With All The Earths Rain

Outdoor Family Statistics

Current U.S. numbers on getting outside, family activity, public lands, and the outdoor economy. Built for anyone who needs a clear fact with a source behind it.

Last updated September 25, 2026

At a glance

Outdoor time can be a backyard ramble, a rainy walk, a trail day, or a national-park trip. These eight statistics show both the scale of America’s relationship with the outdoors and the case for making time outside feel welcoming, simple, and repeatable for families.

183.2M

Americans ages 6 and older participated in outdoor recreation in 2025.

That is 59% of the U.S. population ages 6 and older, according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2026 participation report.

Source: Outdoor Industry Association, 2026

Nearly 30M

More people participated in outdoor recreation in 2025 than in 2019.

The participation base reached a record level, while the report also noted that people are getting outside less often than before the pandemic.

Source: Outdoor Industry Association, 2026

26%

Youth outings have declined since 2012.

The Outdoor Industry Association reports a 26% drop in outings among youth ages 6 to 17, alongside rising screen time.

Source: Outdoor Industry Association, 2026

323M

Recreation visits were recorded across the National Park System in 2025.

The National Park Service counted 323,014,305 recreation visits at 406 reporting parks, along with more than 13 million overnight stays.

Source: National Park Service, March 2026

1.39B

Recreation visitor hours were spent in National Park Service places in 2025.

The figure was 1,386,749,187 visitor hours across the National Park System.

Source: National Park Service, March 2026

61.1%

Of U.S. teens reported 60 minutes of physical activity most days or every day.

The estimate covers children and adolescents ages 12 to 17, based on July 2021 through December 2023 National Health Interview Survey data.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 2024

16 pts

Separated the most-active teens with low and high weekday screen time.

70.4% of teens with two or fewer daily screen-time hours reported 60 minutes of activity most days or every day, compared with 54.4% of those with four or more hours.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 2024

$696.7B

Was added to U.S. gross domestic product by outdoor recreation in 2024.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts outdoor recreation at 2.4% of current-dollar U.S. gross domestic product for 2024.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, March 2026

A little context

More people outside, more reasons to make it easy

Participation is high, but frequency matters. The strongest family outdoor traditions are usually the least complicated: noticing a new bird on the walk home, packing a snack for the park, or making a ten-minute nature hunt part of a Saturday. Those small moments make the outdoors feel like it belongs in ordinary life.

Try a family nature hunt

Sources and notes

How to use these statistics

Each figure above links directly to its named source and includes the date of the underlying report or release. Figures describe different populations and measures, so they should not be combined as if they represent one survey. The page will be refreshed when key sources release newer data.

Cite this page

With All The Earths Rain. “Outdoor Family Statistics.” Updated September 25, 2026. https://earthsrain.com/facts/outdoor-family-statistics.