About us
The Hemlock Collective is a Pennsylvania-based initiative documenting and connecting the businesses, communities, and landscapes that shape the state’s outdoor recreation economy. Outdoor recreation across Pennsylvania supports a wide network of small businesses—from outfitters and guide services to breweries, cafés, lodging providers, and gear retailers. These businesses form the everyday infrastructure that supports outdoor adventure experiences. Despite their importance, these connections are rarely documented as part of a larger economic ecosystem.
The vision
The Hemlock Collective seeks to become a trusted voice connecting outdoor businesses, communities, and organizations working within Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation ecosystem. By documenting these connections from the ground up, the initiative helps reveal how adventure, place, and commerce contribute to thriving communities.
It's not about outdoor recreation as a category. It’s about protecting and expanding access to adventure – and proving that adventure has economic weight.
Kyleigh Graybill
Adventure Economist*
Adventure is more than recreation — it is economic infrastructure. Join me as I dive into PA’s outdoor recreation ecosystem by mapping its businesses, amplifying its impact, and equipping communities to harness its potential. By connecting participation, place, and prosperity, we demonstrate how adventure fuels thriving towns — and how wild places and strong local economies grow together