Announcements List

NORC 2026 Dates Announced

By: Rebecca Maguire (She/Her) , 8 months ago

We are excited to be heading to Duluth, Minnesota in 2026. NORC will be hosted May 11-14, 2026!
NOW AVAILABLE: NORC Recordings

By: Rebecca Maguire (She/Her) , 10 months ago

We invite you to join the NORC Community to access resources and recording from the 2024 NORC earlier this month. We are uploading resources and presentations as speakers share them with us.

Join the NORC Community

Questions?

Candace Gallagher
Conference Coordinator
candace@americantrails.org
(530) 645-3096

WHY ATTEND?

NORC is the premiere conference for outdoor recreation professionals with opportunities for learning, networking, and field-based case studies. During each conference, we create a program that inspires, challenges, and empowers the broad community of outdoor recreation professionals.

WHO ATTENDS?

NORC brings together over 600 people that include recreation resource planners, land managers, policy makers, tourism and destination stewardship partners, researchers, consultants, innovators, and leaders in outdoor recreation.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

The 2026 conference will take place May 11-14 in Duluth, Minnesota in partnership with the Great Lakes Outdoor Summit. The engaging program will include 4 days of classroom and field workshops, concurrent sessions, and a stellar lineup of keynotes. We will open a request for proposals in late summer/early fall 2025 for the 2026 conference.

WHEN?

May 11-14, 2026

More details on the schedule and registration will come closer to 2026.

WHERE?

In 2026 we will be in Duluth, Minnesota — more details to come!

2024 Resources & Recordings

Resources & Presentations

Our 2024 National Outdoor Recreation Conference (NORC) had over 600 attendees, 272 speakers, and 153 sessions. We are working to collect and upload resources shared by presenters.

Virtual Welcome and Opening Plenary

Recorded Monday, May 6, 2024

We kicked off the conference off and heard from keynote Dr. Jennifer Grenz with The University of British Columbia providing an Indigenous perspective on stewardship and outdoor recreation, as well as a panel that will examine Tahoe's first ever Destination Stewardship Plan, how it was developed, and how it is being implemented.

Awards Luncheon

Recorded Tuesday, May 7 , 2024

Tuesday of the National Outdoor Recreation Conference attendees received a welcome from Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony followed by remarks from Tommy Drake, Interagency Program Manager with Recreation.gov.

We ended the luncheon by providing awards in the following categories to many worthy recipients: National Recreation Resource Leadership Award, Project Excellence Awards, and Individual Service Awards. We will also be presenting the Legends Award on behalf of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.

Virtual Closing Luncheon

Recorded Thursday, May 9 , 2024

Wrapping up the conference at our Closing Luncheon, starting with a word from our sponsor Aramark Destinations followed by remarks from Meryl Harrell, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she works closely with the USDA Forest Service. She will be followed by keynote Gordie Blum, Director of Recreation, Heritage, and Volunteer Resources, USDA Forest Service.

Join the NORC Community to Access the Resources

Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors

The 2024 National Outdoor Recreation Conference is in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service
and sponsored by Aramark Destinations.