Getting Americans outside added 5 million jobs and $1.3 trillion to the economy in 2024, before staffing and budget cuts came for national parks

Americans are all in on spending time outdoors, and the economy, at least until recently, loves it. 

The business of the American outdoors has evolved from a pastime for the adventurous to a veritable economic juggernaut, one that in 2024 led to $1.3 trillion in economic output and supported 5.2 million jobs, according to numbers released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 

But that was two years ago. While figures for 2025 won’t be published until later this year...