Who Is Enjoying the Great Outdoors?

Findings from the 2023 Annual Outdoor Participation Trends Report reveals the “who, how, and where” in participation in outdoor recreation.

1 minute read

July 5, 2023, 12:00 PM PDT

By Clement Lau


Diverse group of young people walking through forest

Seventyfour / Adobe Stock

The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and Outdoor Foundation (OF), longtime authorities on outdoor participation data, recently released findings from the 2023 Annual Outdoor Participation Trends Report. For more than 15 years, the Outdoor Participation Trends Report has served as the most comprehensive source of insights and narratives around who’s doing what, when, and how outdoors.

The 2023 report reveals increases in the overall outdoor participation and offers some key insights, including the following:

  • The outdoor recreation participant base increased by 2.3 percent in 2022 to a record 168.1 million participants or 55 percent of the U.S. population ages six and older.
  • While 2022 outdoor recreation included record numbers of participants and record-high participation rates, the number of outings per participant declined in 2022 for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
  • The new outdoor recreation participant base became more diverse in 2022 including increases in participation among Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQIA+ people.   
  • Eighty percent of outdoor activity categories experienced participation growth in 2022, including large categories like camping and fishing and smaller categories like sport climbing and skateboarding.

The full report is available to OIA members only, but readers can request a copy of the Executive Summary with key data points and insights at this link.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 in Breaking Travel News

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

Yellow bird with black head sitting on power line.

City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity

The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.

1 minute ago - City Nature Challenge

Screenshot of robot with fox and bird in The Wild Robot animated movie.

A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood

Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.

1 hour ago - The Hollywood Reporter

View of mountains with large shrubs in foreground in Altadena, California.

Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.

March 9 - Pasadena NOw