'Volunteering at state and federal park

Moved from ATC

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Moved from ATC

Thanks.

Around here we usually see the same folks all the time. Everyone picks their favorite place I guess... Some of the duties get pretty hectic I would imagine... One place we went too (Cloudland Canyon GA) the host crew was cleaning the bathrooms and cabins... Some are just keeping tabs on who is there and provides an emergency telephone for anyone that needs it...

Roy Ken

First and foremost, contact the agency in charge of the park you are interested in. There is a better than average chance there will be a link on the website that will give all the information that is needed to sign up.
Keep in mind that you will need to contact the LOCAL office. that is, if you want to volunteer for a Forest Service Campground, you probably would not go to the United States Forest Service website, you would probably want to go to the Ranger Station where the campground is located, or the National Forest website.
For State Parks, contact the State agency that maintains the parks.

Here is a pretty good resource. Click on the "Host Positions" button on the left side:
http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/list/nflist.htm

We contracted for the Corp of Engineers this past summer and have the contract for the next 3 years if we want it. Ours is Fee Booth contractor and is a paid position but I think even for volunteer positions you have to have a background check (which is no biggie). They are a good org to work for. They have several different positions like Campground Host, Gate attendants, etc. Go to Volunteer.Gov where you will find a lot of positions. Hope this helps.

We have been full timers for the past couple of years. My wife finds everything on volunteer.gov. In all the cases you do need a background check. Our first assignment was with the Corps or Engineers who require a full Background check. Sometimes this can be transferred to other state or federal parks or preserves. A lot depends on the park or organization. You also have to fill out a application for all you are interested in. Later on, as you gain experience you can attach a "volunteer" resume. As noted from previous entries, there are Contractors and Volunteers. There is a difference. We have chosen just to volunteer. Most parks require around 24 hours service per week in exchange for the camp site.
Good luck and enjoy your experience.

I my part of the Front Range of Colorado there are several opportunities to volunteer both for the USFS and the Colorado State Parks. Most of the positions are strictly volunteer and there is no pay involved. Some of the positions would be to man forest service camps that are no longer used for that purpose but are rather historic places for visitors in those areas. Others may be visitor centers and are usually historic places that are use as information centers and provide information about the surrounding areas. There are generally facilities for RV parking and utilities are provided.
A great way to meet interesting people and learn about the surrounding area.

Jobs vary to much to give a decent answer. Contact the park your interested in and ask them.

What is involved is usually contacting the park your interested in, either via the web (someone mentioned volunteer.gov), which lists a large number of positions and you can choose the state you want or get a phone number on line and call

For the states, most have an online presence again by online or you can call or visit.

Many state parks have lists of available positions on them, you sometimes have to look around for the volunteer positions.

Jobs vary by park, for example, in Texas park hosts typically have to help clean restrooms, at many national parks your more of a guide/watch the campground person no rest room cleaning.

Thanks everyone for your responses. Greatly appreciated.