Thursday, October 1, 2026
How much money have you spent this year pursuing outdoor recreation in Wisconsin? Runners, cyclists, paddlers, hikers, campers, and cross country skiers are passionate about their sports. Embracing their favorite way to spend time outside, they spend money on travel, gear, and lodging. Don’t forget race entry fees, training services, and trail licenses. Collectively, the dollars add up to create a significant contribution to Wisconsin’s economy.
A report titled “Economic Benefits of Mountain Biking” produced by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to quantify the economic impact of U.S. Mountain biking tourists estimated that an average of $416 is spent per visit toward lodging, restaurants, and retailers. The report concluded spending varied by trail location and type, ranging from just over $100 to more than $1,000 per visit. The study focused on 13 trail systems including Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin offers outdoor enthusiasts an incredible environment. Over 15,000 lakes, 50 state parks, and thousands of miles of interconnected trails, there’s no shortage of places to enjoy outdoor pursuits. In recent years, state governments have started to pay attention to the way outdoor recreation influences economic activity and how residents view the quality of life of where they live and work.
In 2016, Congress directed the US Bureau of Economic Analysis to create an outdoor recreation satellite account to measure the outdoor recreation industry in an apples-to-apples economic comparison to other major industries. When the first report was released in 2018, the results showed that outdoor recreation was truly an economic driver for the United States.
Following a national trend of state governments establishing formal agencies dedicated to outdoor recreation, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and the legislature created the Office of Outdoor Recreation in 2019. Wisconsin is the 14th state to create an office dedicated to the economic impact of outdoor recreation. Currently, there are 24 state offices of outdoor recreation.
One of the primary goals of the Office of Outdoor Recreation includes tracking the economic contributions of Wisconsin’s outdoor pursuits. The Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account reported outdoor recreation contributed over $11 billion to Wisconsin’s GDP in 2023, representing 2.25 percent of the state’s GDP.
The collective expenditures of Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation enthusiasts create an economic powerhouse influencing tourism, business and job development, and creating a perception of a better quality of life for Wisconsin residents.
“Our mission is to strengthen Wisconsin’s economy and that quality of life through outdoor recreation to make our state the best it can be,” said Cassie Mordini, director, Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation.
The Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation is funded through the Department of Tourism’s budget, which recently received a $31 million budget increase for marketing and public relations efforts. The Office is part of the Department of Tourism.
“One of the number one reasons people visit Wisconsin is for the outdoors, so a portion of our budget supports that by making sure that the industry surrounding the outdoors is robust, has the resources and support it needs to advance, not only to attract visitors, but also to strengthen and grow Wisconsin’s overall economy,” said Mordini.
She adds, “Wisconsin is one of those underrated places, especially for when it comes to outdoor recreation. We want to make sure that Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation is widely and positively known, that it shows up on those top 10 lists of where to recreate, where to take those vacations. We also want to see that outdoor recreation is recognized
within our state as a valuable piece of our quality of life and economy.”
Mordini and her staff work directly with communities, recreation user groups, conservation organizations, educators, the healthcare community and others to ensure Wisconsin has the infrastructure, resources and networks to nurture the state’s endemic outdoor culture.
The Strategic Plan
In 2024, the Office conducted a series of outreach initiatives to gather information about future initiatives from the perspective of key decision-makers.
“Our stakeholders feel like they’re a part of something bigger, that their work adds up to something more than the day to day, and that they also have a network that they can tap into when they need to bounce an idea off of somebody,” said Mordini. “We need to create a partnership or some kind of collaboration that is mutually beneficial, and we want to help be the catalyst for conversation. Before the office existed, the state lacked that central location for the outdoor industry to come together.”
Through interviews with peer agencies, stakeholder surveys, statewide in-person and virtual listening sessions and a retreat with partners, the Office crafted a strategic plan for the next five years.
“We asked folks to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis with us and share their perspectives. People from all sectors of the industry participated and shared their perspectives and feedback on what’s working well, where are there gaps? How can the office bring support or resources to bear that will help them advance their work?” said Mordini.
The planning process confirmed the established vision and mission, moving on to create four strategic imperatives for the next five years: amplifying outdoor recreation, fueling development and innovation, strengthening the network, and ensuring organizational success.
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Vision
Outdoor recreation enriches the life of every Wisconsinite
Mission
Strength Wisconsin’s economy and quality of life through outdoor recreation
Values
Collaboration
Excellence
Balance
Authenticity
Fun
Position
Promote and enhance Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry and offerings to drive economic impact.
Community Level
Economic Research
Working with an outside consulting firm, the Office has created a program to help local governments and organizations understand the economic impact of outdoor creation in their communities.
“We have a program that we piloted last year called the DIY Economic Impact Program, where we’re teaching community teams how to collect data, whether it’s their own proprietary data through surveys, or data that already exists, that they can take, and analyze that data to calculate the economic impact of a specific outdoor recreation activity or location in their community,” said Mordini.
Developed in 2024 by The Harbinger Consultancy with assistance from the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation the A Do-It-Yourself Guide: Conducting and Using Visitor and Recreational User Research is a free step-by-step guide designed for small-to-mid-sized organizations, agencies and partnerships that manage trails, recreation areas or outdoor destinations.
The guide and toolkit detail explains how communities can conduct visitor and user research, focusing on gathering and analyzing research results in three key ways: estimating economic impact, communicating about community and economic benefits, and informing management and planning.
Completing the workbook leads to an economic impact report that provides actionable insights and helps build a convincing case for community projects, secure funding sources, and building public support.
