Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity is leisure pursuits engaged in outside, especially in (but not limited to) natural or semi-natural settings out of town. Examples include adventure racing, backpacking, bicycling, camping, canoeing, caving, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, kayaking, mountaineering, mushing, photography, adventure park, rock climbing, running, sailing, skiing, and surfing. Outdoor recreation may also refer to a team sport game or practice held in an outdoor setting.

The two primary purposes for outdoor recreation are beneficial use and pleasurable appreciation.

Beneficial use is related to the physical and social rewards which goal-directed activities instills in individuals or groups. Some outdoor goal-directed activities are: backpacking, canoeing, canyoning, caving, climbing, hiking, hill walking, hunting, kayaking, and rafting. Arguably broader groupings of goal-directed outdoor activities would include water sports, snow sports, and Horseback riding. Goal-directed outdoor activities are predominately physical, though they may also be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually rewarding. The outdoors as a physical or social setting may meet the needs of physical health, self-sufficiency, risk-taking, the building of social ties (including teambuilding), and the needs of achievement (such as practicing, enhancing and challenging skills, testing stamina and endurance, and seeking adventure or excitement). The outdoors can be an environment in which people "show what they can do".