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