Arizona State Parks and Trails has completed its 2025 Trails Plan that will help inform decisions about funding and priorities over the next five years. The plan provides a common, data-informed foundation for trail management across agencies and jurisdictions and monitors the pulse of trail-related conversations on emerging issues.

More than 10,000 Arizonans completed surveys to help identify priorities, concerns, and how trails are used in Arizona. Trail use in the state has a huge economic impact and also influences the behavior of residents and visitors. According to a 2020 study, the economic value of non-motorized trail use in Arizona by residents is $8.3 billion per year. For motorized trails, that value is $5.2 billion. 

Residents who use trails to hike, mountain bike, ride horses, drive dirt bikes and off-highway vehicles (ATVs, 4x4s, side-by-sides), as well as land managers, participated and identified top reasons why trails are not used, how many Arizonans are participating and in what activities, trail priorities, and problems on trails. The plan organizes trail priorities into four central themes: Sustainability and Stewardship, Education and Engagement, Access and Connectivity, and Adaptability and Resilience.

Every five years, Arizona State Parks and Trails is responsible for the completion of a Trails Plan. This plan guides decision-making and resource allocation for motorized and non-motorized trails across the state. It also aids Arizona State Parks and Trails in developing scoring criteria for the distribution of grant funds for the federal Recreational Trails Program and state-generated Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation and Heritage Funds. In fiscal year 2024, Arizona State Parks and Trails granted $1.8 million in RTP funding, $3.9 million in OHV funding, and $6.1 million in Heritage Funds.

The 2025 statewide Trails Plan was created with Partners in Brainstorm along with oversight, direction, and input from a Trails Plan Working Group, which consisted of public and private outdoor recreation professionals, trail users, and advocates representing a variety of organizations and use types across the state. 

The completed 2025 Trails Plan identifies the top concerns of Arizona’s trail recreation community, land managers, and recreation agencies. The plan aims to balance recreational use and natural and cultural resource protection. Recreation managers of cities, counties, the state and federal government organizations in Arizona may use this information for specific recreation planning and budgeting. The completed plan can be viewed in full at AZStateParks.com/Publications.