Camp Host

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Fishspike

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Was wondering if there are any camp hosts on here. I would like to hear some of of your thoughts on your duties and did you like it? Etc.

thanks
 
We camphost at a state park near Greenville, SC every winter (November - March. Our daughter and family live within a 10 min. drive of the park; so we enjoy our three young grandsons while there.
We get a full hookup site and "work" about 20 hours a 5-day work week. We do cleaning of bath houses and campsites, welcome guests and help them with parking if need be. Sometimes we change from campground to Park hosting (do minor maintence stuff).
Thoroughly enjoy the time in the Park, all great folks to work with.
 
That would be @Old_Crow
But he is a camp manager, many hosts under him.
-Don- Auburn, CA
Yeah, but I hosted for 3 years before they talked me into moving to management.
The company I work for provides a full hookup spot plus propane and a paycheck. Wages are state minimum, but we don't require much more of the hosts than what Phil describes.
Most of my campgrounds (I manage 14) are staffed with a solo host or a couple who put in about 30 hours a week. The bigger campgrounds have multiple solos or couples and a lead host (does the paperwork and counts the money) who can put in up to 40 hours a week if he/she so desires.
These are Forest Service campgrounds, so in some cases you have to deal with pit toilets, crappy cell reception and no internet. On the other hand, it's a pretty place to live for 5 or 6 months of the year.
 
If you mean the volunteer type of campground host, we hosted for the COE in 2 different states, for the TX state parks in 3 locations, for the OR state parks in 2 locations, for the KS state parks once, for a WA county park twice, for CA county park twice, the SD state parks once, and a KY park once. We also volunteered in 9 different national wildife refuges, 5 national parks, FL game & fish, VA dept. of forestry, an ID historic site, a ND historic site, and a few others.

We did enjoy the campground host positions but found other things to be more intersting. We never did any paid postitions like what Old Crow did nor did we do any paid hosting(or so they like to call it) in commercial RV parks, so if you are thinking as a volunteer I can help but if a paid position, no.
 
We’ve camphosted several times in NPS parks. It was always for a hookup site but no pay. Duties were mostly checking compliance and being a presence in the campground. We enjoyed it.
 
We’ve camphosted several times in NPS parks. It was always for a hookup site but no pay. Duties were mostly checking compliance and being a presence in the campground. We enjoyed it.
When I was approached by the company I work for, I was also in talks with someone at Yosemite about a host job there. I chose not to take that one, even though 2 of my sons already work in the park. The reason was most of the ladies questioned centered around how I would do handling drunks after quiet hours. Also, at Yosemite at least, the position was only for a month. Wouldn't have been worth the gas to get there, even back 7 years ago when it was cheaper.
 
Just an fyi - SC State Parks does not require hosts to do rules enforcement - report violations to an on-duty ranger is the way we do it. I might say something to someone that is breaking rules but I won't argue - either they comply or they get a visit from a ranger.
You will eventually see all kinds in a campground. Need to roll along and be as helpful as possible. It's an enjoyable, fun job.
 
My late wife & I have worked 8 summers as campground staff & managers. "Camp host" can mean a lot of things - anywhere from casual greeter and a point of contact to responsibility for a section of a park or a shift of operations. Or maybe maintenance staff, e.g. lawns or bathrooms. Generally provides a full hook-up site and, for more jobs with some responsibility, some pay. The work required and the remuneration varies widely, so always ask for specifics. How many hours, what work, what pay, and is a site provided. And ask about taxes too, state & federal. Remuneration for your labor, including the value of a site, is probably taxable in most situations (but there are exceptions).
One good place to learn about workamping and find positions is Workamper News | The Original Resource Of Jobs For RVers, Since 1987! | Workamper News
 
Of those 14, how many have cell service besides yours?

That is one of the few areas I have seen where the higher you go in elevation, the less likely you have any cell coverage.

-Don- Auburn, CA
One, Convict Lake, but you have to be in just the right spot in that campground, standing on one leg and holding your arm out to the side. :ROFLMAO:
At least one host in each campground has a land line, and East Fork (the biggest campground) has 3 land lines.
 
I did a Camp Host position at Pilot Mountain State Park for the month of August, 2021. It was the best camping experience I ever had. I volunteered for this position (it was not a paid position, only a free campsite with full hook-ups), and give them everything I had while I was there. For me, it wasn't work at all. I far exceeded the amount of "minimum required time" and worked my tail off keeping the campground (42 campsites) clean, free of trash, campfire pits cleaned out, tent pads cleaned off from tree debris, and the roads clear of falling leaves, twigs, and sticks from the trees.

In addition, I monitored the campground, watched for walk-ins to get them registered, sold firewood, and I made sure I introduced myself to every camper when they first came in, made sure they knew I was available for them at any time day or night, and made sure they all realized the main park gate entrance was closed an locked (no one in, no one out) at 10:00 pm until 7:00 am, and the "Knob" (top of the mountain) closed at 8:45 pm and everyone had to be off the mountain.

I kept busy, took a lot of pride in what I was doing, and did my absolute best to represent the management of the state park.

I must have done a good job, they asked me to come back in August 2023.

Again, it was the best month of my life!

