Nearly half of all Americans participated in at least one outdoor activity in 2014, according to a new report from the Outdoor Foundation. This equates to 141.4 million participants, who went on a collective 11.8 billion outdoor outings, which might sound like a lot, but it’s a small drop in participation from the previous year. Participation reached the lowest levels since the report began in 2006.

"With a dip in participation numbers, it is more critical than ever that we expand our nationwide efforts to reconnect Americans to the outdoors," said Christine Fanning, executive director of Outdoor Foundation. "The Outdoor Foundation will continue empowering youth and young adults to lead the outdoor movement, ensuring a generation of outdoor enthusiasts and communities of healthy, active Americans."

These findings are part of the Outdoor Foundation's 2015 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report, which provides an overview of American participation trends in outdoor recreation with a focus on youth, young adults and the future of the outdoors.

Extreme weather and an unusually cold winter are likely major contributors to the decline. While the typically popular gateway activities of running and biking lost participants in 2014, the indoor versions of these activities - running on the treadmill and using the stationary bike - added participants.

Paddle sports are a bright spot in outdoor participation.

Stand up paddling continued to be the top outdoor activity for growth, increasing participation by 38 percent from 2013 to 2014. Snow sports, such as telemarking, snowshoeing, freestyle skiing and cross-country skiing, also grew by significant margins.

The Outdoor Foundation produced the Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report to provide a snapshot of American participation in outdoor activities with a focus on youth and young adults. The report is based on an online survey of nearly 11,000 Americans ages six and older and is the largest survey of its kind. To download a complete copy of the 2015 Outdoor Recreation Topline Participation Report, visit The Outdoor Foundation website. http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research.participation.2015.topline.html