Oregon Outdoor Recreation Summit
The 2026 Summit will take place Thursday-Saturday, October 22-24, in Ashland, Oregon and surrounding areas. The summit combines fun and high impact in-person networking opportunities with conference programming on the important issues of the day, educational content, trails stewardship work parties, and in-field tours and workshops.
Oregon’s trails, mountain ranges, scenic rivers, valleys, and canyons, high desert, and iconic coast are treasured by Oregonians and visitors alike. Access to nature and outdoor recreation is foundational to our health and happiness. The outdoors can simultaneously be our refuge to get away from it all and a gathering force to build lifelong, joy-filled connections with each other and with the ecosystems that sustain us. Oregon outdoor recreation is foundational to our communities: driving our state’s tourism economy, nurturing a thriving web of local businesses and community partnerships, building understanding of our relationship with the natural world, creating a foundation for a shared sense of identity and belonging.
The summit will bring together Oregon’s outdoor community to learn, build relationships, and find solutions to the challenges we face in developing and elevating outdoor recreation opportunities to best serve Oregon communities and celebrate and protect our natural, cultural, and historic wonders. The Summit seeks to accelerate efforts around:
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Access & Reconnection to Nature: Increasing inclusion and belonging in the outdoors close to home and in Oregon’s iconic landscapes, addressing barriers to access and fostering community resilience, enhancing physical and mental health outcomes, deepening understanding and respect for the ecosystems that sustain us.
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Sustainable Recreation: Environmentally responsible recreation, sustainable trails development, destination stewardship, planning, and management that promotes conservation, adapts to climate change impacts, and ensures long-term sustainability, Treaty Rights, and cultural respect.
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Economic Prosperity: Fostering strong local and statewide outdoor recreation and tourism economies, creating jobs, strengthening career pathways, supporting local businesses, and promoting equitable economic opportunities within Oregon’s outdoor recreation sector.
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Creativity & Innovation: Cultivating effective cross-sector partnerships, movement building, resilience, and agile problem-solving, emerging research, and fresh and creative approaches to meet an ever-changing landscape.
