How many girls and women, quietly curious, never take that first step in the outdoors? How many look at wild terrain and think it’s for someone else more confident, more prepared and more “belonging”?
This question has measurable answers. Outdoor recreation participation in the U.S. reached 175.8 million people in 2023, up 4.1 percent year over year (Outdoor Foundation, 2024). Yet within that growth, women and girls still face disproportionate obstacles, not only in getting started, but in staying in outdoor spaces on their own terms.
Participation Trends & Opportunity
According to the Outdoor Foundation’s 2024 report, participation is becoming more diverse, and more women are entering outdoor spaces. Even so, barriers continue to limit deeper engagement, long-term retention, and leadership opportunities.
The data also show a divide in frequency: many women are “casual participants”, in that they try an activity once or twice, but don’t transition into community. That means the challenge goes beyond sparking initial interest; the work is helping women stay in the cycle of confidence, access, safety, and community (Outdoor Foundation, 2024).
Research echoes this. A literature review by Khajavei (2017) found that women often enter outdoor recreation later, participate less frequently, and experience more interruptions due to social roles, safety concerns, and lack of early exposure (Khajavei, 2017). Similarly, the Iowa State Public Science Collaborative (2024) reported that body image, confidence gaps, and cultural expectations can keep women from moving beyond “casual” into consistent outdoor practice (Iowa State, 2024).
The Barriers
Researchers group barriers into three overlapping buckets: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural.
- Intrapersonal: Internal obstacles such as fear, lack of confidence, impostor syndrome, or body-image concerns. Many women report low confidence in wilderness skills or fear of getting lost or hurt (Khajavei, 2017).
- Interpersonal: Social supports and expectations. A lack of companions is one of the most reported challenges (Green, 2009); caregiving duties and lingering “where women belong” narratives also play a role.
- Structural: The cost of gear, limited access to trails, safety concerns, and institutional blind spots. Financial constraints and safety repeatedly show up as reasons women opt out of deeper participation (Ghimire, Green & Cordell, 2014).
How Women & Girls Navigate the Barriers
Even with these constraints, women don’t step back. They negotiate, adapt, and reshape the experience on their own terms.
- Restructuring the adventure: Choosing supported trips, shorter routes, and community-based excursions to balance safety and enjoyment (Little, 2002).
- Seeking women-only groups: Confidence grows in spaces designed for skill-sharing and safety (Khajavei, 2017).
- Negotiating safety: Carrying extra gear, sharing real-time locations, choosing well-traveled routes.
- Incremental progression: Starting small such a local day hike, and then expanding to multi-day trips or technical pursuits as confidence builds.
These strategies highlight resilience, creativity and a desire to be in outdoors spaces. It’s proof that even when the system isn’t built for them, women still make the outdoors theirs. This is also where many current organizations and voices move the needle: women-led trips, mentorship pipelines, gear libraries, and media that elevate diverse stories.
What We Can Do
Knowing the barriers isn’t enough. The work is building pathways that let girls and women step into wild spaces with confidence, safety, and belonging.
1. Early Exposure & Skills
Early experiences in nature build confidence and set participation patterns. Schools, youth groups, and community programs can teach navigation, gear use, and risk management (Khajavei, 2017).
2. Mentorship & Role Models
Seeing women lead counters stereotypes and opens pathways into leadership (Little, 2002).
As a kid, teen, and adult, my biggest confidence gaps often came from lack of access to female role models. Movements and media that elevate women’s stories, such as Women Can and the Get Stoked Girls Podcast, are important because they help others imagine their own version of adventure.
3. Women-Only & Beginner-Friendly Groups
Low-pressure, supportive entry points reduce judgment and accelerate skill-sharing (Khajavei, 2017).
4. Gear Access & Affordability
Gear libraries, rentals, and scholarships remove cost barriers, one of the most consistent constraints in the literature (Green, 2009).
That’s why organizations like the Summit Scholarship Foundation matter. By funding girls and young women in mountaineering and adventure, these scholarships both cover costs and signal belonging to recipients and to the broader community.
5. Learning, Skill-Building & Culture Shift
Teach navigation, avalanche awareness, group decision-making, and risk management and evolve culture at the same time: less gatekeeping, more inclusion, respect for different approaches to adventure.
