2025 Gateway Outdoor Summit

The Gateway Outdoor Summit is our region’s opportunity to celebrate what we’ve achieved in outdoor recreation, imagine what’s possible, and begin the conversation to building a truly exciting outdoor economy and ecosystem here.

This forward-looking event is part of an expanded Gateway Outdoor Expo weekend.

The keynote speaker will be Eddy Harris, a critically acclaimed author, lecturer, filmmaker, traveler, and St. Louis native. Part memoir, part reportage, his books combine adventure with questions of race and identity and always have place as their foundation. Harris’ work poses the fundamental question of our time: Where does the individual belong, where does the individual fit?

Preliminary Schedule (Note: The exhibit hall is not open on Friday, November 14)

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Summit Check-In

1:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Summit Welcome and Schedule Overview

1:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Introductions and Sponsor Recognition

1:45 – 2:30 p.m.
Session 1A: Recreation with Intention: Building Purpose Through Outdoor Experiences
Session 1B: Natural Value: Tourism Audits for Outdoor Recreation Economies

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Transition Break – Snacks provided by Fit Flavors

2:45 – 3:30 p.m.
Session 2A: Equity on the Trail: Expanding Access to Leadership and Prosperity
Session 2B: Beyond the Finish Line: How Race Events Fuel Outdoor Economies

3:30 – 3:45 p.m.
Transition Break – Happy Half-Hour

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Keynote Address: Mississippi Solo — A Journey by Canoe Down the Entire Length of the Nation’s Major Waterway

4:50 – 5:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Summit Wrap-Up

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
VIP & Vendor Party

Host or Publisher Terrain Magazine