Built on Trust: The Long Game Behind The Katahdin Region’s Emerging Trail Networks

Maine Trails Program Grant at work in Northern Maine

Major trail networks aren’t built on single windfalls - they are built over time with stacked capital investments and deep community trust. Outdoor Sport Institute’s (OSI) recent success in Northern Maine proves exactly how powerful a diverse funding mix can be. By pairing a $1 million federal grant with a $250,000 Maine Trails Program (MTP) award, OSI has secured the vital state and federal pieces needed to accelerate a synchronized regional network known as Katahdin Area Trails (KAT). 
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This strategic capital stack is the engine behind the massive buzz currently surrounding the Katahdin Area Trails initiative. Between the communities of Island Falls, Millinocket, and Patten, an interconnected series of projects is underway to expand regional trail networks and build out community features. Led by OSI, the effort marks a major milestone for the new, bond-funded Maine Trails Program administered by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, showcasing exactly how state support can integrate with federal dollars to transform a region. 

​OSI will use the MTP funds to construct 1.6 miles of new shared-use track at Hammond Ridge, rehabilitate a key connector trail in the Millinocket community trail system, and carve out 2 miles of beginner singletrack in Island Falls starting this year. In early July, we talked with Mike Smith, Executive Director of OSI, to learn more about the nonprofit’s trail work in these communities and how they successfully secured significant federal and state funding for trail work in rural Maine.
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Not an “Overnight Success”

Mike laughs wryly at the mention of all the attention recently aimed at OSI’s northern Maine projects. “It’s a classic case of an ‘overnight success’ that actually took many years of work,” he says, noting that these projects got their start 14 years ago, when he, his team, and local partners started “stomping around in the woods” there to evaluate the possibilities and start planning.

They also invested their time in the communities, talking with landowners, attending meetings, developing demo projects, and listening wherever they went. Much of that early work wasn’t even directly related to trails; they were focused on building partnerships, cultivating relationships with stakeholders, and “figuring out where there was energy.” Over time, a spark of enthusiasm for potential trails would build in one community, slowly spreading to others.  “It has been a long, steady, consistent process to get to this point where we can advance something tangible,” says Mike. 

"If you’re just out building relationships with people who are already excited about the same things you are, you’re not talking to the right people," Mike explains. "Ten years ago, we weren’t talking with mountain bikers. We were talking with ATV clubs, livability groups, and local civic organizations. We asked questions from a place of pure curiosity to learn what kinds of outdoor experiences they actually wanted, rather than starting with our own agenda.”
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Laying the Groundwork for Regional Reach

To build the social infrastructure required to support a regional trail network, OSI took a highly deliberate, phased approach to planning. Once there was local support in a given community, they carefully planned where to begin. For example, in Millinocket they began with a project right behind the local school, directly connecting the classroom to the surrounding neighborhood, instead of chasing the most "photogenic" or high-profile trail segments first.

This strategic choice was about building immediate community utility and trust. Starting small, keeping local conversations going, and offering demo projects meant people could drive down the road to see tangible results. It’s exactly the kind of local, high-impact community connection the Maine Trails Program was designed to accelerate. Today, that momentum has evolved into a synchronized regional effort: while construction pushes forward in one community, design work is underway in another, and long-term planning takes place in a third.

Crucially, this growth hasn't been forced. By establishing an advisory committee composed entirely of local landowners and community members, OSI ensured that the people who actually own the land have a seat at the table. In towns like Island Falls, which holds significant municipal acreage, this collaborative approach has unlocked doors to brand-new local leadership.

OSI knew they needed to scale up internally before they could successfully deploy big capital. That internal growth positioned them perfectly to capitalize on new opportunities, allowing them to simultaneously capture major federal backing and crucial state support when the windows opened.
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Building the Engine Before Filling the Tank

Many recent headlines have touted OSI’s success in securing major federal grants alongside MTP and other support. When talking about large-scale trail projects, it’s natural to focus on the significant costs involved. But Mike is quick to point out that setting lofty funding goals was not part of their work in the early years. In addition to all the community-level work, his organization needed to scale up internally.

Funding success and organizational capacity are two very different things,” says Mike. "Funding is just fuel in the tank. Capacity is how big your engine is.” Even five years ago, OSI wouldn’t have had the institutional knowledge, crew, or systems in place for projects of the scope they are undertaking now. “We had to grow our engine first, working under the belief that the funding would follow once we were actually ready to steward it."

That patience paid off. By proving they could handle complex regional work, OSI "stacked" multiple funding sources rather than relying on a single windfall. A $1.25 million federal Northern Borders Regional Commission Catalyst grant provides the broad funding base, while the $250,000 Maine Trails Program (MTP) grant targets specific local builds. "I am confident that we can be good stewards of the money granted for the project," Mike says. "Which is critical, because it's not our money—and they are not our trails." 

Growing a Trail Culture

For OSI, the ultimate goal isn't just a physical asset; it is to create a resilient trails ecosystem. For every mile of trail built, they are actively calculating how it will be stewarded, who will maintain it, and how to build the social infrastructure needed for a mosaic of different landowners to handle major challenges such as significant storm damage.

While the economic benefits of trail tourism in the Katahdin region are undeniable, Mike views the true metric of success through a cultural lens. He recalls a message he recently received from a father in Patten, who sent over a photo of a kids' group bike ride utilizing a new Katahdin Area Trails system built by OSI and the Elliotsville Foundation.

"This is it," Mike says. "These kids are going to grow up with these trails right in their backyard as a standard expectation. Nobody sits around and questions why a town has a baseball diamond - it’s just a given. I want trails to be so embedded in the fabric of our communities that the people who live here simply demand them."

It’s a generational outlook that Mike, an Aroostook County native, saw firsthand growing up near the region's historic Nordic ski facilities, where access to world-class winter infrastructure has become a part of everyday local life following targeted development decades ago.

​By taking the time to sit in small rooms around local tables, OSI isn't just connecting towns like Island Falls, Millinocket, and Patten with physical pathways. Alongside regional efforts like the Katahdin Collaborative and Katahdin Area Trails, they are helping build a cohesive, shared regional identity.
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This generational shift is the real return on investment for the Maine Trails Program. While the combined MTP and NBRC funds will keep the dirt moving and construction crews busy for the next few years, the social infrastructure built by OSI helps ensure these state-supported trails will be loved, used, and protected for decades to come.
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Learn more about OSI’s work by visiting their website,
and be sure to check out Katahdin Area Trails page too!
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As we celebrate this milestone, the Maine Trails Coalition wants to extend thanks to the Bureau of Parks and Lands and the taxpayers of Maine. Your votes in 2024 are officially at work on the ground, removing barriers, and helping ensure that Maine’s spectacular outdoors are truly for everyone. ​

-Author Leigh Hallett served as the Director of the Maine Trails Coalition during the 2025–2026 implementation of the Maine Trails Program. This article is part of a special series documenting the local impact of MTP.