In my Level 1 avalanche course, all instructors happened to be men. We talked about how gender shows up in risk and group dynamics and the need for more women instructors. At the time, I was told there were no women teaching avi safety in my area.
6. Institutional & Organizational Advocacy
Push for inclusive program design, equitable funding, and real visibility in media and marketing. Women-led orgs such as SheJumps, Native Women’s Wilderness, and The Cairn Project, demonstrate how systemic change takes shape.
An Invitation to Act
The data is clear: girls and women face higher barriers to entering and staying in outdoor spaces. The stories are equally clear: when we build access, mentorship, and support, women participate and lead.
Now it’s on all of us. If you’re part of an outdoor community, invite a girl or woman in. If you’re a mentor, share your knowledge and your time. If you can give, support organizations like the ones mentioned in this blog. Or even better yet, find a local organization that is building community and see where you can help. If you have a platform, use it to amplify women’s and girls’ stories and opportunities.
The outdoors shouldn’t feel like someone else’s terrain. It’s ours collectively. The more women and girls we bring into these spaces, the more resilient, diverse, and inclusive the outdoor community becomes.
So here’s my ask: think about the first time you felt like you truly belonged outside. Then help create that moment for someone else.
References
- Outdoor Foundation (2024). 2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report.
- Khajavei, N. (2017). A Review of Barriers to Participation, Current Coping, and Gaps in Literature. Portland State University.
- Iowa State Public Science Collaborative (2024). Understanding the Experiences of Women and People of Color with Outdoor Recreation.
- Green, G. T. (2009). Perceived Constraints to Outdoor Recreation. U.S. Forest Service.
- Ghimire, Green & Cordell (2014). Barriers to Participation Among Underrepresented Populations in Outdoor Programs. ResearchGate.
- Little, D. E. (2002). Women and Adventure Recreation: Reconstructing Leisure Constraints and Adventure Experiences. Journal of Leisure Research.
FAQs: Barriers for Women and Girls in Outdoor Recreation
1. What are the main barriers keeping women and girls out of the outdoors?
Women and girls often face three overlapping barriers that limit participation in outdoor recreation: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural. Intrapersonal barriers include fear, lack of confidence, or feeling like they don’t belong. Interpersonal barriers stem from a lack of mentors or supportive companions. Structural barriers include limited access to safe trails, the high cost of gear, and underrepresentation in leadership roles. Together, these challenges can make outdoor spaces feel unwelcoming or inaccessible even to those who want to participate. Research shows that reducing these barriers through mentorship, funding, and visibility increases women’s engagement and leadership in adventure.
2. Why is it important to help more women and girls access outdoor adventure?
Access to outdoor recreation builds confidence, resilience, and leadership – skills that ripple into every aspect of life. When more women and girls take part in outdoor adventure, the community becomes more inclusive, balanced, and representative of the people it serves. Outdoor participation is also linked to improved physical health, mental well-being, and community connection. Expanding access breaks down long-standing gender stereotypes and encourages younger generations to see adventure as a space for everyone. Supporting women and girls in the outdoors strengthens the culture of exploration, mentorship, and shared stewardship.
3. How do women and girls overcome these barriers?
Many women and girls adapt creatively to overcome barriers in outdoor recreation. Some join women-only groups to gain confidence and learn new skills in a supportive environment. Others redesign their experiences by opting for shorter hikes, supported trips, or community-based adventures that prioritize safety and inclusion. Incremental progress also plays a key role: starting small and building up to bigger challenges helps develop both skill and self-trust. Mentorship, visibility, and storytelling make a huge difference. When women see others leading, summiting, and thriving outdoors, it reinforces the message that they belong there too and encourages the next generation to follow.
4. What organizations are helping remove barriers to outdoor participation?
Several women-led organizations are actively reducing barriers for women and girls in the outdoors. SheJumps provides inclusive outdoor education and events for women of all ages. Native Women’s Wilderness amplifies Indigenous voices in adventure and land stewardship. The Cairn Project funds programs that empower girls through outdoor experiences, and the Summit Scholarship Foundation helps girls pursue mountaineering and adventure through financial support and mentorship. These organizations work collectively to change outdoor culture — making it safer, more accessible, and more representative of the women and girls who are redefining what leadership looks like in wild spaces.