these are in the 31 National Recreation 
Areas in the contiguous 48 States and 
Alaska. These specially designated 
areas cover over 6 million acres, of 
which more than 90 percent is 
managed by public agencies. Some of 
the areas are especially important to 
urban residents because they are close 
to major cities, such as New York, Los 
Angeles, Atlanta, and Cleveland. 
In the wintertime, roads, trails and 
other resources that serve different 
recreational purposes during the rest of 
the year are used for cross-country 
skiing, snowmobiling, and winter 
camping. Over 240 million acres of 
Federal lands receive at least 16 inches 
of snowfall each year and thus are 
suitable for winter sports. Most 
downhill ski areas and almost 60 
percent of hourly lift capacity are on 
national forests, mainly in the Rocky 
Mountain and Pacific coast regions. 
State Lands and Water 
There are some 52.6 million acres of 
State land available for access to 
recreational uses. Of this total, 50 
percent is managed by State forest 
agencies, 19 percent by State park 
agencies, and 31 percent by fish and 
game agencies. States manage nearly a 
full range of recreation opportunities 
across these three agencies, including 
wilderness areas, developed camping, 
and various water-based activities. 
Local Government Recreation 
Opportunities 
Outdoor recreation provided by local 
governments includes most types of 
opportunities. The emphasis of local 
government is partially developed and 
developed site opportunities, unlike 
that of Federal or State Governments. 
The average local park and recreation 
agency manages about 160 acres, 
nationwide totaling 2.2 million acres. 
About one-quarter of this acreage is 
partially developed and mostly natural. 
Typical municipal or county 
departments provide several 
playgrounds, athletic fields, tennis and 
basketball courts, swimming pools, and 
often a golf course or fitness trail. 
Nationwide, these local departments 
also provide an estimated 65,000 acres 
of lakes and about 30,000 miles of 
various types of trails. 
Of all public recreation lands, local 
sites are distributed most like the 
largely urban U.S. population (fig. 24). 
Because local facilities are closest to 
people’s homes and thus are most 
easily accessible, the approximately 2.2 
million acres of local government 
recreation and natural lands and waters 
receive the most intensive use. 
Although data are fragmentary, we 
estimate that local governments 
provide over one-half of all U.S. 
outdoor recreation use. 
Trends in Participation 
in Outdoor Recreation 
Typically, realized demand—defined 
as actual participation in outdoor 
recreation—is used to describe demand 
trends. Participation has two 
dimensions—number of participant 
occasions and proportion of the 
population or number of people who 
participate. 
The choice to participate in any 
recreational activity depends on many 
factors, such as cost, time required, and 
the physical demands of the activity. 
As one or more of these factor becomes 
limiting, people may choose a 
substitute compatible with their 
circumstances. Both the number of 
people who participate in an activity 
and the frequency and duration of their 
participation are key factors in 
attempting to assess longrun demands 
for various recreational activities. 
Together, these factors determine the 
total number of recreational trips the 
public consumes and the number of 
visits to public lands. 
Figure 24—Local recreation sites are distributed most like the largely urban U.S. population. 
