# Park Host



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

At every public parks I have been to, I saw park hosts who were retirees. These folks work at the park part time in exchange for a free campsite with full hookup including sewage line.

Does any member of this group work as a park host? if you do, I would like to solicit your experiences as a park host. It looks like an interesting way to spend retirement years.

Thanks


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Search workamping or work camping and you'll see a lot of info out there on it.

Not all are full hookup situations.... We saw one at the NE entrance to Yellowstone where they had a solar setup since they had spent a few months there with no electricity... That being said, I would have moved into their site in a heartbeat. They were in a small, quiet campground and surrounded by wilderness...


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## Dog Folks (Mar 19, 2006)

We have hosted numerous times in the Florida State Park System. Hosting is not for everyone, but we enjoyed it a lot. You should enjoy working with the "public." We have found that 99% of the campers are great folks. 1% can be a pain.

On average, and every park is different, each couple must work 20 hours per week, (ten hours each) in exchange for a site. Some have full hooks, and some only have water and electric.

The duties required also vary from park to park. In Florida, mostly, you clean restrooms and campsites. You also pick up trash in your area. You also may be asked to work the front gate. Enforcement of rules is usually left up to what you you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel comfortable, let the rangers handle it.

The staff of the parks that we have been in, welcome you, and are glad that you are there. Good people to work with.

As the previous poster mentioned, Work camper News has lots of information available.

My advice is to try it once, for a few months, and see if you like it.


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

I've talked with a few of the host campers at our local state parks, and all but one couple have sort of a circuit that they follow. I also talked with the park ranger about it, and both the host campers and the rangers "stories" match, and both felt like it was a win win situation! We are hoping to be able to find out for the winters sometime in the next few years.


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