Attendees listen during the Maryland Outdoor Recreation Summit 2025 in Baltimore City. Maryland DNR photo.
In the last week of October, Maryland’s outdoor recreation community gathered in Baltimore for our second annual Maryland Outdoor Recreation Summit.
Bringing together the partners that comprise and support Maryland’s outdoor recreation community – local and state government, environmental organizations, educators, outfitters, and other businesses – is essential. The science is clear: time in nature benefits our physical and mental health.
Of equal importance is that the economic impact of outdoor recreation nationwide is considerable, and Maryland is poised to take in a sizable share. The most recent data shows that outdoor recreation in Maryland generates $9.4 billion and supports 81,615 jobs – 2.8% of all employees in the state. This month, we anticipate new data coming in that will update the outdoor recreation economic trends in Maryland including job growth, total dollars and more.
The sectors that attract those dollars and create those jobs center around our state’s unique and diverse geography – “American in miniature.” At the Department of Natural Resources, we manage more than 500,000 acres and more than 1,100 miles of land and water trails across the state, and that is something we do with passion and dedication. However, in current times and challenges, it can be a job that sometimes leaves us overextended and stretched thin.
That’s why we’re investing in our people, expanding training so staff can better guide the public through the benefits that come with outdoor experiences.
Some of the largest economic contributors in Maryland come from the boating and fishing community, as well as hunting, equestrian and cycling, and of course all of the businesses that support these activities and provide the destinations where visitors can do these activities.
To further support these industries, our Office of Outdoor Recreation is assembling a business directory for outdoor recreation businesses so that we can engage the voices of these business owners, learn from their stewardship practices and support them in our local communities. The Maryland Outdoor Recreation Business Directory, a publicly available online resource, will be an interactive map where the public can learn more about and support outdoor recreation across the state. If you would like to be included in this directory, visit our webpage to learn more and submit an online form.
We are grateful for every partner who is doing inspiring work to welcome more Marylanders into nature, into state parks, local parks, and onto our waterways. Our goal is to build the capacity of those community groups and meet people where they are.
The best part about outdoor recreation is it also helps foster stewardship of our resources and develop a community invested in protecting our lands and waters for future generations.
Josh Kurtz is Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
