The article first presents a review of basic aspects of qualitative research. Paradigms, theoretical approaches, methodologies, and methods are described as the foundational elements of research. Attention is then drawn to the problem and limitations of relying on a qualitative-quantitative dualism to characterize outdoor recreation research before briefly exploring cross-methodological compatibility and personal fit as important considerations for researchers working in outdoor recreation. The context and commitments of the scholarship of outdoor recreation help then to frame the role and contributions of qualitative research. Import past and current research contributions from qualitative studies are then reviewed and include (a) outdoor leadership, programming and performance, (b) senses and experiences of place in outdoor recreation, and (c) embodied knowledge and active knowing outdoors. Qualitative research in outdoor recreation is not limited to these areas, but these highlight strong contributions using diverse methodologies, theoretical approaches, and methods to critique and advance theory. Finally, drawing on Heidegger’s notion of a hermeneutic phenomenological circle, the author suggests implications of these works for understandings of outdoor recreation, and management of outdoor recreation resources.