Outdoor Recreation

Here in Colorado, we don't need a designated day each year to get outside. Every day and every season, Coloradans find a way to enjoy our great outdoors. Snow or shine, our state offers an expansive playground for people with diverse passions, skills, and abilities. Friday, April 22 is Earth Day and we’ve made a list of local businesses who make it easy for you to go out and enjoy Mother Nature in whatever capacity fits you best. 

Spring break in Colorado gives students and families a chance to recharge, reconnect and maybe even revisit the open road. While millions of visitors travel to Colorado every year, Coloradans themselves comprise a significant travel segment and account for 24 percent of overnight leisure trips, adding significant economic impact to the state’s travel and tourism economy. 

DENVER -- Today, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) named Conor Hall as the new Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) Director. 

DENVER, CO – The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced today that SheFly, a women-owned, early-stage outdoor clothing company, has selected Gunnison, CO for its company headquarters. 

DENVER -- The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its annual statistics for 2020 measuring the economic impact of the outdoor recreation economy for all 50 states, including Colorado, and the District of Columbia.
 
These new numbers show outdoor recreation generates $689 billion in economic output and creates 4.3 million jobs nationwide. The report, a snapshot in time of a challenging and uncertain year, includes national and state-level data.
 

Having grown up in Lima, Peru, Mariana Cevallos never had much experience with nature. When she moved to Colorado in 2015, she immediately fell in love with the great outdoors and Colorado’s active lifestyle. As she immersed herself in the outdoors lifestyle, she began to notice there was very little minority representation. 

With a fresh dusting of snow on our mountains this week and that glorious fall foliage creeping across our State, it is clear that summer has started making its way south again. That also means the fall conference season should be in full swing, and we would be looking forward to gathering at the Colorado Outdoor Industry Leadership Summit or the 5 Point Film Fest, as well as representing Colorado at the US Outdoor Economy Summit in North Carolina and the Outdoor Industry Summit in Oregon, among many other events.

As Colorado mountain communities transition from an extraction-based economy to other diverse, sustainable economies, the Commercial Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) may prove to be a pivotal tool and resource for these pending changes.