Recreation in the U.S.
Relaxing and Enjoying American Life
The U.S. is known throughout the world for its entertainment, sports and arts scenes. Some of the world’s most familiar music, movies, sports teams, and artists have their home here and Americans, in general, have wide and varied recreational habits.
Below are just a few of the pastimes you can commonly expect to encounter in the U.S. Remember that there are also countless opportunities to engage in more niche or less well-known activities, especially in larger urban areas.
Sports & Outdoors
Watching and playing sport is one of the most popular ways to relax in America. The U.S. has a huge sporting culture and is home to sports such as American Football, Baseball, and Ice Hockey. In 2012 the sports market was worth $69 billion – almost half of the entire global market.
Sporting culture in America is unique. It’s often a family affair, with large groups going out to watch games, or groups gathering inside to watch matches at the weekend. When it comes to big sporting events such as the Super Bowl, whole weekends can be dedicated to the game. The major cities often have large home stadiums for their teams, but games are also popular and well attended at college and high-school level. Americans tend to have a genuine emotional investment in their team and are passionate about supporting their players.
Americans don’t just like to sit inside and watch games or go to a match. Nearly half of all Americans in 2015 participated in at least one outdoor activity – which equates to 11.7 billion outdoor activities. Popular outdoor pursuits include running and jogging, hiking, hunting, boating, and fishing. Camping is also very popular.
Luckily for U.S. residents who love to be outdoors, America has some of the finest National Parks in the world.
National Parks & Nature
America has 59 national parks – areas protected by the United States Government, and they comprise of 84 million acres of space. In addition to these parks are around 400 ‘units’ or sites that are looked after by the National Parks Service.
National Parks are areas of outstanding natural beauty and can comprise of mountains, rivers, lakes, canyons, waterfalls, hot springs, volcanoes and more.
Some of the most famous of America’s national parks are Yellowstone Park, Yosemite Park, Smoky Mountains Park, and the Grand Canyon National Park. There is a wide range of activities that take place in each park such as camping, hiking, rock climbing, rafting, paddling, fishing and watching wildlife.
Each National Park has its own ecosystem wildlife and things to do. The National Parks Service has a huge website and an interactive map that allows you to search for parks based on an area or activity.
Shopping
Shopping is a popular pastime in the U.S. with a huge variety of stores and types of shopping available. Shopping Malls are usually located in the suburbs and comprise of enormous buildings with a series of stores (often chain and department stores), as well as food court options and entertainment facilities such as cinemas.
Many stores in the U.S such as large supermarket chains are open 24/7 and carry clothing and electrical equipment as well as groceries. There are also newer and larger centers called “Lifestyle Centers” springing up in many areas of the U.S. These centers have restaurants and eateries, outdoors features and even condos and hotels as part of their layout. The stores tend to be high-end and geared towards specialist retailing (such as Pottery Barn outlets) rather than traditional department stores.
Entertainment & Relaxation
American’s have a reputation for always being on the go, so when it comes to leisure time, it’s no wonder that much of the time off that adults get is spent inside. According to Statista, watching TV was the most popular leisure activity (42%), followed by reading and surfing the internet (37% and 19% respectively) in 2013. Using social media and online shopping has also grown in popularity in the last decade.
Other popular hobbies include arts and crafts, as well as music. America has a thriving music scene and a massive variety of styles to choose from. Most major cities regularly host big name bands and singers, and there are also plenty of local opportunities to see homegrown talent.
Going out to see movies is also a popular pastime with around 19% of American’s saying they see a movie in a movie theatre around once a month, and 54% saying they go to at least one movie per year.
Tourism / Days Out
There is a large range of theme parks and amusement parks in different cities across America. These can range from popular and well-known attractions such as Disneyland and Universal Studios to smaller parks by chains such as Six Flags who run theme parks in several different states.
Many states have thriving tourism industries and offer day trips or sightseeing tours to the best and most popular tourist destinations. This might include seeing the Statue of Liberty in New York or a guided tour around the State Capitol Building in Austin, Texas.
There are also plenty of monuments, museums and cultural experiences in each state such as the Natural History Museum in New York City or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There are plenty of local museums, art galleries, theatre, and arts events both rurally and in larger urban areas. Many areas have local festivals as well as celebrations to mark public holidays.
To find these kinds of activities a good place to start is a simple web search for the area you want to visit using sites such as TripAdvisor to help you find what’s on in your local area.
Road Trips
American’s have a reputation for always being on the go, so when it comes to leisure time, it’s no wonder that much of the time off that adults get is spent inside. According to Statista, watching TV was the most popular leisure activity (42%), followed by reading and surfing the internet (37% and 19% respectively) in 2013. Using social media and online shopping has also grown in popularity in the last decade.
Other popular hobbies include arts and crafts, as well as music. America has a thriving music scene and a massive variety of styles to choose from. Most major cities regularly host big name bands and singers, and there are also plenty of local opportunities to see homegrown talent.
Going out to see movies is also a popular pastime with around 19% of American’s saying they see a movie in a movie theatre around once a month, and 54% saying they go to at least one movie per year.