Recreational use of Jotunheimen national park: some implications for management and planning

Recreational use of Jotunheimen park was surveyed during the summer of 1992 to provide data input to management planning for the park. Jotunheimen is one of the most popular and heavily utilized mountain recreation areas in Norway with a long history of recreational use. As a national park, the area is an important social institution and a socio-cultural arena for outdoor recreational experiences and benefits. Through two field surveys, socio-demographic characteristics of users, recreational use patterns and attitudes towards a set of management actions were examined. The results show that recreationists comprise an international population with diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. Approximately one-half of the users were Norwegians, while the other half came from other European countries. The majority of use takes place along a set of main corridors in the park. The users are generally satisfied with the present management of the park, but express a wide range of attitudes towards proposed management actions. Implications for management planning in the national park are discussed.