I recall hearing from a friend a few years back about a program that matches volunteers up with various positions in state and national parks around the country. Since I’m rather in need of a job of some sort and have always thought that prolonged outdoors work might be a welcome change from school and office work, I thought I’d ask whether anybody knew what this program was and whether or not they have a website. Also, if anybody has actually worked with them, I’d be interested to hear what actual jobs are available and what the accomadations for the summer are like.
I know that Yosemite National Park has such a program. Well, actually, it’s for working in the Park—as a cashier, janitor, whatever. You stay in dorms in the Park. But it’s Yosemite so people from all walks of life are waiting in line to work there. I picked up one of th Yosemite brochures once. I’d love to work there some summer. I’d look at the national park website for starters.
Good luck, sorry I can’t offer more pearls of wisdom right now!
What you may be referring to is the job of Camp Host around the U.S.A. In Alaska, nearly every campground has a Camp Host. The pay isn’t real great, but the experience is probably fantastic. I have noticed that many of the Camp Host folks seem to be retirees or college-age. You might try a search using “Camp Host Program” to see if you get any information. Oh, and by the way, the “accomodations” are pretty dang basic - tents and campers mostly. I have seen a few campgrounds that offer a log cabin or small shack for the Camp Host, but they are few and far between. Mostly, you get the chance to “commune with nature” at no charge and collect fees and act as camp handyperson and dispense local information. If you are not interested in the position of Camp Host, there are other opportunities in the National Park Service; I highly recommend working at Denali National Park. Try this: http://www.nps.gov/personnel/.
Check out the CoolWorks website: http://www.coolworks.com