Volunteer Campground Host

Welcome to the Tahoe National Forest located in the Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. This diverse landscape offers 850,000 acres of forests, meadows, lakes, rivers and snowcapped peaks, stretching from the Foothills east of Sacramento at an elevation of 1500ft, over the Pacific Crest at 9000ft and down to the Nevada state line near Reno.

The unique scenic, historic and recreation opportunities of the Tahoe National Forest, combined with its close proximity to multiple, major metropolitan areas attracts over six million visitors a year and creates one of the most popular National Forests in the country.

As a Campground Host you will often be the first Forest representative the visiting public encounters and the first person they will consider for information regarding the area and their National Forest.  Volunteer Campground Host’s are an integral part of the Forest recreation program and are critical in achieving the Forest service mission of “caring for the Land and Serving the people” as such, we are seeking individuals who can represent the Tahoe National Forest in a professional and courteous manner. 

Campground Hosts are expected to be available from mid-May to mid-October, five days a week with two consecutive days off per week. Longer breaks may be considered with prior approval. Hosts are requested to be available for public interaction the majority of the day and expected to make full campground rounds early in the morning and evening. Hosts are not expected to contact visitors after daylight hours or to participate in law enforcement activities.
 
 Excellent volunteer candidates for these positions will have the following strengths:

• Outgoing personality with strong verbal communication skills
• Ability to perform light maintenance work in outdoor conditions
• Ability to maintain daily written logs
• Ability to interact with diverse visitors while maintaining a positive, helpful and non-confrontational attitudeHost Duties will include the following:

• Welcoming visitors and providing appropriate Forest information
• Informing visitors of Forest Regulations and campground Courtesy Rules
• Encouraging fee compliance and Courtesy Rule adherence
• Tracking daily arrivals and posting incoming reservations
• Performing light landscape and bathroom maintenance.
• Reporting emergencies and providing District Recreation staff with pertinent daily information
• Setting a positive camping example for other forest visitors, keeping a clean, presentable and welcoming campsite and encouraging common courtesy throughout the campground.

Requirements of the positions

• Pass a minimal background check and possess a valid state driver’s license.
• Volunteer 4 hours a day / 20 hours weekly and be available other times for public interactions
• Provide your own personal RV accommodations maintained to be welcoming and approachable by the public.Local Recreation Staff will provide full training and support in duties. Hosts perform daily responsibilities independently without direct supervision. Forest Recreation employees will make near daily contact to provide support, heavy maintenance and regulatory compliance.  On the Tahoe National Forest you will be working individually in your designated campground, but also as part of a larger Forest wide campground host program with up to 35 other volunteer hosts. Specific campsite conditions vary greatly from low elevation riverside campgrounds to higher elevation, mountain, lakeside settings. The majority of Hosts sites have minimal services. Some may have electricity, some may have water and some have waste holding tanks.