Strategic efforts to connect people to the outdoors yield big gains

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Strategic efforts to connect people to the outdoors yield big gains at Minnesota state parks in 2010
(Released February 10, 2011)


Efforts to increase participation in outdoor recreation by responding to issues identified by research in 2007 appear to be paying off, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Overnight stays and permit sales, the most reliable measures the DNR has for tracking visits to state parks, have increased significantly for two consecutive years.

“The year-end data is very encouraging,” said Courtland Nelson, director of the DNR’s Division of Parks and Trails. “It shows that our efforts to connect more people to the outdoors are succeeding.”

The data confirms several positive trends, according to Nelson. For example:

overnight stays (the number of people spending the night at a park in tents, RVs, camper cabins, and other lodging) totaled 985,374 in 2010, up from 942,381 in 2009 and 863,075 in 2008;
rentals of camper cabins (one-room cabins that sleep up to six people and rent for $45 to $50 a night) increased from 6,844 in 2008, to 9,451 in 2009, and 11,838 in 2010;
sales of one-day permits ($5) rose steadily from 210,994 in 2008, to 226,067 in 2009, to 238,451 in 2010, as did sales of year-round permits ($25), which rose from 106,270 in 2008, to 115,629 in 2009, to 121,160 in 2010;
attendance at interpretive programs, events, and tours increased by 21 percent, from 219,675 in 2009 to 266,403 in 2010.
The estimated number of overall visits to Minnesota state parks, based on car counts, was 9.5 million in 2010, up from 9.1 million in 2009, and 8.3 million in 2008.

“There’s concern across the country about the decline in outdoor recreation participation among the next generation,” said Nelson. “Here in Minnesota, we were seeing fewer young families at state parks and trails than in the past, so we did some research several years ago to find out why.”

In a 2007 survey and a series of focus groups, people cited the lack of time, equipment, basic outdoor skills, and information about outdoor recreation opportunities among the barriers keeping them from visiting Minnesota state parks. In response to this research, the DNR’s Parks and Trails Division put an unprecedented priority on strategic marketing, product innovation and outreach.

Recent efforts to connect new people to the outdoors, many of which were funded by the Legacy Amendment, have included:

offering more than 90 instructional “I Can Fish!” programs to more than 1,000 beginning anglers in 2010, and providing free fishing equipment for checkout at many state parks;
offering 38 overnight skills-based “I Can Camp!” workshops statewide in 2010, attracting nearly 600 new campers to state parks;
building 35 camper cabins (17 in 2008, 10 in 2009, and eight in 2010), which provide an affordable option for visitors without tents;
working with the Legislature to allow free fishing at Minnesota state parks;
launching the Geocaching History Challenge presented by Best Buy (2008) and the Geocaching Wildlife Safari (2009-present), high-tech treasure hunts in which participants have logged more than 20,000 “cache finds” a year;
partnering more closely with businesses on efforts to raise awareness about Minnesota state parks and trails, such as the high-profile “Break a Bat, Plant a Tree” partnership with the Minnesota Twins in 2010;
expanding programming to appeal to new audiences with 60 “Outdoors EXTRA” programs (ranging from live music and live animals to sea kayaking and rock climbing) at Minnesota state parks and trails, attracting more than 4,000 participants statewide in 2010;
providing three activity-filled Kids Discovery Kits at 20 Minnesota state parks to help parents and children have fun learning about the outdoors together;
introducing 28 Archery in the Parks events in 2010, attracting 35 to 150 people per event;
adding virtual tours and other trip-planning information to the Parks and Trails website, which got 21 million page views in 2010;
“tweeting” about programs and special events on Twitter; and
installing touch-screen kiosks with information about outdoor recreation opportunities in six languages at family-oriented locations, including the Minnesota Zoo, Rosedale Center, the IDS Crystal Court, MSP International Airport, Midtown Global Market, and the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
“Not only is getting outdoors good for Minnesotans’ physical, emotional and spiritual health, but it’s good for the economy,” Nelson said. “The return to the economy is $26.23 per person per day for every day-visitor to a Minnesota state park, and overnight stays alone contributed $24 million in visitor spending in 2010.”