The extent to which leisure is more than a time-filler for adults age 40 and above was investigated in telephone and collaborative interviews in Peoria, Illinois. The age-related lower levels of leisure engagement were highly differentiated by type of activity. Continuity characterized “core” activities, but not activities requiring physical exertion and a wide range of geographical and social contexts. How leisure is a social space of relative freedom for expression, development, and community through the adult life course is analyzed in relation to styles of later-life coping.