The New, COVID-Driven Outdoor Recreationists in the U.S.: Who They Are, Who They Aren’t, and Who Will Stay Involved

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States, many residents began participating in outdoor recreation for the first time, or returned to outdoor recreation after a prolonged hiatus. During the first year of the pandemic, many parks in the U.S. experienced record visitation as overall park and protected area visitation increased across much of the country. Part of this increase in visitation was likely the result of existing outdoor recreationists who increased their participation during the first year of the pandemic because of restrictions to other types of leisure activities. However, it is possible that much of the increase in outdoor recreation and park use was the result of a recreation substitution, as new outdoor recreationists either tried outdoor recreation for the first time or returned to outdoor recreation because they could not do their more preferred means of recreational activities (e.g., go to bars, movies, gyms, etc.). Research concerning these new participants is sparse at present (Grima et al., 2020; Outdoor Industry Association & Naxion Research Consulting, 2021). Therefore, the research detailed in this report focuses on the results of a national panel study aimed at gaining a more robust understanding of both 1) how these new outdoor recreationists differ from other participants and non-participants and 2) the behaviors of these new outdoor recreationists. In doing so, we provide insights concerning information used by new participants to aid their transition to outdoor recreation, how helpful this information was, what activities they participated in, where they participated in these activities, and if they plan to continue participating once the pandemic is over.