Resident Volunteers

Well-known for its warm weather tubing, Ichetucknee Springs State Park is a 2,669-acre wildlife haven where beaver, otter, gar, softshell turtle, wild turkey, wood duck and limpkin all find a home. We are looking for summer volunteers who want to be part of a team that makes us Florida’s #1 State Park for a third year in a row. We have high priority openings for June through September 2025 calling your name!

Summer is our busy season and boy do people love our park. Resident volunteers during this time relieve our rangers of certain kinds of duties so that they can focus on keeping visitors safe and protecting the park. Generally, these volunteers’ duties will be to assist with closing of the park. Our park does not have a campground, but many of the duties will overlap. This will include keeping bathrooms (including their toilets) clean, mopping, emptying trash, picking up litter, blowing leaves off the parking areas, and overall tidiness of the visitor-use areas. Volunteers will also brush coals out of grills, power wash as needed, and scrub algae off of spring/river access stairs. These volunteers should be comfortable with enforcing compliance of policies at the springs in between their other responsibilities. This would include reminding people of our pet-policy, making sure people are not using tubes in the swimming area, answering questions, and over all being a friendly face for our visitors. Of course, staff are always the go to for difficult situations.

Weather this time of year is hot and sticky. Mosquitos & gnats are rare but ticks are common if you walk through overgrown grass or brush (which should be a rare occurrence). The park is situated in a rural community, with larger towns surrounding us in most directions. However, don’t let the heat scare you away. This is the best time to meet people from all over the world and people who have been coming for decades. Its a beautiful river, cold springs, and truly a beloved park.

A successful volunteer in this position is friendly and gets a giggle from even the kookiest visitors. They are adaptable, patient with the public, and open-minded. This volunteer would be comfortable being alone for long periods of time, but will not hesitate to report safety issues to the staff. They take the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and hold themselves to a high standard of professionalism. They are unafraid to take initiative but will always communicate with staff before starting any assigned projects.

SCHEDULING REQUIREMENTS:

Park residents are required to contribute 24 hours per week per campsite (can be split among others on the site) to receive the free RV site.

Usually, 3 to 4 days per week from 2:00 PM to 8:30 PM. However, needs may vary as park closing times change. Our park is day-use only and does not have a campground, so night shift will never be expected.

To learn more, visit our position description & application page, or email the volunteer coordinator at caitlin.gonsiorek@floridadep.gov.

Tagged as: Couples / Duos, Single / Solo, State Park, SUMMER '25