The benefits of being outdoors in a leisure context are widely acknowledged across a range of disciplinary perspectives (including tourism, therapeutics, education and recreation). These benefits include the development of: health and wellbeing; social skills; leadership and facilitation skills; personal, emotional and reflective abilities; confidence and identity creation. Drawing on a variety of perspectives, geographies and approaches, this book explores the opportunities that leisure in the outdoors provides for learning, developing and challenging. The authors in this collection challenge dominant discourses of outdoor leisure through their selection of outdoor activities, theoretical approaches and modes of representation. All offer fresh insights and thinking into how leisure in the outdoors can be understood. The book covers a range of outdoor conceptualisations that challenge the reader to think deeply and broadly about the common threads which bind the broad field of outdoor leisure together. The experiences explored in this book range from suburban outdoors to wild places, surfing to mindful reflection, and trail walking to Nordic skiing, and encompass a broad spectrum of people.

This book focuses on the issues and trends in outdoor, 'nature-based' recreation, leisure and tourism and explores the implications for public policy, planning, management and marketing. It is intended as supplementary reading for advanced students and is a useful reference tool.

This textbook provides comprehensive coverage of the development, regulation and management of outdoor recreation in America. The authors consider the challenges for outdoor recreation in the 21st century, such as its role within education, resources, planning and the environment.

Edited by leading authorities, this key reference reflects the multidisciplinary nature of its subject. It is an essential resource for teaching, an invaluable companion to independent study, and a solid starting point for wider subject exploration.