Trails and Outdoor Recreation

Vancouver BC, June 3, 2022 — A new online poll conducted on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC shows that British Columbians are enthusiastic about outdoor recreation and support more government investment in the development and maintenance of trails, parks and other recreation amenities in the province.

Outdoor Recreation Participation

70% of survey respondents have participated in outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, bird watching, camping, bike riding, horseback riding, dirt biking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, Nordic skiing, and snowmobiling in BC in the past 12 months. Participation rates are higher among males (75%), younger people between 18-34 years (91%), those with an annual household income over $100,000 (79%), and those with children in the household (79%).

Benefits of Outdoor Recreation Participation

BC outdoor recreation participants recognize the benefits of it for their mental health (94%) and physical health (93%). They also agree that outdoor recreation participation helps them grow their appreciation for nature (90%) and spend time with family and friends (86%). Three out of four (74%) agree that access to good outdoor recreation opportunities is an important reason they chose to live in their communities.

Barriers to Participation

The survey also indicates that nearly nine out of ten BC residents would like to spend more time recreating outdoors but face several barriers, including too little time (41%), no one to participate with (24%), the expense (21%), insufficient knowledge and experience (14%), and having a disability (13%).

Concerns about Park Infrastructure

While outdoor recreation participants appreciate the opportunity BC offers, many have experienced infrastructure issues in the past year including lack of washrooms/outhouses (42%), parking availability (40%), campsite reservation issues (28%), overcrowding (28%), lack of garbage bins (25%), poorly maintained trails (23%), trails closed due to poor trail conditions (21%), poorly maintained campsites or park facilities (20%), and loss of road access to a park, recreation site or trail (14%). One out of ten (9%) indicated that they have been unable to use campsites, day-use areas, trails, or outhouses because they are not accessible to persons with disabilities.

85% of BC residents who participate in outdoor recreation activities agree the government should invest more in the development and maintenance of trails, parks, recreation sites, day-use sites, campsites, and access roads.

About the Study

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC. The poll of 800 adult (18+) British Columbians was conducted online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel from May 26-30, 2022. These data were statistically weighted by region, age, gender and education to ensure the sample composition reflects that of the actual British Columbia population according to Census data. The precision of Ipsos polls containing online data is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the overall poll (n=800) is accurate to within +/- 4.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all British Columbia adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Kyle Braid
SVP, Ipsos Public Affairs
Office 778.373.5130
Cell 604.788.2417
[email protected]