Users’ Recognition and Satisfaction of Trails and Exercise Facilities in Urban Mountainous Forests: Focused on Jinju City, South Korea

Background and objective: This study was conducted to analyze users’ behavior, recognition, and satisfaction toward forest trails and exercise facilities in urban mountainous forests, Jinju City, South Korea.Methods: Users’ characteristics, visit motives, and satisfaction with forest trails and exercise facilities in three urban mountainous forests were surveyed from September to October 2020. The data of 300 respondents were analyzed using frequency, descriptive, and regression analysis.Results: There was a high percentage of users aged 51 or older (62.0%). Most users visited regardless of weekdays or weekends, every day or 2-3 times a week, and stayed for 1-2 hours. Most were using the forest trails and outdoor fitness facilities. Hiking or walking showed the highest frequency in visit motives, followed by using outdoor fitness facilities. Overall satisfaction with forest trails was high at 3.74-3.93 on a 5-point Likert scale, which was affected by the landscape and environment of small private arable lands around forest trails and convenient facilities such as handrails and information boards. Overall satisfaction with outdoor fitness facilities was 3.34-3.62, which was affected by harmony with forest landscape and facility maintenance. Overall satisfaction with indoor badminton courts was 3.01-3.08, which was affected by harmony with forest landscape.Conclusion: For improving overall satisfaction, it is crucial to maintain and repair the width and surface of forest trails, but renovating the landscape and environment of small private arable lands and exercise facilities may be more critical. It is desirable to improve and maintain the function and landscape of outdoor fitness facilities and to relocate indoor badminton courts to the outskirts or boundaries of the mountainous forests. To provide various leisure and recreation activities, the creation of a forest bathing place will be first necessary, followed by a family recreation place and outdoor learning classroom.