Health Leaders Push to Make Outdoor Recreation a National Health Priority
Health advocates and policymakers are calling for outdoor recreation to be treated as essential public health infrastructure, citing research linking time outside to lower rates of chronic disease, better mental health, and reduced healthcare costs. The push follows the 2025 EXPLORE Act, which expanded access to public lands.
Health advocates and policymakers are pushing to make outdoor recreation a formal part of the United States' public health strategy, arguing that parks, trails, and waterways can address chronic disease, mental health challenges, and rising healthcare costs.
Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, wrote in USA Today on June 1, 2026, that the country cannot treat its way out of its current health challenges. She pointed to decades of research showing that time outdoors improves mental health, strengthens immune and heart function, and supports healthy childhood development.
U.S. healthcare spending surpassed $5 trillion in 2024, driven largely by preventable chronic conditions. One in five children and adolescents in the United States currently experiences a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder, according to federal data.
The bipartisan EXPLORE Act, signed into law in 2025, expanded access to public lands and modernized recreation infrastructure. Turner and other advocates say the next step is getting health systems, insurers, and employers to integrate outdoor activity into prevention and care strategies.
"Our parks, waterways, trails, and open spaces are more than places for recreation," Turner wrote. "They are an American asset for improving physical health, strengthening mental well-being, and building more connected communities."
The outdoor recreation sector already generates more than $1.3 trillion in economic output and supports 5.2 million jobs nationwide, according to industry data.
Experts say the case for outdoor access as a health tool is strong, but turning that case into policy will require coordination across sectors that have historically operated separately.
