“It is important to us,” said David Hertwig, co-founder and sales director at New Trail Brewing, which is a company that is as outdoorsy as one can get. New Trail offers a series of beers with labels, with each sip, reminding those drinking their beverages they are a business that connects customers with the outdoors, state parks and forests nearby and in a part of the state known as the Pennsylvania Wilds.

Williamsport is the gateway to the Pennsylvania (PA) Wilds.

“It’s all about expanding the outdoor businesses in the area and in Pennsylvania,” Hertwig said at the recently held gathering – one of the Pennsylvania Office of Outdoor Recreation “Elevate Pennsylvania,” series.

“We have a robust outdoor economy in Pennsylvania,” Hertwig said.

MARK MARONEY/Sun-Gazette Taylor Hess, who runs Appalachian Fishing Guides based out of Lock Haven, looks at the map of Pennsylvania, which is marked by pins that depict various outdoor recreation spots at the eighth “Elevate Pennsylvania” listening session for the state Office of Outdoor Recreation, which is bringing the message to people that outdoor recreation is healthy for communities, on a personal basis, and for their overall economies.

Inside the brewery, located a stone’s throw from where the Susquehanna Riverwalk trail will be extended to reach Susquehanna State Park and many points in the city and region, owners of businesses that cater to walking, running, hunting, fishing, bicycling, playing baseball, softball, tennis, pickleball, basketball on outdoor courts, and just enjoying the great outdoors heard from each other as they promote the emerging outdoor recreation industry – one that Lycoming County depends on for maintaining its reputation and helping its overall economic well being.

The guests at the meeting looked at a state map with pins marking locations of state parks and hiking and bicycling trails and checked out the tables with literature offering guided fishing tours and products such as bicycling gear.

The common theme was that outdoor recreation is not only physically and mentally healthy for those who partake in outdoor activities – it is big business.

So big, in fact, those who gathered at New Trail for the outdoor recreation engagement session – the eighth of 10 scheduled across the Commonwealth – were told the industry now supports more than 168,000 jobs that provide $8.7 billion in wages and salaries to Pennsylvanians, up from 168,322 jobs .

Within a short distance, and throughout the city’s vast park system, are places to unwind and recreate.

MARK MARONEY/Sun-Gazette Shown is a chart displaying the enormous economic benefits that outdoor recreation brings to Pennsylvania. It’s in the $8.7 billion range and growing. The meeting was centered on gaining insight from purveyors of places that cater to outdoor recreation in Greater Williamsport, such as those offering guided fishing tours, specializing in hiking and bicycling on trails, and there to get data for the business end

“Whether it be a longer standing tradition like hunting or fishing or some of our emerging outdoor traditions like cycling and trail running these are the ways our communities define themselves in our hearts, and we are finding it is always a way our communities can define themselves through their pocketbooks,” said Nathan Reigner, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, which was created about a year and a half ago under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s direction.

New Trail, which was formed to merge their brand of beer with the outdoors – is a jump off point to reach nearby Elm Park, Memorial Park and the riverwalk running alongside Lycoming Creek and reaching north of the city into Old Lycoming Township and Lycoming Township.

As a brewery, New Trail features beers such as a state park series, where the company donates $1 per case to betterment of the parks and forests.

“Whichever state park or forest is named on that has the money directly put into the park. We have done it all over the state,” Hertwig said.

New Trail will have an “I Love My State Parks” beer that comes out in the end of April and beginning of May. “We did a Pennsylvania Wilds beer that we collaborated with all the breweries that wanted to be involved that are within the PA Wilds,” he said.

New Trail also has partnerships with PA Trail Dogs, supporting their races throughout the area and helping to bring tourists in and people who want to use the trails for races. The organization, Hertwig said, does a ton of work cleaning up trails in order to get it to the race level. The brewery is among the sponsors and promoters of a 4 and 8K race at Rider Park near Montoursville.

“We try to be involved with as many of the local outdoor events as we can,” Hertwig said.

“As our communities focus on retaining our youth, attracting workers, stimulating new businesses we are finding that outdoor recreation – whether it be on our trails or our parks – especially on our rivers – as the pathway to economic development,” Reigner said.

For Jeff Appeltans, CEO of GoCycling, Phoenixville, the engagement session was a great way of getting the word out about his business, a cycling-specific company.

“When you are done (riding or hiking, canoeing or walking) you want to go have a beer, have something to eat – so I think that is a big part of it,” Appeltans said. “It is tying these things together.”

Appletans’ company offers its own brand of cycling clothing and the event allowed him to connect with potential customers. These events help to get the word out that Pennsylvania is “outdoor recreation friendly,” he said.

“It’s great to see people within this recreational sphere coming together and really trying to network and put Pennsylvania really on the map as a recreational state,” he said, adding while his company is cycling specific the outdoor recreational runs the gamut from cross country running, road racing, gravel and dirt bike riding, fishing, hunting and activities in the many urban and rural parks.

“It is great to see this organization pull it all together and elevate it,” Appletans said.

It’s important for Pennsylvania because every state is vying for outdoor sports tourism dollars and we have a lot of resources that I think people are unaware of,” he said. “This is how to get the word out and network within industries.”

“Elevate PA is really looking in the right direction, trying to get outdoor enthusiasts coming together, talk about ideas, share those ideas and help each other to basically prosper in the outdoor recreation industry,” said Taylor Hess who runs Appalachian Fishing Guides based out of Lock Haven.

“It’s an exciting time to be in this industry,” he said. “It is growing and it is growing quickly and we all need to be prepared for it.”

His business sees anglers come from either side of the Commonwealth to have guided fishing tours and for vacations.

Besides product developers or outdoor shops that gain from such tourism, but also restaurants, bars and hotels.

“Our mission is to provide a guided fishing experience,” Hess said. “Gone are the days of going out and trying to catch the biggest fish for a picture. I really try to focus on the experience on the water. It is what is important for our customers and guests and includes all ages and all walks of life. Fishing is for everybody. It is just good, clean fun.”

Technology is helping to share information about where to go and show new types of gear to make outdoor activities more accessible.

The challenges of any government today will always go back to “things to do.”

“Youth retention, workforce recruitment, outdoor recreation is the perfect tool to bring to bear, to help people have the lifestyles they want, and to be able to live in a place that they like,” Reigner said.

These days, the office is focusing its efforts to deliver more for the state’s economy with these outdoor industry engagement sessions as a means of gaining valuable insight and providing information, he said.

To many, outdoor recreation means a great time of exercise and fun with family and friends outside – at a state park or forest, on a trail or on the water.

But, as these Elevate PA sessions prove, outdoor recreation is so much more. It also means business and jobs, and Pennsylvania is

investing in growing those opportunities to benefit its communities and economy.

“What does a brewery catering to the outdoors and state parks and forests, a fishing guide, a restaurant, a hotelier, and a bike shop with its own brand of clothing have in common?” Reigner asked.

“They are all part of an outdoor recreation industry built on a vast number of places and opportunities available right here in the commonwealth to have fun and be healthy outside,” Reigner said.

“Outdoor recreation is already a major economic driver in Pennsylvania and my administration is working to grow the industry even further by connecting the dots between businesses in the Commonwealth’s outdoor recreation economy so they can help each other grow and succeed,” Shapiro said.

“This initiative is an example of how our commitment to outdoor recreation can lift up communities, create good jobs, and fuel economic growth across Pennsylvania. Outdoor recreation isn’t just about business or economics — it’s about our quality of life and enjoying the incredible natural beauty we’re lucky to have here in Pennsylvania.”