This study examines the economic impact of rock climbing in West Virginia’s New River Gorge. Central Appalachia’s current economy is partly the result of uneven development through resource extraction wherein value is created by permanently removing resources such as coal. In contrast, outdoor recreation economies find economic value in leaving natural spaces, such as mountains, in place. Outdoor recreation, which includes rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and other sports dependent on natural features, now represents an important part of the nation’s economy. This study finds that persons living outside of Fayette, Nicholas, and Raleigh Counties visiting West Virginia’s New River Gorge to climb spent an estimated $12.1 million in 2018. Non-local climber expenditures supported an estimated 168 jobs and $6.3 million in wages in the study area. Over 70 percent of climbers in the sample had a bachelor’s degree or higher, with one in five possessing graduate degrees. Altogether, 48 percent of climbers in the sample made $50,000 or higher in annual personal income, with one in ten reporting six-figure annual personal incomes. Overall, this study gives cause for further examination of economic growth through outdoor recreation and its economic contributions.

Outdoor recreation entails a careful balance between environmental impact and economic impact, particularly in rural Appalachian transitional economies. Outdoor recreation annually brings millions of dollars into rural areas in Central Appalachia by utilizing the natural features of the region for recreation. However, uneven development has fomented long-standing environmental injustices as extraction industries utilize unparalleled control over the natural environment and its use. In this article, the researchers examine Kentucky off-highway vehicle (OHV) use patterns as they pertain to the environment alongside their generalized household economic expenditures per trip. Off-highway vehicle users represent a legitimate claim to public land use, and thus findings of this article reinforce the need for caution in balancing the economic impacts and environmental costs of outdoor recreation, including OHV use.