Escapees March/April 2016

Have you ever thought about work-camping at a national park but weren’t sure how to f ind opportunities, or what these jobs entail or even if the pay is worth it?

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Earning Income at America’s Natural Treasures

Article and Photos by Becky Schade #123751 Work-camping at National Park$

need the help of RVers. Weather is the biggest factor in the length of the work season, with northerly or moun- tainous parks having shorter seasons. For Zion and Badlands, the season was April through October; Yellow- stone was May through September. Hiring for the summer usually starts in December or January and contin- ues into spring and even beyond as concessionaires look for employees to replace those who had to leave or, for whatever reason, couldn’t show up. I usually begin job searching in February or March. In mid-June of 2014, I found and landed my job at Zion and ¿ nished out the summer season with them.

Spending a summer working at one of America’s natural treasures can be a rewarding experience and, for RVers who need to earn an income, a viable way to earn a living.

W orking at a national park isn’t only for those working for the National Park Service (NPS). At Yel- lowstone last summer, only about 30 percent of paid employees within the park were employed by the NPS. The majority of work-campers who earn an hourly wage work for privately owned concierge companies that have a contract with the government to provide goods and services within the park. Most hotels, restaurants, gas stations and gift shops inside of a

national park are run by these con- cessionaires, who then hire seasonal workers like RVers to ¿ ll out their staff for the busy season. The reason why these opportunities exist at the big national parks, especially out West, is because they tend to be in remote locations where there isn’t a large enough local workforce to meet the needs. Where and When to Find Them Summer is the busy season for most national parks, so that’s when they

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