Where Trail Tax Money Is Spent
A registration receipt can make it look as if every dollar collected from an OHV rider goes into one trail fund. In North Dakota, the picture is more specific: state trail tax and safety fee revenue supports facilities, riding areas, safety education, training, and courtesy patrol grants. A separate federal trail program can also help fund projects, but it is not the same pot of money.
What North Dakota’s OHV trail tax and safety fees support
North Dakota law identifies broad purposes for revenue from the state’s off-highway vehicle trail tax and safety fees: establishing OHV facilities and use areas, and supporting OHV safety education and training programs. The North Dakota Legislative Assembly describes those uses in its revenue provision. The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department also administers a Courtesy Patrol Grant Program funded through trail tax and safety fee revenue.
Those categories cover more than building or maintaining a trail surface. Facilities and use areas can include the places and supporting features riders need to access or use an OHV area. Safety education and training help riders learn safe operation. Courtesy patrol grants help eligible law enforcement agencies carry out patrol activities.
The available facts describe the types of activity the revenue can support, rather than provide a complete accounting of how much is spent on each purpose or which specific trail receives a share. So it is reasonable to say the money supports OHV access and safety programs, but not to assume every registration payment is assigned directly to a particular trail or facility.
| Funding source | What it supports | What riders should understand |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota OHV trail tax and safety fees | OHV facilities, use areas, safety education and training, and the Courtesy Patrol Grant Program | This is state-related OHV revenue with several permitted uses, not simply a trail-construction account. |
| Recreational Trails Program | Trail projects for ATV riding and other recreational trail uses | Its funding comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund and a portion of motor fuel excise tax collected from non-highway recreational fuel use by ATVs, according to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. |
| Local or project-specific grant awards | Eligible improvements such as trail-area amenities or parking work | A grant award can show where a particular project received support, but it does not establish that every project uses the same funding source. |
For the basics of the resident registration that gets an OHV properly registered for public land use, see North Dakota’s Two-Year OHV Registration. Riders coming from another state should also check North Dakota’s Non-Resident OHV Permit, because registration and non-resident access requirements are not interchangeable.
How trail-tax-funded courtesy patrol grants work
The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department administers the OHV Courtesy Patrol Grant Program, which is funded through OHV trail tax and safety fee revenue. The program gives eligible law enforcement agencies a way to request funding for OHV patrol activities, subject to available funds and program rules.
Eligible applicants include county sheriff offices, municipal police departments, and tribal law enforcement agencies, according to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department. A municipal police department must have a designated OHV riding area within its jurisdiction to apply. That requirement links the grant to places where OHV riding occurs rather than making it a general-purpose police grant.
The program has limits on its available funding and individual awards. According to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, total program funding is capped at $75,000 per biennium, and eligible agencies may request funding once per year, subject to available funding. The department also sets a maximum grant of $5,000 per year for a municipal, state, or federal agency. For county and tribal governments, the grant calculation uses a base allocation plus an amount per registered OHV, with no county receiving more than $18,000 during a legislative biennium.
Equipment purchases may be approved when they are necessary for patrol activities, but according to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, this type of purchase can occur only once every six years per eligible grantee. Those restrictions matter because they show the program is not an unlimited pool that any agency can use for any expense. It is a defined grant program with eligibility criteria, annual requests, funding caps, and limits on certain purchases.
For riders, courtesy patrol is a practical part of the public-use picture. Patrol activity can support responsible riding and enforcement in designated areas. But a grant for patrols should not be mistaken for a promise that an officer will be present at every trail or that patrol funding pays for all maintenance at a riding area.
A different source: the Recreational Trails Program
North Dakota also receives support through the Recreational Trails Program, a separate funding source from the state’s OHV trail tax and safety fees. According to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, the program funds all-terrain vehicle riding among other recreational trail uses. Its funding comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund and represents a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from non-highway recreational fuel use by ATVs.
That distinction is useful when reading about a trail improvement. A project may involve public recreation and OHV access without being paid for by the state trail tax. The funding source matters: it explains which program supported the work and helps prevent a federal grant from being confused with state registration revenue.
