Death Rate 1. Death Rate in Outdoor Recreation & Camping Areas Camping itself (simply sleeping outdoors) is not a major direct cause of death in the data. Fatalities tend to happen from specific risks during outdoor activities — like falls, drownings, or medical emergencies — rather than from “camping” per se. 🧭 National Parks Example (U.S. Data as a Proxy) Across U.S. national parks, there are about 358 deaths per year reported on average — this includes all outdoor activities like hiking, swimming, driving, climbing, and camping-related incidents. When measured by visits, the death rate is roughly 0.11 deaths per 100,000 recreational visits — extremely low compared to everyday life rates (e.g., overall population death rates).