Survey Topic Framework
Gather feedback from your community to improve outdoor recreation.
This tool gives towns, agencies, nonprofits, and businesses a simple framework for designing surveys that collect clear, useful input from visitors and communities. This input helps guide outdoor recreation planning, strengthen local economies, and protect natural resources. It highlights what questions to ask visitors, residents, and the broader community to better understand:
- How people use recreation areas
- What they value
- What they need
The goal is to support decisions with real input from both recreation users and the local community. This input helps managers and planners make choices that improve visitor experiences, strengthen local businesses, and protect natural resources.
Surveys don't have to be complicated. Many of these questions can be asked in a short survey or simple conversation, and much of the information may already exist in community surveys, state reports, or tourism studies.
The Survey Question Bank is a companion tool that makes survey writing simple. It offers a set of clear, ready-to-use questions about visitors, communities, tourism, and outdoor recreation. Each question includes easy response options that can be used in online or paper surveys. By using the Question Bank, you can build surveys that are straightforward, consistent, and useful across different projects.
This framework also aligns with the Steering Committee Guidance and Community and Stakeholder Engagement Guidance, ensuring that surveys are part of a larger process: raising awareness, gathering input, identifying shared priorities, and showing people how their feedback was used.
How to Use This Tool
Think of this framework as a menu of question topics. You don't need to use every question -- just pick the ones that fit your needs.
- If you want to know what visitors think: use the Visitor Experience & Site Use topics.
- If you want to know what residents, businesses, and leaders think: use the Community Priorities & Planning Input topics.
- You can combine both for a fuller picture.
Use this framework with the Survey Question Bank, which gives you a set of tested questions and response options in a simple, easy-to-use format. This helps you build surveys that are clear, reliable, and quick to put together.
Pair this framework with the Steering Committee Guidance and Community and Stakeholder Engagement Guidance to:
- Share information (flyers, websites, events)
- Collect input (surveys, interviews, focus groups)
- Identify shared priorities (through workshops or visioning)
- Share back results (so people see how their input was used)
Key Tips for Using This Tool
- Keep it short - Aim for surveys that take 10-15 minutes or less.
- Use everyday language - Ask questions in plain words people use every day.
- Start with what you already know - Look at past surveys, plans, or reports before creating new ones.
- Include both visitors and the community - Make sure you hear from users and residents, businesses, and nonprofits.
- Always close the loop - Share results back so people see how their input made a difference.
Methods Overview: How and When to Use Surveys
Surveys work best when they are planned with care and meet people where they are.
- On-site visitor surveys - Do quick exit interviews or provide QR codes at trailheads. Begin with a short script: who you are, what group you represent, survey length, and why it matters.
- Community surveys - Distribute online or paper surveys at town forums, community meetings, or large events.
- Focus groups & interviews - Use small group discussions with residents, businesses, or nonprofits to explore issues in more detail.
Survey Topic Framework for Outdoor Recreation, Tourism, and Community Development Planning
1. Visitor Experience & Site Use
For short surveys or interviews with current visitors at parks, trails, or events.
1.1 Visitor Profile (Understand who visitors are and why they come)
- Who visitors are (age, background, hometown)
- Activities (hiking, biking, skiing, paddling, etc.)
- First-time vs. repeat visitor
- Local vs. non-local
- Why they came (relax, nature, adventure, socializing)
- Barriers (cost, time, transportation, accessibility)
1.2 Trip Planning, Expectations & Preparedness (See how visitors plan and what they expect)
- How they decided to come
- Where they got information (websites, apps, visitor centers)
- What they expected vs. what they found
- Gear or knowledge they brought
- Safety steps taken (first aid, maps, equipment)
- Knowledge of outdoor ethics (Leave No Trace, trail-sharing)
1.3 Experiences & Behaviors (Understand satisfaction, challenges, and future interest)
- Overall satisfaction and enjoyment
- Likelihood of returning or recommending
- Crowding or conflicts with other users
- Adjustments (changing visit times or locations)
- Loyalty (volunteering, donating, repeat use)
- Preferences for paying (passes, cards, donations)
1.4 Tourism Behavior & Identity (Connect site visits to broader tourism patterns)
- Other activities during trip (festivals, agritourism, scenic touring)
- Awareness of state/regional branding or campaigns
- Seasonal visitation patterns
- How this site compares to others they visit
- Use of local tourism services (lodging, restaurants, shops)
- Length of stay (day trip, overnight, multi-day)
1.5 Visitor Spending & Local Economy (Measure how visitor dollars support the community)
- Trip spending on food, lodging, gear, or services
- Where money was spent locally
- Perceptions of local services (restaurants, lodging, attractions)
- Support for local businesses and outfitters
- Economic or community impacts (housing costs, road use, schools)
2. Community Priorities & Planning Input
For surveys with residents, businesses, nonprofits, and local leaders.
2.1 Community Visioning & Priorities (Identify long-term aspirations)
- Future goals for recreation and conservation
- Most valued outdoor spaces
- Priorities for land use (recreation, education, conservation, timber)
- Desired improvements (parking, access, restrooms, programs, events)
2.2 Engagement & Governance (Understand trust and decision-making)
- Willingness to participate in planning
- Trust in the decision-making process
- Awareness of roles of local and state agencies
- Confidence in leadership
2.3 Workforce & Economy (Explore jobs, training, and local business impacts)
- Support or concerns about economic development
- Workforce and training needs (e.g., seasonal staff challenges)
- Support for public investment (taxes, bonds, dedicated funds)
- Interest in starting or growing recreation businesses
- Impacts of housing and short-term rentals
2.4 Design & Access (Assess trail quality, parking, signage, and accessibility)
- Trail design, inclusivity, and maintenance
- Parking and trailhead access
- Maps and signage, ADA accessibility and universal design
2.5 Community Benefits & Stewardship (Balance tourism with resident life, environment, and health)
- Benefits and challenges of tourism for residents
- Respect between visitors and residents
- Concerns about trash, erosion, or wildlife disturbance
- Support for stewardship behaviors (pack-it-out, reporting damage)
- Outdoor recreation's role in health, wellness, and equity
How This Framework Connects to the Public Engagement Toolkit and the Survey Question Bank
This framework is one piece of a larger set of tools designed to support outdoor recreation planning. Used together, they give managers, communities, and businesses both the why and the how of gathering input.
- Steering Committee Guidance and Community and Stakeholder Engagement Guidance - Provide strategies to reach people, raise awareness, and build trust. It shows how to invite the public in, share information, collect feedback, and report results back to the community.
- Survey Question Bank - Offers a ready-made set of clear, reliable questions with simple response scales. It makes survey design easier, faster, and more consistent across projects.
- Survey Topic Framework (this tool) - Helps you decide what topics to ask about, based on whether you are surveying visitors or the broader community.
Together:
- The Steering Committee Guidance and Community and Stakeholder Engagement Guidance get people to the table.
- The Survey Topic Framework shows which subjects to cover.
- The Survey Question Bank gives you tested wording to ask those questions well.
Using all these tools together ensures surveys are clear, results are reliable, and input is meaningfully included in decisions.