The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released data for 2023. The data show outdoor recreation has a significant impact on Utah’s economy, contributing $9.5 billion to the economy in 2023. That’s compared to $8.1 billion in 2022.
Outdoor recreation now contributes 3.4% of Utah’s GDP and supports nearly 72,000 jobs.
Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation Trails and Planning Director Carly Lansche said winter sports and bicycling fueled much of the growth.
“We were third nationally for winter sports with $643 million of value added, and we're seeing a lot of the investment that the state is making in trails and cycling infrastructure, and we think that that fueled the 43% growth in the bicycling sector, contributing to over $73 million,” she said.
Winter sports has been the largest contributor to the outdoor recreation economy in Utah for decades as skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing are key economic drivers in many communities.
However, bicycling saw record growth in 2022. Utah has also improved access to boating, fishing and RVing, adding a combined $1.55 billion to the economy.
Lansche said the COVID-19 pandemic fueled an increase in outdoor recreation and that trend has continued.
“Our buildings were emptied out and our trailheads were packed with people. Everyone kind of walked outside to reap some of the benefits of what we have,” she said. “The momentum hasn't really slowed down. People who embrace the outdoors during the pandemic continue to participate.”
The division continued work to expand recreation access this year, particularly in trail maintenance, which includes realignment, winter preparations and bridge building.
This year, Lansche said four regional trail crews worked on 126 trail projects.
“When we're talking about building new trails or expanding our recreation infrastructure, we hear so often from our land managers and other partners, ‘We can't do that because we can't maintain what we have,’” she said. “Our team stepping in and helping with that maintenance and that backlog is just going to help us continue to expand our recreation offerings.”
Those who want to learn more about outdoor recreation in Utah can attend the 2025 Trails Conference in April in Kanab or visit the division’s webpage.
