published Jan 2015
During the period August 2012 through November 2012, the University of Idaho, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), surveyed Idaho’s registered off-highway-vehicle (OHV) owners. The goal of the survey was to determine the economic importance of OHV use in Idaho during the previous 12 months. The survey sample was drawn from IDPR-registered OHV owners. OHV activities not related to recreation (e.g., work) and out-of-state visitors could not be sampled. Trips and expenditures for OHV recreation in Idaho would be higher if nonresident OHV recreation could be estimated.
published Jun 2014
Off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation in Idaho is big business. Idaho OHV enthusiasts took close to 1 million recreation trips in Idaho during 2012 and spent about $434 million – $186 million on OHV recreation trips and $248 million on OHV capital expenditures such as the vehicles themselves.
published Jul 2014
The analysis indicates that the nearly $1.7 million in spending conducted by the Hatfield-McCoy Trails for day-to-day operations generated an additional $1.6 million in economic activity within the State, for a total operational impact of $3.3 million. Even more notably, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails bring non-local visitors to the area whose spending is estimated to generate an additional $19 million in economic activity in West Virginia. Together, the total estimated economic impact of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails is more than $22 million.
published Jan 2016
During the 2014–2015 season, motorized recreational enthusiasts spent an estimated $1.6 billion while taking trips using motorized vehicles for recreational purposes. More than 92 percent of these expenditures occurred during the summer recreational season. In addition to spending money on trips, households that participate in motorized recreation also spend money on maintenance, repairs, accessories, vehicle storage, and miscellaneous items associated with their vehicles. Motorized recreational enthusiasts spent more than an estimated $724 million annually on various items to support and enhance their experiences in Colorado, including $163 million in new vehicle purchases. In total, motorized recreational enthusiasts were responsible for $2.3 billion in direct expenditures related to motorized recreation in Colorado during the 2014–2015 season.
published Jan 2018
OHV recreation is a proven financial stimulus to the tourism market with the average rider spending a minimum of $100 on a single day trip. We should encourage struggling areas to embrace OHV tourism as we have the opportunity to directly impact and benefit financial success of local businesses. We can connect rural Missouri to OHV trails, which would provide new employment and income while bringing new money to these distressed regions. OHV tourism can diversify the economy of South East Missouri and create a culture of entrepreneurship based around trail oriented business (outfitters, rentals, guides, cabins, hotels, restaurants, etc) the same way the state park industry has to several Missouri communities.
published Sep 2018
Updated statistics from the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent ($412 billion) of current-dollar GDP in 2016 (table 2). In data produced for the first time, using inflation-adjusted (real) GDP, the outdoor recreation economy grew 1.7 percent in 2016, faster than the 1.6 percent growth for the overall U.S. economy (table 6). In addition, real gross output, compensation, and employment all grew faster in outdoor recreation than in the overall economy in 2016.
published Feb 2019
Iowa off-highway vehicle owners spent approximately $72.4 million in 2018 on in-state operating expenses and related personal expenses. Total Iowa asset purchase and operating/personal expenditures generated approximately 1,018 jobs in the Iowa economy paying an average of $42,850 annually. Off-highway vehicle owners spent about $28.9 million outside the state of Iowa in 2018. If that had been spent in-state, it would have generated $34.9 million in Iowa industrial output and 374 jobs paying annual incomes of $31,180 per job.
published Feb 2019
by
Taylor Goodrich with American Trails
The state of Utah has used innovative programming to keep their citizens safe from avalanche dangers. Although they cannot completely prevent avalanches from occurring, they are educating the public through the Utah Avalanche Center about ways to avoid triggering an avalanche, and how to stay safe should one occur.
published Feb 2019
by
American Trails Staff
The results are in! Here are our picks from the 136 photos submitted for the 2018 photo contest.
published Feb 2019
by
Taylor Goodrich with American Trails
February is Black History Month, and a perfect time to shine a light on some well known, and some lesser known, ways in which African Americans have helped shape our nation's trail and park history.