One example is the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribe’s ATV trail near Belcourt. The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department reports that the tribe secured a Recreational Trails Program grant in 2021. The grant facilitated installation of two vault toilets and resurfacing of the parking lot for the 8.87-mile TMBC ATV Trail. That trail connects to a 12-mile trail operated by the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department.
The example makes clear that trail-related spending can include useful amenities and access improvements, not just the riding route itself. Toilets and a resurfaced parking lot support a visit to the area; the trail connection lets riders access a broader route network. The Turtle Mountain ATV trail system includes the Tyler Grant Memorial Trail, Wakopa Recreational Trail, and Silver Bullet Trail, according to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department.
This is a concrete project, not a template for every OHV area. The grant illustrates one way the Recreational Trails Program can support trail-related improvements, but it does not mean that all North Dakota OHV facilities receive a Recreational Trails Program grant or that the same improvements are funded from the state trail tax.
To compare the project with other places to ride, see North Dakota OHV Trails: All Four Riding Areas. For details on the Turtle Mountain route, Turtle Mountain’s 12 Miles in North Dakota covers the state recreation area trail, while Kimball Bottoms’ 400 Acres in North Dakota focuses on a separate OHV play area.
What registration revenue does and does not tell you
Registration is a legal requirement for many OHVs used on public land, but paying to register does not mean a rider can identify a direct, dollar-for-dollar return at a particular trailhead. The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department says OHVs operated on public land in North Dakota generally must be registered with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, and that all riders must be properly registered or permitted to ride legally.
As of November 2026, the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department lists the resident OHV registration fee as $20 for a two-year period paid and expiring on even-numbered years. That fee is useful context for riders, but it should not be treated as proof that the full amount is spent on trail construction or transferred to the trail a rider uses most often. The state describes multiple uses for trail tax and safety fee revenue, and the separate grant example demonstrates that recreation projects can also draw on other programs.
In practice, the most reliable way to interpret a trail improvement is to look at the project and its stated funding source. If an agency describes trail tax and safety fee funding, that points to the state revenue stream and its authorized uses. If a project is identified as supported by the Recreational Trails Program, it belongs to a different funding route. Either way, an improvement can support the overall riding experience without being a direct payment to an individual rider or a guarantee that every trail will be upgraded.
It also helps to separate access rules from spending questions. Registration or a permit determines whether a rider has met the relevant legal access requirement; it does not itself explain how a particular project was financed. Residents can review North Dakota Has No Trail Permit for Residents, while non-residents can check the permit requirements before traveling. For youth riders, the separate safety rules and training requirements are covered in North Dakota OHV Safety Certificates at Age 12.
Trail conditions are another matter. Funding for facilities or programs does not mean a route is always open or suitable to ride. The North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department evaluates closures at Pembina Gorge State Park, Roughrider OHV Trail, and Turtle Mountain State Recreation Area every 24 hours. Check current conditions before heading out, especially if weather could affect access; North Dakota Trails Closed by Wet Weather explains why a planned trip may need to change.
The short answer is that North Dakota’s OHV trail tax and safety fees help support facilities, use areas, safety education, training, and courtesy patrol grants. A separate Recreational Trails Program can support trail projects using federal fuel-tax-related funding. When you see a specific improvement, check which program funded it rather than assuming all OHV-related spending comes from one registration charge.
Sources
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — OHV Permits & Registration | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — OHV Safety | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — Motorized Safety | North Dakota Parks and Recreation (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — Recreational Trails Program | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — OHV Trails | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — Snowmobile Permits & Registration | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — Snowmobile Trails | ND Parks and Recreation – Business and Grants (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — 04-2022%20OHV%20Brochure%20WEB.pdf (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — OHV%20Summary%20Document.pdf (checked November 3, 2026)
- North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department — OHV%20Grant%20Program%20Manual.pdf (checked November 3, 2026)
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Laws, prices and regulations vary by location and change over time. Consult a qualified professional for guidance on your specific situation.
