ORR will be hosting a first-of-its-kind National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation May 2026 in Washington, D.C. This invite-only Forum will unite leading outdoor recreation CEOs with CEOs from healthcare, pharmaceuticals, experts on physical and mental health, wellness, and social vitality and state and national policy makers. Drawing on evidence-based research and lessons from the U.S. and abroad, the convening will chart a forward-looking agenda for harnessing outdoor recreation as a solution to the nation’s pressing health challenges. From lowering health care costs to improving mental resilience, gut health, reducing rates of diseases like obesity and diabetes, and enhancing overall well-being, it’s time to elevate the $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy as part of the solution and ensure its benefits are central to the national dialogue on health and wellness. 

Hosting the National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation is part of ORR’s ongoing efforts to convene industry leaders and government officials and provide thought leadership and cross-sector collaboration. This Forum will outline the myriad ways that increasing access and opportunities for outdoor recreation positively impacts society, public health, and economic development as well as opportunities to catalyze further change across multiple sectors. The benefits of outdoor recreation need to be brought into the national dialogue as we tackle our nation’s challenges and design and implement policies that improve the health and well-being of everyone.

This Forum comes at a pivotal time for public health and outdoor recreation’s role as a solution. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges were the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes among young people, with up to 1 in 5 children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years in the United States having a reported mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. CDC data from 2023 show that in 23 states more than one in three adults (35%) has obesity. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups, accounting for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in 2022. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General in an advisory described an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” across the country.  Time outside and the provision of outdoor access for all has shown notable effects in research in addressing these trends and more, and now is the time to scale and invest in these impacts more broadly.