Alamance Parks gets $20,000 grant for adaptive trail chairs

People with mobility disabilities who have been shut out of Alamance County’s wooded and uneven trails are set to get a new way in. Alamance Parks said it received a $20,000 grant to buy four all-terrain adaptive mobility chairs and related equipment, with the goal of making more of the county’s outdoor spaces usable for residents, caregivers and families.

The county announced the award on May 21, saying the money came through the 2026 Driving Mobility and Accessibility on Public Lands grant program from the National Environmental Education Foundation, with major support from Toyota Motor North America. NEEF said the 2026 grants provided up to $20,000 per selected organization, and the funded projects run from May 2026 through April 2027.

Alamance Parks said most of its trails are still inaccessible to people with mobility impairments because of natural terrain and limited infrastructure. The new GRIT Freedom chairs are meant to change that by giving users a way to move across surfaces that standard wheelchairs cannot handle, opening access to more trail miles and outdoor gathering areas in the county.

Jamie Merchel, director of Alamance Parks, said the department sees the grant as part of its broader mission to make parks and trails more inclusive. The department said that while not every trail or natural area can be fully accessible, adaptive chairs can create more chances for people to enjoy parks and connect with nature.

The grant also fits into a larger accessibility push already underway in Alamance County. Alamance Parks said it has spent more than 50 years improving quality of life through parks, trails, inclusive programs, adaptive recreation and youth sports. Its three major focus areas are outdoors, community and youth athletics, and it already runs an Adaptive & Inclusive Recreation program that began in March 2022. That program includes Trail Walking and Yoga.

The county has also secured other accessibility funding in recent years, including a $450,000 Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant for a new accessible playground at Cedarock Park. Local trail access remains a major issue, especially around the Haw River Trail, which became a state trail in 2023 and is described by the county as a public access route to one of North Carolina’s most important natural features.

State officials have framed adaptive recreation as a wider priority. North Carolina’s Adaptive Trails Program says its mission is to remove barriers to outdoor recreation and make state parks welcoming for people with mobility, cognitive and sensory needs. NEEF said the broader 2026 program awarded $500,000 nationwide and has supported more than 100 accessibility improvements and over 30 adaptive recreation programs since 2022.