Outdoor recreation participation highest in 5 years

(April 24, 2012) -- More than 141 million Americans, or 49.4 percent of the U.S. population, participated in outdoor activities last year,  reflecting an increase of three million people compared to 2010 and continuing a five-year trend. In addition, Americans made a total of 11.6 billion outdoor outings in 2011, which is 1.5 billion more than the previous year. Annually, participants averaged 82 outdoor outings from hiking to biking, skiing to paddling.