Dairy producers are moving away from tie-stall housing to loose-housing systems. However, gaps in knowledge on the effects of different indoor loose-housing systems exist, particularly regarding cow movement and activity opportunity. The study objectives were to determine (1) the effect of freestall vs. strawyard housing of dairy cows with AMS on step activity and time budget, and 2) whether activity was affected by pasture access. Twenty-four cows, balanced by DIM and parity, were randomly assigned to 6 groups and subjected to both a freestall (FS) and strawyard (SY) treatment for 1 wk each in a crossover design. Leg-mounted pedometers were used to obtain step activity and lying data. Time budget was assessed by instantaneous live scan sampling 2×/wk for 2 h/d. This design and procedure was repeated twice: at the end of winter housing and in the summer after 6 wk of pasturing. Correlations between step activity and pasture visits were done at the cow level and all other analyses were done at the group level using mixed models. There was no difference in step activity between housing types in winter or summer. In summer, number of visits to pasture was positively correlated with higher step activity in both the FS (r = 0.59) and SY (r = 0.59). There was no difference in lying time, but SY cows had more daily lying bouts during winter than FS cows (10.69 vs 9.23 bouts, P ≤ 0.05). Maintenance behaviors were not affected by housing treatment, but SY cows socialized more than FS cows in winter (1.7 vs 0.9%, P ≤ 0.05) and tended to exhibit more locomotor behaviors in summer (3.28 vs 1.58%, P = 0.06). Fewer environmental obstructions in the SY may have facilitated the expression of non-maintenance behaviors as well ease of lying and rising, thus increasing lying bouts. Cows that were most active in both areas were also more likely to seek pasture access, suggesting that these cows had a greater motivation to move and may be more restricted by extensive indoor confinement. While SY had some benefits over FS housing, additional research is needed to find housing options that can meet cow movement and activity needs.