Finding work camping jobs in state parks is not your typical job search. As you may have already noticed, each state park manages their volunteer listings differently. While some park systems have very modern volunteer websites with clear information and great usability, others… well, not so much.
Luckily, the Oregon State Parks volunteer website is awesome. That said, searching for volunteer opportunities that offer RV hookups can be time consuming. This post will cover some basic information that you should consider when searching for volunteer opportunities in Oregon state parks — and also walks through how to find the listings that include RV hookups!
Important things to know before you start your search:
Volunteering VS Work Camping
Work camping is a quirky industry that typically falls into a gray area between “volunteering” vs “working”. However, state parks are much more straightforward in that all opportunities are truly volunteer positions. This distinction means that when you’re searching the Oregon State Parks website, you’ll see ALL volunteer listings, not just those that offer residence or hook-ups. Keep this in mind when you’re filtering, searching, and reading through job descriptions. They also have a great Park Host position description posted here.
Pets are welcome
One great thing about the Oregon State Park system is that their website says pets of hosts are welcome. Keep in mind, however, that your furry friends must obey park pet rules and also have a current rabies vaccination.
Time Commitment
Another unique thing about Oregon State Parks is that volunteer hosts make a “minimum commitment of 30 days for a specific host assignment”. You’ll notice that several volunteer listings have one month increments listed, but keep in mind that the website also says “the commitment may vary between assignments” and that the “length of a host assignment ranges between 30 – 120 days”. Keep this in mind as you’re making your travel plans!
How to search the Oregon State Parks website
The Oregon State Parks website has a great dedicated page for searching volunteer opportunities, and the most recent listings are always listed first. However, you’ll notice the volunteer listings, search filters and time frames don’t always update as you might expect them to, so make sure to acquaint yourself with the interface. To search for listings, go to the volunteer opportunity page, and read these tips before starting your search:
Here are the important things to know when navigating the volunteer opportunities:
- Filters: The search and filter fields at the top of the Oregon State Parks volunteer opportunities page does allow for some handy options. Specifically, you can filter by a specific state parks, and even type in some keywords (e.g. “hook”, “hook ups”), but unfortunately it does not allow easy filtering for positions that definitely offer RV hookups and/or onsite residence.
- Dates: When you search there is an option to choose “Available From” and “Available To”. If you enter an “Available From” date, you’ll notice that the listings at the top of the list will still show dates outside of that range. For example, if you enter “May 1, 2023”, you’ll probably still see positions that were available starting in January. Keep this in mind as your peruse the listings for your target dates.
- Locations: The site does have easy-to-read job description pages, but unfortunately does not list city/state locations. For example, the job listing will definitely list the state park, but if you’re not familiar with the area, you’ll need to click on the link and/or google the state park name to find the location and decide if it’s where you want to be.
Now for the EASY way to find volunteer opportunities in Oregon State Parks…
Here at Kamper Jobs, we’re all about easy. We recently launched our state park initiative to scour and post state park volunteer listings that offer RV hook-ups, including Oregon State Parks. Now, you can easily find volunteer positions in Oregon State Parks that offer RV hook-ups and have all the relevant details at the top of the page! In other words, our team does the heavy lifting of searching and parsing the details so that you can find them when searching for jobs, include them in job alerts, and receive the latest listings via the free weekly newsletter. (Nice, huh?)
We hope you’ll check out all the volunteer opportunities that offer RV hookups in Oregon State Parks, and keep your eyes peeled for more states getting added very soon. Happy camping!