Volunteer camp and park hosting
Open for application now
- Works
- Varies from a one-month minimum to a full season. Army Corps park hosts are described as long-term, 6 months or more.
- Apply
- Year round. Corps of Engineers projects run waitlists and say openings come up unexpectedly throughout the year. Summer-season parks recruit from spring.
- Who hires
- US Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service Volunteers-in-Parks, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife, and state park systems. Most post on volunteer.gov.
- Shape
- Cash wage is zero. Compensation is the site, the utilities, and occasionally a mileage or completion allowance. Hours are the variable that matters most.
- Required
- Background check standard. Own RV. Some positions specify two-person teams. Age 18 or over for Corps positions.
What it pays, and who said so
Full-hookup site in exchange for 20-30 hours per week
Agency-listed USACE recreation operations listing via VolunteerMatch
Water and electric site for 20 hours per week across Friday to Sunday
Agency-listed volunteer.gov USACE listing
Water and electric hookups, laundry, uniform items for 32 hours per week including weekends, minimum one month
Agency-listed NPS Catoctin Mountain Park camp host recruitment
Round-trip mileage reimbursement at the federal rate up to $1,000 for a full 16-week season commitment
Agency-listed USACE Hood Park listing via VolunteerMatch
This is the category the effective hourly rate was built for. A full-hookup site for 20 hours a week and the same site for 32 hours a week are very different offers, and neither listing says so.
What this listing doesn't tell you.
- Whether hours are per site or per person is often unstated and materially changes the effective rate
- Site value is never stated by the agency
Who's hiring in this category
- volunteer.gov — Year-round, openings appear unexpectedly
- US Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse — Year-round waitlist
- US Fish and Wildlife Service resident RV volunteers — Year round, posted per refuge
See the full employer directory
Work out what this offer is worth
Hours, cash and the value of the site are the only three variables. Offer Check turns them into an effective hourly rate, the cash that lands in your bank each month, and what comes out of your pocket.