Adventure Forever Grants


Access and Stewardship

Where there is access, stewardship is needed. And, where there is stewardship, access is protected. This relationship is core to our DNA. We believe that public access to land is a good thing, and we aim to do our part in protecting that through good stewardship. 

From 2018 to 2023, onX helped secure or improve public access to 154,000 acres, and supported the maintenance and building of 255 miles of trails, exceeding the goals we initially set for ourselves. With those milestones achieved, we are excited to bring you the Adventure Forever Grants. This is an opportunity for conservation nonprofits, land trusts, tribal nations, and other outdoor recreation organizations to apply for funding for projects that fall into one or more of the project types described below.

Types of Projects We Support:
  • Acquire & Conserve: Land acquisition (fee-simple purchase) with dual goals of securing public access and conserving ecosystems. Land can ultimately be transferred to a public agency, or remain private with a long term conservation agreement or plan.
  • Expand Access Routes: Right-of-way easements and other legal agreements to secure long-term access to public land or water across private land.
  • Transformative Trail Solutions: Trail building and restoration projects that employ sustainable design and pursue novel, innovative strategies to goals such as: balancing different user groups and community needs, designing for mixed abilities, working with a mix of land ownership, supporting local economic development, or planning for natural hazard risks such as fires and floods.
  • Voluntary Private Land Access: Programs and legal agreements that allow the public to access and recreate on private land in a way that benefits landowners, recreational access, and wildlife habitat.
  • Grow the Community of Stewards: Programs that engage the community to instill the ethos of stewardship through education and inspiration. Note: For 2026, we are only accepting applications in this category that are specifically designed for hunters and aspiring hunters.


Funding Details:

  • Applications must be for a specific site project, and if granted, must be used for that specific site. 
  • We do not grant funds for general operating costs. Program costs will only be awarded if specific site locations are provided in the application form.
  • In 2026, we have two funding tiers:
    • Tier 1: $50,000-$100,000 will be awarded to a limited number of projects that permanently secure or open large tracts of land that are/will be open to hunting. Project submissions applying to this tier will be required to answer additional application questions. Applicants who apply to this tier but are not selected will be automatically considered for the next tier.
    • Tier 2: $5,000-$20,000 will be awarded to all other chosen projects. Funding amounts will vary based on project type, location, balance of outdoor user groups, and other criteria. 
  • We only award funding to projects that directly benefit the outdoor communities we build products for: hunters, anglers, backcountry hikers, trail runners, backcountry skiers/split-boarders, climbers, mountain bikers, and off-roaders/motorized sports enthusiasts (both dirt and snow). Projects that don’t serve at least one of the listed user groups will not be selected for funding, and we prioritize projects that proactively serve more than one group.
  • At this time, we do not award funding to trails that are within city limits, paved, or do not have a “navigation need” for onX products.
  • In 2026, we are investing more heavily in our Trail Revival Projects for our Offroad community. Therefore, we are not awarding funding through Adventure Forever Grants to projects that are only targeted at motorized sports; however, we will award funding to projects that support a balance of motorized/non-motorized or motorized/hunting activities.
  • We don’t require a specific percentage match, but we will carefully review other funding sources and partners that have been secured to verify the project has a good shot at moving forward.
  • We understand that some land purchases, large-scale projects, and restoration efforts may take years to finalize and inherently have a lot of dependencies. Please describe long time frames and dependencies on your application. These situations will not be eliminated from receiving funding merely on the basis of a lengthy process, but we need to know about these factors from the beginning.


Factors We Weigh:

  • Project location (at the state and regional scales, and within the local landscape)
  • Project size
  • Project type
  • Community need and goals
  • Community engagement and receptivity of the project or similar projects that have been completed in the area
  • Project timeline and length of positive impact
  • Other sources of funding
  • Applicant organization’s history and experience with completing similar projects
  • Outdoor activities the site does or will support, and the project’s benefits for onX’s target outdoor communities: hunters, off-roaders, snowmobilers, hikers, backcountry skiers, mountain bikers, climbers, and anglers


Grants Cannot Be Used For:

  • Races, clinics, or classes on how to do an outdoor activity (e.g., hunters’ ed, avy courses, off-road recovery)
  • Staff salaries (contract work will be assessed on a case-by-case basis)
  • Outdoor gear or equipment
  • Purchasing heavy machinery
  • Marketing
  • T-shirts or other swag
  • Upgrades or construction of roads, parking lots, pit toilets, or restrooms (even at recreation sites)
  • General operating budgets
  • Litigation


Who Can Apply:

  • Land trusts
  • Conservation and stewardship organizations
  • Park foundations
  • State agencies
  • Tribal and local governments
  • Trail associations
  • Recreation clubs

All grantees must be based in the United States. We give preference to registered 501(c)3 organizations, but unregistered groups who have a strong track record and clear online documentation of completing similar projects will be considered. We do not award funding to individuals for personal projects.


Key Dates:

  • The current application cycle closing date is: June 26, 2026 at 11:59 pm MT.
  • The Fall application cycle closing date is: October 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm MT.
  • If you would like to preview the application form to prepare a submission, the questions from the 2024 form are available here.
  • If your project is particularly time sensitive, e.g. due to a seasonal window that doesn’t align well with our application cycles, please submit your complete application through the form below, and then email us (access@onxmaps.com) to explain the timeline of your project. In your email, include the date by which you will need a funding decision from us.


Requirements If Selected:

We like to keep in regular communication with all of our grantees, and we’ll periodically select projects to highlight on our marketing channels when the timing is right. To make this process easy, we may send all selected grantees a link to an update form at any time to gather:

  • Status updates until the project is completed and open to the public.
  • Photos of the project site that we can utilize on our webpage and social media. Photographers will be credited where possible.
  • Quotes about the project from local community members and/or those that helped make the project a success. We will utilize these quotes on our communication channels.
  • Links to any media coverage about the project, as well as any press releases.
  • Contact information for people we can interview about the project.


Application Process:

New for 2026: We are using an application system that will require you to first create a Submittable account if you don’t already have one.

  • If you have any questions while completing the form, or if you have any trouble with the form, please email us at access@onxmaps.com.
  • If you have multiple projects that you would like to apply for funding, please submit each one as a separate application.
  • If you submit an application and your project is on a tight timeline for funding, please send an email to access@onxmaps.com to explain the urgency of the situation. 
  • Award decisions will be sent via email and the Submittable platform.

Only applications submitted through the application form will be accepted. Emailed responses to the questions, letters of interest, and letters of request will not be considered.

Apply Now

Thank you for your interest in the onX Access and Stewardship Adventure Forever Grants. We’re looking forward to learning about all the great work happening around the country in support of the outdoors!