Outdoor recreation areas are exposed to several causes of conflict. Many interests, along with different types of recreation activities, are competing in the same area. In these areas, conflicts are handled by spatial planning and by the separation in space of different functions. One source of conflict is noise. The lack of noise-free areas in the Swedish coastal areas has become an amenity problem. Does this make noise an important problem to consider in planning? An assumption is that the sound environment is relevant for the visitors’ experience; spending time in nature is associated with peace and quiet, where one should not be disturbed. In this study, it will be investigated how silence and noise actually are considered in the Swedish municipal planning. “Silence” is one of the amenity categories reported in the Swedish tourism data base. Is there a discrepancy between the existing municipal planning and the visitors’ opinions, attitudes and experiences? Furthermore, there will be an analysis of how silence and noise could be handled in spatial planning. One possible method is zoning. By excluding certain outdoor recreation activities from some areas, zoning may handle, or at least reduce, the problem of conflicts. The biosphere reserve concept (where zoning is an important part) will for that reason be discussed as a potential tool. A case study of the Blekinge archipelago, Sweden is the foundation of the study, which data consist of planning documents and questionnaire surveys considering outdoor recreation and nature tourism.