Campground Host

Hosts are responsible for:

·        Welcoming visitors to Hot Springs National Park and the campground;

·        Becoming familiar with the park’s resources and be able to answer visitors’ questions concerning trails, points of interest, and recreational opportunities;

·        Visiting with campers and conducting inspections throughout the campground area to:

1.      Answer questions about Hot Springs National Park, the campground, local amenities and services

2.      Identify issues that need to be addressed;

·        Providing a variety of visitor information on ranger and Jr. Ranger programs, hiking, events, and other activities within the park.

·        Encourage visitors to practice Leave No Trace principles and to maintain a safe distance from all wildlife;

·        Contacting park officials to answer unique/difficult questions and to address issues;

·        Serving as an important link between park law enforcement officials and the campground. Hosts only report incidents and situations that need to be addressed. Hosts do not take actions to enforce laws, regulations and policies, such as detaining or arresting suspects and endangering themselves or visitors;

·        Monitoring safety at the campground and reporting hazards to appropriate park officials;

·        Informing campers how the campground registration system operates, assist campers in finding campsites and reminding them about check-out times;

·        Conducting morning and afternoon surveys of the campground to count the number of vacant campsites and obtain a physical count of campers at Gulpha Gorge campground; hosts will report this information to the national park visitor center by 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (501-620-6715);

·        Cleaning campground and vacant campsites after visitor departure (such as picking up trash, extinguishing fires, maintaining fire pits and grills).

·        Performing other duties, including light maintenance (such as maintaining restroom appearance throughout the day), restocking restroom supplies, and picking up litter. These responsibilities constitute less than 20% of the Hosts’ time; and,

May provide daily activities for adult and youth campers at announced times. These may include interpretive, educational and Junior Ranger programs, and be based on the Host’s abilities.

Time Commitment: Four months of work is generally required. A minimum of 32 hours per host per week is a requisite for single hosts; a minimum of 24 hours per host per week is a requisite for host pairs. Hosts will be expected to work flexible hours which will include working a split schedule of 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. and/or 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Hosts will be expected to be present in the campground, available and “on call” on their scheduled days of duty.