Twenty-five parks and recreation projects across North Carolina are getting a funding boost this fall, after the state’s Parks and Recreation Trust Fund distributed close to $10 million to communities stretching from the mountains to the coast. The program, run through North Carolina State Parks, drew far more interest than it could fund — 42 local governments applied for a combined $15.5 million, more than double what was available.

State officials fully funded 25 of those applications and gave one additional project a partial award. Individual grants topped out at $500,000, the program’s ceiling, and every dollar awarded has to be matched locally before it can be spent.

The winning projects reach nearly every region of the state. Up in the mountains, Ashe County’s town of Jefferson will renovate Foster-Tyson Park and add a new trailhead along the Northern Peaks State Trail, while Caldwell County’s Granite Falls will grow its Shuford Recreation complex. On the coast, Pender County is putting its award toward the Abbey Nature Preserve Trailhead, and both Morehead City and New Bern landed the maximum $500,000 for waterfront park work. Farther inland, Nashville, Dunn and Creedmoor each secured funding of their own for local park upgrades.

This round adds to an already active year for the fund: combined with an earlier $4 million released through the state’s Helene Recovery Fund, the trust has now committed close to $14 million to local parks since the fiscal year began. Factoring in the required local matches, officials estimate the combined investment will reach $43.5 million once every project is complete.