{"id":23110,"date":"2026-03-18T16:18:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=23110"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:23:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:23:33","slug":"the-power-of-outdoor-recreation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/the-power-of-outdoor-recreation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Of Outdoor Recreation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McKenna<\/em>
\n\"\"The latest study by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) says it loud and clear: Outdoor recreation is big business in the United States. And business has been booming.
\nFor the eighth consecutive year, the BEA is reporting growth in the nation\u2019s outdoor recreation economy. Its 2024 report was recently released and shows that the outdoor industry grew by 2.7%, adding $696.7 billion to the country\u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
\nEvery state in the country showed growth in this sector. Idaho came in seventh for Outdoor Recreation Added Value, accounting for 3.5% of the state\u2019s GDP. Hawaii leads the country at 6.1 of GDP, while Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and Maine round out the top five.
\nEvery aspect of outdoor recreation saw growth in the latest study, except for staffing, which was flat. Wages saw the biggest jump.
\nIn 2024, Boating\/Fishing were the largest sectors, adding $38.4 billion to the U.S. economy. RVing was second at $27.5 billion. Next on the list were Shooting\/Hunting\/Trapping at $16.5 billion, Motorcycling\/ATVing at about $11 billion, and Snowsports at $7.6 billion.
\nAccommodations\/Entertainment\/Food provide the biggest impact, at 25%, while Retail Goods also make up nearly a quarter of the monies spent.
\nOne of the big reasons outdoor recreation is booming is because Americans are really beginning to embrace all of its benefits. According to numerous studies, like one from Oregon State University (OSU), there are a plethora of benefits for spending time outdoors.
\nEnjoying just about any type of outdoor recreation\u2014from walking\/hiking and sightseeing to skiing or rock climbing\u2014has been proven to: reduce stress, improve your mood, improve sleep, improve overall health, and even boost self-esteem.
\nThe OSU study found that the loss of access to outdoor recreation during the COVID-19 crisis created massive mental health issues throughout the country. It even goes on to suggest that communities prepare for any future challenge by following the \u201c3-30-300 Rule.\u201d This rule advises that every dwelling in your community has at least three visible trees, a 30% tree-covered canopy for every neighborhood, and public greenspace within 300 meters or less away from every unit.
\nAs the study states, \u201cOur research shows that outdoor recreation isn\u2019t some kind of bonus, it\u2019s a public health necessity.\u201d
\nSince so many communities in Idaho fit into the 3-30-300 Rule, it\u2019s little wonder why the recent boom in outdoor recreation has dovetailed with an increase of people moving to the Gem State. Idaho\u2019s population has grown by nearly 10% since 2020.
\nAll this means is that there\u2019s plenty of money to be made locally thanks to our easy access to world-class outdoor recreation. It also means it\u2019s part of our job as locals is to be good stewards and protectors of the land. We need to do our part and help spread the word that, as the old Gem State slogan goes, \u201cIdaho is too great to litter.\u201d
\nIt also means we should live by the age-old Idaho mantra of \u201cLeave No Trace.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By Mike McKenna The latest study by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) says it loud and clear: Outdoor recreation is big business in the United States. And business has been booming. For the eighth consecutive year, the BEA is reporting growth in the nation\u2019s outdoor recreation economy. Its 2024 report was recently released […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-chamber-corner","7":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23112,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23110\/revisions\/23112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}