Into the wild? Preferences of frequent mountain and forest recreationists for accessibility and mobility

Outdoor recreation in forests and mountains is growing in popularity globally, especially in industrialised countries. Outdoor recreation has benefits both for practitioners’ body and mental health, and local communities for revenue opportunities. This study focuses on frequent outdoor recreationists, who are members of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), by exploring: (i) the infrastructure preferences for accessing and moving in mountain and forest areas; (ii) possible associations between socio-demographic characteristics and frequency of mountain and forest visits; and (iii) possible relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and the frequency of use of mountain bike and e-bike. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to achieve the second and third objectives. Results show that CAI recreationists tend to prefer limited or no services for accessing mountains. They rarely use e-bikes and mountain bikes and their frequency of visits to mountains are influenced by educational attainment and occupation. Results can provide valuable information for land management decision processes regarding accessibility infrastructures. Future research should address more occasional mountain and forest recreationists and local communities.