recreating at Federal areas. 
Increasingly, people are lodging at 
commercial accommodations near the 
more removed Federal areas, and they 
are day visiting close-to-home Federal 
areas more frequently than in the past. 
Other recreation demand indicators 
include expenditures for selected 
equipment, licenses, and transportation. 
When viewed in constant dollars, 
spending for “big ticket” items, such as 
boats and recreational vehicles, has 
declined while spending on sporting 
goods and bicycles has grown by 20 
percent since 1977. 
Participation styles vary with both the 
recreation activity and the 
characteristics of the individual. Some 
activities, such as walking for pleasure, 
are enjoyed often by a broad spectrum 
of society. Others, such as hunting, are 
Category 
Land 
Wilderness/remote 
Nonmotor near roads 
Motorized 
Developed sites 
Water 
Wilderness/remote 
Nonmotor near roads 
Motorized 
Developed sites 
Snow and Ice 
Undeveloped 
Developed 
Index (1984 = 100) 
enjoyed primarily by a small 
percentage of adult males for just a few 
days each year. Age, disability, race, 
education, and income are the personal 
characteristics most strongly related to 
the outdoor recreation participation 
choices of Americans. 
Projections of 
Future Participation 
Projections of likely future recreation 
participation show expected increases 
across all recreational activities, 
including simple activities such as 
picnicking, day hiking, and sightseeing 
that can be enjoyed close to home (fig. 
27 and app. table 10). Demand 1s also 
projected to increase for more 
expensive, time-consuming, and 
adventuresome activities, such as 
downhill skiing, canoeing, kayaking, 
Figure 27—Projected indexes of outdoor recreation demand by category, 2000 and 2040. 
and backpacking, as well as for 
convenient, active recreational pursuits 
that contribute to physical fitness, 
including running, jogging, swimming, 
walking, hiking, and bicycling (fig. 
28). 
Demands for snow-related recreation 
are expected to grow at a faster rate 
than for most land- and water-based 
activities. However, the present 
numbers of trips taken for land and 
water recreation are so large that even a 
very small percentage growth in one of 
these types of recreation will mean 
several million more trips and 
participants each year, much greater 
numbers than for snow-based 
recreation. 
2000 
C5 2040 
300 400 500 
