The dynamics of trail use and trip reporting: Understanding visitor experiences within social-ecological systems

In recent decades, digital communications have assumed an influential role in public discourse, including online forums where contributors write about their recreation and tourism experiences. Systematic study of the language practices used on these forums offers a tool to access and assess the complex social and cultural systems in which recreation takes place, deepening our understanding of how people construct meaning of outdoor experiences and how these meanings function collectively in society. In this article, we use thematic and discursive approaches to study how people represent their trail experiences through an online forum serving trail users in Washington, USA. Informed by focus groups held with forum contributors, we systematically analyzed the content and style of thousands of crowdsourced texts from six trails written over a five-year period (2015-2019). We examine the social observations and interactions commonly reported on the forum, offering insights into how online forums establish recreation norms, create systems of power and authority, reproduce assumptions about people and place, and form insider and outsider groups. Understanding these dynamics is a critical foundation for management frameworks that reach beyond site-specific contexts to consider the interconnections among cultural identities, social networks, economic influences, and ecological knowledges within social-ecological systems. We conclude that trip reporters use particular rhetorical strategies and "power moves " to assert authority over the trail space and characterize who belongs in recreation communities, discussing how language practices might be used to promote more diverse, inclusive, and accessible outdoor spaces. Management implications: The perspectives shared on online forums can increase managers' abilities to grapple with the complexities of recreation, facilitating responsive management decisions that represent public interests. Our research shows that online forums are a space where people learn and reinforce recreation norms, lending insight into why people make certain recreation decisions, what people expect while recreating, and how they engage with others in hopes of meeting those expectations. In partnership with researchers, managers can take advantage of these pre-existing qualitative data sources, helping inform planning for recreation spaces and services that promote equitable and inclusive access.