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Historic cabin in Catoctin Mountain Park ' s Camp Misty Mount.
National Park Service seeks campground host volunteers
P arks
, monuments and other units of the National Park Service depend on volunteers to assist regular staff with a variety of needs including maintenance, interpretation, manning visitor centers and toll stations, field work and more. Volunteer help has become especially important in the current environment of heavy park visitation and reduced NPS staffing.
While some types of park volunteer openings such as interpretation are intermittent, the need for campground hosts is constant. Host positions typically offer a complimentary campsite with water, electric and sewer hookups. In return, volunteers with their own RVs or trailers are expected to work at least 32 hours per week taking care of check-ins and checkouts, interacting with campers, maintaining a clean campground, assisting with light maintenance, and making rounds of the campground. Work requirements for volunteers vary by park. Larger NPS campgrounds may have more than a single host. Keep in mind openings are subject to variation, and not all host sites have electric. Some of the more remote campgrounds are suited for tents, vans and truck campers rather than RVs. Campground hosts in a few parks have access to a furnished cabin resulting in positions for volunteers who do not have their own RVs.
Pinon Flats Campground in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
In early February we searched National Park Service campground host offerings for 2026. If you have been considering setting out on a new experience that includes several months of low-cost living in one of America’ s special places, your ship may have arrived. Being a campground host won’ t increase your wealth in monetary terms, but it will add to your store of memories as you interact with campers who, like you, enjoy travel and the outdoors.
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky( May 1 – Aug. 31, 2026)
The park offers full hookups including a fire ring and picnic table in return for duties such as staffing the campground fee booth, roving the campground, light maintenance, and occasionally undertaking other duties such as assisting in the visitor center and participating in backcountry patrol. Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds and sit or stand for extended periods. Contact moria _ painter @ nps. gov or maca _ vip @ nps. gov or call( 270) 758-2158.
Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland( July 1 – Aug. 1, 2026)
Camp Misty Mount consists of 29 historic cabins constructed in 1937 by the WPA. The
12 | SPRING & SUMMER 2026 6 INSIDE KNOX & DAVIESS COUNTIES