Christmas came early for the Homer Cycling Club and outdoor trails enthusiasts alike.

The Rasmuson Foundation recently announced that they awarded $11.9 million in new investments to support community-led solutions across Alaska. $250,000 of that went to the Homer Cycling Club — one of a few nonprofits across the state who received major grant funding this round — for continued construction of the Eastland Trails project.

Homer Cycling Club Eastland Trails Subcommittee member Cooper Freeman called the Eastland Trails venture “one of the most exciting and important recreation projects Homer’s ever seen” and “a massive labor of love.”

The project envisions the establishment of an 11-mile trail system that will provide “best-in-class” hiking and mountain biking to locals and visitors alike. The trail project is located in the Cottonwood Eastland unit of Kachemak Bay State Park, approximately 17 miles outside of Homer on East End Road.

Multiple trails exist in the park across the bay, Freeman said, but there isn’t a comparable hiking or biking trail system connected to the road system in Homer.

“This area has been identified since the ‘80s as the priority for recreational development here, and we are getting it done,” he said. “It’s going to be a complete game changer for both residents (and visitors) … It’s really going to transform, I think, the health and the vibrancy and the well-being of our community in really wonderful ways.”

The overall project is expected to be completed in three phases. According to Freeman, phase one was funded by a Recreational Trails Program grant that the club received last year from the Alaska Department of Outdoor Recreation and the Federal Highway Administration. Construction of roughly 3.5 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails began this summer and is expected to be completed by summer 2026.

Freeman said that the work done this past summer largely focused on “getting in the access infrastructure,” primarily a public access parking lot and trailhead. Last Frontier Trails, the Homer-based trail construction firm contracted for the first phase of the project, also “roughed in” nearly the entirety of the phase one trails.

“Those are really highly-accessible trails for young kids to elders,” Freeman said. “It’s really designed to get people into the park, but provide an experience that everyone can enjoy.”

The Rasmuson grant will fund the majority of phase two construction, which will culminate in another 4 miles of primarily mountain biking trails being added to the system. Freeman said that the Homer Cycling Club expects construction on the project’s second phase to begin as early as next summer, once phase one is complete, or by early 2027.

Phase three, which is yet unfunded, will focus on building a longer hiking trail to provide deeper access into the state park.

Freeman said that the Homer Cycling Club has a “high-level” integrated design for the entire proposed trail system that was completed in 2024 and has gone through “extensive” public review, as well as review by the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation.

“That’s guiding the development — and then as we get into each phase, we’re doing a more refined design into construction,” he said.

Freeman said that the Homer Cycling Club currently has about 70% of the needed funding to complete phase two of construction. In addition to the two grants, he also noted that the nonprofit has received “significant donations” from a few local donors, as well as “a lot” of smaller contributions towards the project. The Homer Cycling Club is continuing to fundraise for the remaining work needed. In total, Freeman said the nonprofit expects the project to cost about $1.4 million.

“We really are going to need the community to come together and invest in this vital project that will be a gift for and enjoyed by many future generations,” he said. “This is really a generational project … We’re pretty thrilled with the progress, but we have a long way to go.”

While the actual construction is being conducted by a professional firm, getting to this point — fundraising, obtaining permits and administrative authorizations, and more — has required hundreds of volunteer hours and effort by Freeman, subcommittee co-lead Cameale Johnson, Homer Cycling Club founder and board president Derek Reynolds, and other local volunteers.

“People are so excited — it’s really been a fun project to be a part of, and we’re so thrilled to be making great progress towards getting it done,” Freeman said.

The Eastland Trails system is currently closed, and the Homer Cycling Club requests that the public avoid the area while construction is ongoing.

Find project updates, including opening dates, and learn more about the Homer Cycling Club at www.homercyclingclub.org/.

Phase one of the Eastland Trails projects is under construction during the summer of 2025 in the Kachemak Bay State Park near Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy Cameale Johnson

A boardwalk is under construction as part of the ongoing Eastland Trails project in the Kachemak Bay State Park near Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy Cameale Johnson

A map depicts the proposed route for all three phases of the Eastland Trails project in the Kachemak Bay State Park near Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy Chuck Lindsey