ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to clarify the similarities and differences between nature sports and other related activities such as alternative sports, lifestyle sports, and extreme sports. It is argued that nature sports are best understood as a subcategory of alternative sports and that the category of nature sports overlaps with and is similar to, but not identical with, what Belinda Wheaton and others have referred to as lifestyle sports. It is also argued that we should differentiate between nature sports such as skiing, climbing, and surfing and non-sport leisure activities that take place in natural or wilderness environments such as camping and wilderness trekking. Failing to see the differences between nature sports and wilderness activities has led to significant misunderstandings in both popular culture and academic thought.
