OTTER TAIL COUNTY, Minn. — Otter Tail County will receive $1,683,000 to help build a new stretch of regional trail. The funding comes from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), which selected the Glacial Edge Regional Trail – Cabbage Hill Segment on July 30 for its annual funding recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature. The county had applied for $1,838,000.

“We are very grateful for this funding,” said Kevin Fellbaum, Parks and Trails Director. “This trail will give people a safe way to walk and bike along one of the busiest roads in our county. When it’s done, we’ll have five miles of paved, ADA-accessible trail with a new trailhead offering parking, restrooms, and other amenities. It’s a big step toward making outdoor recreation safer and more available for all families in our communities.”

The new trail will connect the state’s Central Lakes Trail in Fergus Falls to the county’s Heart of the Lakes Regional Trail in Maplewood State Park. It will give trail users a safer path along a busy road corridor and create more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

If the Minnesota Legislature approves the funding and the Governor signs it into law in 2027, construction could begin in spring 2029.

The trail project was one of 116 proposals included in LCCMR’s funding recommendation this year. LCCMR received 434 requests totaling about $375 million. It recommended the Legislature fund 116 of those projects with about $130 million from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. LCCMR will meet this fall to finalize its recommendations.

The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund was created in 1988 when 77% of Minnesota voters approved a constitutional amendment. The amendment sends 40% of net Minnesota Lottery proceeds into the fund through 2050. Since 1991, the fund has provided about $1.3 billion through LCCMR to more than 1,800 projects that protect and improve Minnesota’s environment and natural resources in every county in the state.

For more information about Otter Tail County parks and trails, visit ottertailcounty.gov(opens in new tab).