Junuea off-road vehicle park awarded $10,000 for trail development

Published 11:45 am Thursday, February 26, 2026

Juneau, Alaska — Trail Mix, Inc. and the Juneau Off-Road Association (JORA) have received a second $10,000 award from Polaris Inc. T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program to support the ongoing development of a 35-mile off-road vehicle (ORV) park. This would be the first ORV park in Southeast Alaska.

Juneauites approved a 3% temporary sales tax in 2012 to fund the development of an ORV park, and in 2019 and 2020 a Juneau Parks and Recreation survey found an ORV park was the top-rated investment for a recreation asset or facility.

Trail mix began work on the 35-mile ORV trail in 2022. Since then, a parking lot, a welcome area and two miles of trail have been constructed, along with extensive mapping and layout work of future trails. Trail Mix says the new funds will be used to build durable infrastructure, identify ORV riding sites and create a sustainable management structure.

“The 35-mile project is crucial for ensuring that all ORV trail users can find a place to safely and enjoyably recreate in Juneau,” Meghan Tabacek, executive director of Trail Mix, Inc., said in a statement to the Empire. “We are thankful for our partnership with the City and especially thankful for the wonderful JORA community, who has contributed 850 hours of volunteer work on the trail in 2025 alone. The support of Polaris is invaluable and helps us continue our work at 35-mile.”

Trail Mix says the ORV park is designed to strengthen and grow the ORV community by providing a hub for riders. That hub may be complete for the 2026 season, although work is ongoing for the first loop. Trail Mix is mapping and planning more trails for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.