Summertime and the Living is Easy, Or Is it? Why Physical Activity and Outdoor Time Isn’t Equal For All Youth

May 29, 2026

For millions of young people, summer means long days outside, pickup games at the park, bike rides to a friend's house, afternoons at the pool. We know these experiences matter for physical health and wellbeing. Ninety percent of youth rate their physical health as good, and youth who do are 1.6 times more likely to find life meaningful and feel optimistic about the future. 

However, summer doesn't land the same way for everyone, especially when it comes to physical activity. And if we care about youth mental health and wellbeing, we need to look at who's being left out of the conversation and, more importantly, left out of the opportunities.

Lack of Access Impacts Physical Activity More Than We Think

Here's what the Youth Mental Health Tracker data tells us about young people living with financial difficulty: they are more than twice as likely to report poor physical health compared to their peers (13% vs. 6%). That's a striking gap and what's even more striking is that they still are equally willing to try healthy behaviors like exercise, improving their diet, going outside, and maintaining a sleep routine.

So what’s stopping them? 

It's hard to go for a walk when your neighborhood doesn't feel safe. It's hard to eat well when fresh food isn't available or affordable. It's hard to keep a sleep routine when your housing is unstable. These young people want to do the things we tell them will help. The problem is that their communities aren't set up to let them. 

One young person put it plainly: they described the biggest negative impact on their mental health as “not having many opportunities to go outside.” Another individual indicated that they would love “to afford to live somewhere safe, with access to transportation, to services, and recreational opportunities”. A third individual, displaced after an eviction, described “the only other thing to do outside is walk to the park 15-20 minutes away and sit there in the heat”. 

These are stories about a lack of infrastructure, not a lack of motivation.

What LGBTQ+ Youth Are Saying

The pattern looks different for LGBTQ+ young people, but the takeaway is about the same. Only 68% of LGBTQ+ youth who tried exercise found it helpful, compared to 80% of their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Some youth are indicating that it isn’t necessarily the movement itself, but rather, it’s the spaces where movement happens. Team sports, locker rooms, and gyms can carry real social risk for LGBTQ+ young people. As one young person described it: "Being alienated from a hobby because the people who engaged with me didn't want me there was devastating."

When the social pressure lifts, LGBTQ+ youth actually want to be outside. One LGBTQ+ young person shared this: "I think being out in nature has positively impacted me the most. Whenever I'm outside, especially at night when no one else is around, I can forget about societal issues and just focus on myself."

So What Can We Actually Do This Summer?

If we know that young people living with financial difficulties want to be outside but lack proper access, and that LGBTQ+ youth find genuine peace in nature but face barriers in structured fitness and activity settings, the path forward is clear, and it doesn't require a massive budget.

Create outdoor activities  and make them visible. Parents should partner with local farmers markets, community centers, and vendors to set up outdoor games and activities for young people. It should be free or low cost and regular to allow young people something they can count on showing up to. These activities should be designed with belonging in mind since not every young person thrives in a team or gym. Offering activities that don't require competition or social gatekeeping such as hiking groups can allow youth to remove the stressors and simply be.

Bring people together outdoors after dark. Set up bonfires, stargazing nights and other evening activities in shared community spaces that give youth who work during the day or lack transportation a different on-ramp. Parents and communities can work together to put something together to emphasize that social events for youth don’t have to revolve around school. 

Advocate for safer spaces in your community. Many of the barriers young people face aren't ones a single family can solve. Parents and caregivers should connect with local advocacy organizations, attend city council meetings, and push local leaders to invest in safe, accessible outdoor spaces in underserved neighborhoods. Whether it's better lighting in a park, a new community recreation area, or simply maintaining the spaces that already exist, showing up and making the case matters. Youth deserve neighborhoods that are built for them to spend time outside, and that starts with adults using their voice to make it happen.