“We couldn’t do it without them,” a Utah Department of Natural Resources park ranger said about camp hosts. “They are invaluable.”
Individuals who do camp hosting, also referred to as “workamping,” volunteer their time to keep things clean, handle reservations, and lead educational programs at campgrounds. While most positions are unpaid, some campgrounds offer a small stipend. Retirees and remote workers make up the bulk of camp hosts around the United States. State parks, national parks, and private campgrounds have become reliant on them.
The United States has 63 national parks and almost 7,000 state park sites—most of which offer camping. Budgets at these parks are often stretched to meet the needs of full-time and seasonal employees, as well as the costs of maintenance, equipment, and supplies. Volunteers provide a service the parks wouldn’t be able to pay for otherwise.
The National Parks Service (NPS) acknowledged the contributions of these volunteers. “Campground hosts are often the link between park visitors and NPS, acting as a trusted resource for information about the park, the local area, and the basic rules and regulations at the campground,” the NPS website said. The U.S. Forest Service also noted that the presence of camp hosts helps to minimize vandalism and make campers feel more welcome.
Rob Ashby and his wife Kerry, of Mount Vernon, Washington, are newbie camp hosts who are semi-retired and wanted to get an opportunity to serve people, meet new friends, and see America. Also, Rob Ashby said, “For us, camp hosting was an environmental project, helping to preserve public land for others to enjoy and experience.”
Along with nine others, they first tried camp hosting in March this year at the Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah. Four days out of the week, the couple worked with camp hosts on duty to cover 52 sites in two designated campgrounds as well as the exterior and common areas surrounding nine yurts.
The Ashbys have met other camp hosts, often husband and wife teams, who hail from as far away as the east and west coasts, to as close as neighboring Colorado. They drove their 18-foot RV into their new place to call home, a campground situated between the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. A designated camping space close to laundry and bathroom facilities is usually provided for camp hosts. After an initial orientation, it was up to camp hosts like the Ashbys to handle daily campground-related responsibilities.
The daily routine at Dead Horse Point State Park is simple. Once camp hosts deliver reservation tickets to each site and departing campers check out, camp hosts move in to clean tables, rake, sweep, and clean up trash. Duties are primarily completed by 1 p.m., which leaves the remainder of the afternoon for volunteers to enjoy hiking, biking, sightseeing, and four-wheeling—all popular pursuits in southern Utah’s canyonland region.
Dead Horse Canyon just before sunrise. Dean_Fikar/iStock/Getty Images
“And socializing,” noted Kerry Ashby. “One of the best benefits of our month-long stay was the great people we met. The other camp hosts were mostly retired or semi-retired professionals, so we had a great deal in common to discuss with them. The occupations were super varied, so it made for great conversations around the campfire.”
Camp hosts get plenty of time to see the sites and glean knowledge about the area’s geological factors, local culture, and local fare. It also gives them a chance to learn new skills or enhance existing ones.
Kathy Owen, a self-taught artist based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, travels most of the calendar year with her camp-hosting husband, Daryl, who retired from a career at Exxon. After spending early spring at Dead Horse Point State Park, the couple headed to Oregon for camp hosting positions at two different parks: Barton Community Park near Portland in May and Cove Palisades in eastern Oregon in June.
Kathy Owen paints the landscape at Dead Horse Point State Park. Deena C. Bouknight
Wherever Owen visits, she looks for opportunities to capture the sights with her brushes, mostly using watercolors. She sets up her travel easel and paints for several hours daily, weather permitting. “We love seeing our country, and I love painting it,” she said. “We stay in an area long enough to really get to know it. When you breeze through on vacation, you can’t truly get a feel for a place.”
Deena C. Bouknight
Based in Colorado, Sherry Scherden is a multi-month camp host at Dead Horse Point (usually from March through May) with her husband, Don. She’s become a bread baker, focusing on grinding grains, seeds, and dried beans to use in her loaves. When she isn’t checking and cleaning campgrounds, hiking, or biking with her husband, she can be found in the couple’s spacious RV experimenting with healthy recipes for loaf bread and muffins. After baking them in her RV’s gas oven, she gifts the goodies to other camp hosts, park employees, and campers whom she has befriended.
Every state has a website from which to glean information about camp hosting and available jobs. Prospective camp hosts have to undergo an application process, a background check, and fingerprinting. Meanwhile, camp hosts usually have to learn about the park’s rules, pet policy, average weather conditions, area pests and predators, and the nearest hospital or grocery store—for any park visitors who inquire.
The Ashbys made certain that their first camp hosting experience welcomed dogs because then, they could bring their jack russell and heeler-mix, Eddie, along. “That option isn’t available everywhere,” said Rob Ashby, “so that made a difference for our needs and situation.”