In 2024, five communities around Wisconsin completed the pilot Do-It-Yourself Economic Impact Program. The final reports found that outdoor recreation projects in Dodge County, Eau Claire, Lafayette County, Marathon County and WinMan Trails generate almost $27.3 million in economic activity.
Mordini notes the Office of Outdoor Recreation has added an outdoor recreation development specialist to support communities and businesses. “The role is providing technical assistance and guidance to communities or businesses that are engaged in planning for developing or maintaining infrastructure and needs some assistance. Whether it’s seeking funding, reviewing or applying for funding, or if there’s an obstacle or roadblock that they’re coming up against, this person is there to help, to be a resource for them, a kind of a “Go To” person. “said Mordini.
The DIY Economic Impact Program has received bipartisan support. “Lawmakers recognize the far-reaching benefits of outdoor recreation, including the economic impact of job creation, which happens in rural areas too. If you look at outdoor recreation manufacturers in the state of Wisconsin, they are located all over the state, and it’s not limited to major metropolitan areas. A lot of companies are in rural communities,” said Mordini.
Digitizing Outdoor Recreation
Reflecting the strategic imperatives to “amplify outdoor recreation” and “strengthen the network” the Wisconsin Outdoor Recreation Industry created a comprehensive digital catalog profiling locations around the state for outdoor recreation.
Launched in 2023, the catalog contains thousands of files for 12 popular outdoor recreation pursuits. More than 120 partners collaborated to build the tool. Although the information was available previously in separate locations, the Wisconsin Outdoor Recreation Inventory brings incredible detail together in a single location.
“The outdoor recreation inventory and explorers’ tool is a visionary idea to pull together all the mapping files of outdoor recreation assets throughout the state. There are 12 different key activities to explore. Visitors can go in and download the GIS data if they want to make their own map. They have over 50,000 GIS piles of outdoor recreation assets across Wisconsin,” said Mordini. “Users can access inventory to add information to connect trails or fill in outdoor recreation gaps in their communities.”
Outdoor enthusiasts can explore the inventory by activity or location, create interactive maps and download data in multiple formats.
Economic Impact of Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Approximately 1,200 miles long, The Ice Age Trail crisscrosses diverse habitats and environments within Wisconsin’s borders. The Ice Age Trail was formally recognized as a National Scenic Trail by Congress in 1980. A volunteer group, The Ice Age Trail Alliance was founded in 1958 and continues to support the trail. More than 100,00 volunteer hours contributed to the Ice Age Trail’s mission in 2024.
One of 11 long distance hiking trails in the National Scenic Trail, the Ice Age Trail attracted 4.65 million visitors in 2024. According to the Fiscal and Economic Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, those Ice Age Trail visitors generated $820 million in annual economic output in communities serving the trail.
Visitor Trends
Approximately 60 percent of Wisconsin residents live within 20 miles of the Ice Age Trail.
2011 1.25 million
2019 2.3 million
2023 4.65 million
The Ice Age Trail passes through hundreds of Wisconsin communities. Twenty-four communities have earned official Ice Age Trail Community designations. Trail users spend money on transportation, lodging, retail and business service expenditures. Those purchases ripple through Wisconsin’s economy with direct, indirect, and induced impacts:
Direct Effects: Immediate impacts, like employment and operational spending, are driven by Trail activity.
Indirect Effects: Supply chain boosts as local businesses expand to meet Trail-related demands.
Induced Effects: Increased household spending from
Trail-supported incomes enriches nearby economies.
Travel Patterns
Wisconsin Governor’s
Outdoor Industry Awards
The inaugural Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Awards program was held on June 26, 2025. The awards celebrate outstanding accomplishments that drive economic impact and amplify the profile of Wisconsin’s thriving outdoor industry.
The awards reflect the Office of Recreation’s vision and mission established in the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. The four guiding imperatives established in the plan:
4.Uphold Organizational Success
The award program addresses two of the Office’s strategic imperatives, amplifying outdoor recreation, and strengthening the network. “Getting these folks together in a room allows them to see what other people are doing in the industry, sharing best practices, starting conversations and building connections and relationships that they can take advantage of when they need to bounce an idea off of somebody or create a partnership for a new program,” said Mordini.
Awards were presented in six categories. The description of the award and winners follow.
Outdoor Business of the Year
Adventure Outfitters, LLC
This award recognizes an outdoor business that stands out as an exemplary model for the industry, achieving success or growth in the prior year. It recognizes customer service excellence and enthusiastic promotion of outdoor recreation to customers and the local community.
Trailblazer of the Year
Bill Menke, volunteer
This award is presented to an individual who worked to raise the profile of Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry.
Tandem Award for Collaboration
Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin’s Field Trip Program
This award recognizes the collaborative spirit among partnerships. It recognizes organizations and businesses that have demonstrated exemplary teamwork by working together to advance outdoor recreation.
Big Tent Award
Bill Bertram, outdoor recreation organizer
This award recognizes a person, destination, organization, business or project that reaches new and diverse audiences to create “a bigger tent” by cultivating participation or fostering welcoming environments for outdoor recreation in Wisconsin.
First Ascent Award for Innovation
The Glide by Boulder Junction Parks and Recreation Board
This award recognizes an organization or business that implemented an innovative approach to outdoor recreation through a new strategy, technique, project, program or product in the past year.
Rising Star Award
Kennedy Domerchie, Outdoors Development Manager, Visit Eau Claire
This award recognizes an individual new to the outdoor recreation industry — within the last five years —and has shown leadership, commitment and passion for Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry.
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