121 
their need will be the most, difficult to satisfy as suburban centers 
have the fewest facilities (per capita) and the sharpest competition 
for land use. 
The second major trend is the pervasive attraction of water- 
oriented activities: 
Most people seeking outdoor recreation want water to sit by, to swim and fish 
in, to ski across, to dive under and to run their boats over. Swimming is now one 
of the most popular outdoor activities and is likely to be the most popular of all by 
the turn of the century. Boating and fishing are among the top 10 activities. 
Camping, picnicking, and hiking, also high on the list, are more attractive near 
water sites.*! 
Swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, sailing and water skiing ac- 
counted for 26 percent of the total U.S. user days per person during 
the summer of 1960. Swimming seems to have special importance to 
urban dwellers since 49 percent of the metropolitan population (versus 
38 percent of non-urban dwellers) participated in the activity. In the 
Northeast, 53 percent of the population swims. For the U.S. as a whole, 
17 percent of those not participating expressed a preference for swim- 
ming. This points to an extensive need for swimming facilities to be 
provided close to demand centers, especially in urban areas, where 
coastal beaches are generally already used to capacity. The 1965 survey 
reported that swimming, ranked second at that time im user participa- 
tion, was becoming so popular that it will be our number one outdoor 
recreation activity by the year 1980. 
A final trend of importance to be noted here is the great demand for 
activity close to home. People seeking outdoor recreation do so within 
definite. time patterns that can be classified as day outings, weekend 
or overnight trips, and vacations. The most frequent of these is the 
day outing, which can presently be considered as the fundamental 
unit of outdoor recreation. Most indications are that, at the present 
time, people will drive one way about two hours, a distance that may 
vary from 30 miles to as much as 90 miles, for such outstanding recrea- 
tion sites as ocean beaches or scenic campgrounds. For the weekend 
or overnight outing, the median travel distance is about 90 to 125 
miles. While many vacationers will travel many miles on week- or two- 
week-long vacations, by far the greatest demands are placed on the 
facilities serving daily and weekend outings. Hence, pressures are 
ereatest within about 125 miles of metropolitan centers, with maximum 
demands at those facilities in close proximity to the central cities. 
“This points to the great importance of providing outdoor recreation 
facilities close to where people live so that individuals of all ages can 
go frequently, as contrasted with the occasional longer trips and annual 
vacation pursuits.” * Hence, today’s problems ‘do not center on the 
acquisition of the unique and dramatic resources for the public, but 
on the broad availability of outdoor recreation for everyone and often; 
nearby open areas for weekend visits by moderate-income urbanites 
are more characteristic of our recreation needs than the annual trip to 
a far-away area of unforgettable beauty by the fortunate persons who 
can get there.” * 
From, this outline of the proportions and the problems of future 
demands for outdoor recreation, we can draw some clear implications 
as to the future of shoreline recreation. With continuing increases in 
31 Tbid., reference 28; p. 4. 
32 Thid., reference 23, p. 224 
83 Harvey S. Perloff and Lowdon Wingo, Jr., et al., “Trends in American Living and Outdoor Recrea- 
tion,” ORRRC Study Report No. 22, p. 82 (1962). 
