact Cherie Riffey, RTP grants, 512 SE 25th Ave, Pratt, KS 67124, 620-672-5911, and ask to be on the list for the next cycle. Details are at [ksoutdoors.gov grantmaking](https://www.ksoutdoors.gov/programs-services/grantmaking).
**Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), same agency.** Open now. Applications are due 5:00 p.m. July 31, 2026. Eligible applicants are state and local units of government only. Trails, trailheads, parks, and public access facilities qualify. Contact Riston Landwehr, riston.landwehr@ks.gov, 620-672-5911.
**Transportation Alternatives (TA), KDOT.** This is the big federal bike and pedestrian pot — sidewalks, shared-use paths, rail-to-trail conversions, Safe Routes to School. The 2026 call is closed. KDOT awarded about $37 million to 33 projects in August 2026, and the next call is planned for early 2028. Eligible sponsors are cities, counties, tribes, schools, state agencies, nonprofits, and small MPOs. Urbanized Wichita and Kansas City metro areas are handled by their own MPOs, not this KDOT call. Topeka-area projects go through KDOT. Match is 20 percent; some safety projects have drawn extra Highway Safety Improvement Program help on the match. Contact Jenny Kramer, Active Transportation Manager, 785-296-5186, KATE@ks.gov. Program page: [ksdot.gov Transportation Alternatives](https://www.ksdot.gov/programs/multimodal-programs/transportation-alternatives).
**KDOT Cost Share.** Opens spring and fall. Bike and pedestrian projects are eligible. Recent rounds have capped awards around $1 million. Useful when TA is closed. [ksdot.gov Cost Share](https://www.ksdot.gov/programs/economic-developmentprograms/cost-shareprogram).
**Competitive USDOT grants (RAISE / BUILD and similar).** These are for larger corridor projects, not a neighborhood path. Kansas awards in the last cycle included sidewalk and shared-use path pieces inside bigger street jobs. Letters of support from the senators matter here.
**Kansas Infrastructure Hub.** Weekly dashboard of open federal infrastructure grants Kansas entities can chase: [kshub.gov](https://www.kshub.gov/iija/open-grant-opportunities).
Smaller side doors: Sunflower Foundation trail work, AARP Community Challenge (quick-build, livability), and PeopleForBikes. Those are not the federal money, but they fund design, a pilot segment, or the local match narrative.
## How the senators fit
Jerry Moran sits on Senate Appropriations, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee. That is the useful seat. Two things his office actually does:
- Letters of support on competitive grants (TA is state-run, so the letter helps more on USDOT discretionary programs and on agency scoring that looks at congressional interest).
- Congressionally Directed Spending requests when the appropriations window opens, usually early in the calendar year. Past Kansas CDS has gone to counties, cities, and some local development groups — a public sponsor still has to be the named recipient. His office posts the process at [moran.senate.gov](https://www.moran.senate.gov) under Congressionally Directed Spending. Call the Topeka or Washington office and ask for the appropriations staffer who handles THUD requests; do not wait for a press release.
Roger Marshall’s office has written support letters for Kansas BUILD and infrastructure applications and announces awards. Useful as the second signature, less central on the appropriations request itself.
For Shawnee County, copy the KS-02 House office on the same packet. A short project sheet — location, public benefit, cost, match source, sponsor, and what you want (letter vs. CDS) — is what those offices can act on.
## Practical sequence
1. Lock a public sponsor. City of Topeka, Shawnee County, or a trails nonprofit has to be the applicant. Private land can work if you grant a long-term easement or the city takes title. LWCF is the strictest on perpetual public use.
2. Call Jenny Kramer at KDOT and Cherie Riffey or Riston Landwehr at KDWP before you spend money on engineering. Ask which program fits and whether Cost Share can bridge until the 2028 TA round.
3. Budget the 20 percent cash match and treat the award as reimbursement, not an upfront check.
4. Once the sponsor and a one-page scope exist, send it to Moran’s appropriations staff and Marshall’s grants staff and ask for a letter, and for Moran’s office, the next CDS deadline.
If you have a specific corridor or parcel in mind — rail bed, drainage way, subdivision path, something tied to a development — the sponsor and the program choice get much clearer.
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