Running is by far the most popular outdoor activity in the United States. That represents 20.2% of all U.S. citizens aged 6 and older, compared to 19.2% of all U.S. citizens in the previous year.
Lorenzo Sandoval, Guppies Fishing Adventures The pandemic underscores the importance of parks and outdoors and exposes systemic inequities affecting communities of color. Recent data shows that activities that are gaining popularity include cycling, rowing sports (rafting, kayaking, canoeing), golf, camping, and birdwatching or nature observation. Among children and teenagers, skateboarding is becoming more and more popular. There are countless places and ways to get out and enjoy nature.
Great resources for finding camping and other recreational activities include Recreation, Government, or the National Park Service website. You can also visit the Find a Park site or search for your county or state government to be directed to a website where you can learn more about local parks. We were unable to process your request. These graphs, which show data from the US Time Use Survey, take a closer look at people who spend time in sports and physical activity.
In contrast, racquet sports were the sports and exercise activities that had the most equitable distribution of participants in all age groups for those aged 15 to 24, 25 to 54, and 55 years and older. Nearly 75 percent of people aged 15 and older who engaged in sports and exercise on an average day in 2003-06 did so for less than two hours. About half of those who walked for exercise, sports, and physical activity that people did most often overall were 55 years of age or older. A surprisingly popular activity for first-time practitioners, whitewater kayaking is a pretty intense sport.
However, climbing attracts many first-time participants and many more consider it a great outdoor activity. Of people aged 15 and older who did sports and exercise on an average day in 2003-06, about half did the activity alone. Snowshoeing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors during the winter months while maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. According to research from the Outdoor Foundation, these are the 25 most popular recreational activities for first-time participants.
Employed persons aged 25 to 54 who engaged in sports and exercise activities on an average day in 2003-06 were more likely to participate in these activities during the late afternoon and evening hours on days when they worked, and during the morning and early afternoon hours on non-working days working hours. In recent years, of the relatively small group of people in the United States aged 15 and older who played sports or exercise activities on an average day, about 30 percent walked for exercise, making walking the most popular form of exercise overall. People who live in the Pacific, New England, and mountain regions of the country are more likely to participate in sports or exercise activities than those in other regions. Those who danced, played baseball or softball, bowled, played soccer, walked or played golf, spent most of their time doing sports activities.
