Chapter 2 The Demand - Outdoor Recreation in America

Parks & Recreation, April, 2002

The demand is surging. Whatever the measuring rod -- visits to federal and state recreation areas, number of fishing license holders, number of outboard motors in use -- it is clear that Americans are seeking the outdoors as never before. And this is only a foretaste of what is to come. Not only will there be many more people, they will want to do more, and they will have more money and time to do it with. By 2000 the population should double; the demand for recreation should triple.

This order of magnitude, in essence, is the heart of the problem. But where will it focus? Which activities will become more popular, which less? To obtain a better idea of the action that is needed, the Commission enlisted the help of the Bureau of the Census and a number of research groups to explore the amount and underlying characteristics of demand. The result is the first detailed nation-wide study of what people do for outdoor recreation, and what, given the way our society is moving, they are likely to do in the future. (1)

If the magnitude of outdoor recreation in America is great, so too is its variety. Some swim in, and others under, water. Some walk on the surface of the earth or dig for archeological relics, while others descend into caves or go aloft in gliders or planes. Some go camping for silence and isolation. Others seek out campsites where they can be with other people. This variety reflects the values which Americans seek from outdoor recreation -- sociability as well as solitude, the serenity of the forest and the excitement of physical activity on the water.

At present, it is the simple pleasures Americans seek most. By far the most popular are pleasure driving and walking; together, they account for 42 percent of the total annual activity. (For the tables on these and subsequent figures see appendix F.) The Sunday drive through the countryside is one of the great experiences that families share, and for those who live in the city it is anything but passive; they will often put up with an extraordinary amount of intervening traffic to break their way out.

In other activities, not surprisingly, the greatest amount of time is spent on those which require the least preparation or specialized equipment -- playing games and swimming (in summer, swimming goes up almost to the top of the list). Next in order are sightseeing, bicycling, fishing, going to outdoor sports events, and picnicking. Sports that require special conditions, skills, or equipment -- such as skiing, mountain climbing, skindiving, and sailing -- rank much lower in frequency.

They do not rank low, however, in intensity of personal involvement. This dimension cannot be easily measured, but whether it is pride of skill, a sense of fraternity, or, perhaps, the thrill of danger, a powerful motivation is at work; and one has only to listen to skindivers and skiers talking shop to grasp how compelling it can be. This qualitative dimension is most obvious in the sports of special skill, but it applies to the whole range of activities. Simplicity, after all, is relative; the sailor may look down on the powerboat enthusiast, who in turn may look down on the outboard man, but to many an American even the mastery of a rowboat can be a challenge.

When they are asked what they would like to do more of, people do not necessarily want more of what they are doing. They may do the simple things most of the time -- they probably always will. But it is evident that activities just beyond reach -- horseback riding, camping, and skiing -- stir their aspirations.

Whatever the demand is for, it is concentrated where people are -- in metropolitan areas. The pressure is most acute in the Northeast, fast becoming one long city, but it has been building up in every section of the country. The South is rapidly becoming more urban, and the West Coast is well on its way to producing some of the greatest conglomerations. Even the wide-open states of the farm belt are feeling the pressure, and as a once predominantly agricultural population has been moving to the cities, outdoor pleasures that used to be taken for granted are proving harder to come by.

This metropolitan population must get most of its recreation in the metropolitan region, and, for all practical purposes, the existence of extensive facilities somewhere else is little compensation for lack of them at home.

The great bulk of the demand must be satisfied in the afterwork and weekend hours. Americans are a highly mobile people, it is true, but cars and highways do not alter the basic pattern; even on a vacation trip, more than half seek recreation one, or at the most two, days' travel from home. For weekend and day trips they travel only a few hours. This is true even among upper income groups.

But this does not mean that the more distant areas are the less valuable. They can provide a qualitative element that may be only rarely experienced but which can be very important to people, and to people who live in cities most of all. A park or a wilderness in the Far West may not be easily accessible to the millions who live in the cities of the Northeast; still, the ability to anticipate a trip to such an area is itself important, and even one visit can have an emotional impact that will be remembered for a lifetime.