The Northern Hotel ballroom is the primary location for the 2025 Montana Outdoor Recreation Summit in downtown Billings.
Themes this year include community resilience in the face of extremes and building access to the outdoors with responsible stewardship and wildlife in mind.
Rachel Shouse is a spokesperson with the University of Montana Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research, one of the organizers.
“I think public lands are at the forefront of what a lot of people are thinking about and our access to our public lands,” she said. “With the government shutdown happening, a lot of our key players who we wanted to have be here aren’t able to attend, which is hard” Shouse said.
She says the three-day conference draws members of the outdoor tourism industry from across the region. Previous in-person summits were held in Whitefish in 2018 and in Butte in 2023.
“It’s a tricky year with travel budgets and shifting dynamics, but we want to do what we can to get everyone back together again this year,” said Shouse.
According to estimates from the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, nonresident travelers to Montana spent over 5 billion dollars averaged across 2023 and 2024. Out of all counties, Gallatin and Flathead counties raked in the most at nearly $900,000 each.
The 2025 Montana Outdoor Recreation Summit runs through Thursday, with break-out sessions, panel discussions and field trips to popular local parks.