Over my 60 (plus) years of camping, I've experienced some really lazy camp hosts who make you think you are invading their space if you approach them. I decided I was going to be different. And I was.

If you are not willing to give yourself to this position and be willing to work and represent the park, it's staff, management, and it's policies, then don't do it. If you looking for a free campsite and that is your motivation for wanting to be a camp host, then you fall into the ranks of so many I've encountered in my life that, in my opinion, are worthless and really have no business occupying the space they are taking up.
 
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We camphost at a state park near Greenville, SC every winter (November - March. Our daughter and family live within a 10 min. drive of the park; so we enjoy our three young grandsons while there.
We get a full hookup site and "work" about 20 hours a 5-day work week. We do cleaning of bath houses and campsites, welcome guests and help them with parking if need be. Sometimes we change from campground to Park hosting (do minor maintence stuff).
Thoroughly enjoy the time in the Park, all great folks to work with.
My daughter got married a couple of weeks ago and her new inlaws live in Traveler's Rest. I would like to visit them one of these days. Could you send me info on the State Park RV campgrounds there?
 
One, Convict Lake, but you have to be in just the right spot in that campground, standing on one leg and holding your arm out to the side.
Right at the lake, I found my Version Hotspot to be totally useless. Could not even get a bar. Perhaps I should have used my left arm and stood on my other leg . . .

Convict Lake:

1665007021329.png


-Don- Auburn, CA
 
Could you send me info on the State Park RV campgrounds there?
I stayed there for two weeks, last May at the French Camp (Not to be confused with French Camp, CA).

French Camp, one mile from Tom's Place CA is the LOWEST elevation camp there and is the only one with decent cell coverage (five bars on my Verizon Hotspot). That's the same camp Old_Crow is in.

There are many other camps up the hill, cooler way up there, with more snow, etc.

-Don- Auburn, CA
 
I did a Camp Host position at Pilot Mountain State Park for the month of August, 2021. It was the best camping experience I ever had. I volunteered for this position (it was not a paid position, only a free campsite with full hook-ups), and give them everything I had while I was there. For me, it wasn't work at all. I far exceeded the amount of "minimum required time" and worked my tail off keeping the campground (42 campsites) clean, free of trash, campfire pits cleaned out, tent pads cleaned off from tree debris, and the roads clear of falling leaves, twigs, and sticks from the trees.

In addition, I monitored the campground, watched for walk-ins to get them registered, sold firewood, and I made sure I introduced myself to every camper when they first came in, made sure they knew I was available for them at any time day or night, and made sure they all realized the main park gate entrance was closed an locked (no one in, no one out) at 10:00 pm until 7:00 am, and the "Knob" (top of the mountain) closed at 8:45 pm and everyone had to be off the mountain.

I kept busy, took a lot of pride in what I was doing, and did my absolute best to represent the management of the state park.

I must have done a good job, they asked me to come back in August 2023.

Again, it was the best month of my life!

Over my 60 (plus) years of camping, I've experienced some really lazy camp hosts who make you think you are invading their space if you approach them. I decided I was going to be different. And I was.

If you are not willing to give yourself to this position and be willing to work and represent the park, it's staff, management, and it's policies, then don't do it. If you looking for a free campsite and that is your motivation for wanting to be a camp host, then you fall into the ranks of so many I've encountered in my life that, in my opinion, are worthless and really have no business occupying the space they are taking up.
Thanks. We camped in a state campground in CO and we were there for two weeks. Never once was approached by host. (There were 6 that I saw). Their Campsites looked a little tacky as had a lot of stuff around them With golf carts. Just wondering

thanks again
 
Thanks. We camped in a state campground in CO and we were there for two weeks. Never once was approached by host. (There were 6 that I saw). Their Campsites looked a little tacky as had a lot of stuff around them With golf carts. Just wondering

thanks again
I know that the manager in the area to my south had to fire a host last year because the Forest Service complained about the state of his campsite. Turns out he was also repairing cars (for money) in his spare time. I had one couple this year that kept a "tacky" site, no matter how much I complained. I was waiting for the Forest Service to say something to me, but it never happened. Apparently, it's okay to fix your own vehicles.
The standard, at least in Forest Service campgrounds is that you have to be able to pack and leave in 30 minutes in case of evacuation. I could do it, but it would mean leaving my grille and patio furniture behind. No big deal in the grand scheme of things.
The golf carts are a tool of the trade, they have to be parked somewhere.
 
We camped in a state campground in CO and we were there for two weeks. Never once was approached by host.
What the campground host is asked to do and the number of them varies widely. In most state parks, and in CO state parks the campground hosts are unpaid volunteers. I have not been a host in CO State Parks but looking at the volunteer website it would appear that what is required of their hosts depends on what park they are in. In the state parks that we have been volunteer hosts our duties involved very little visitor contact unless approached by the visitor. We did act as a friendly reminder of park rules but were not enforcement officers in any of them. In most cases we were expected to rove the park from time to time in order to know what was happening and to be available to the visitors. But there are also volunteers in some parks that do maintenance work like lawn mowing, painting, and such who have no customer contact at all. All of the parks that we have volunteered in did expect the hosts to maintain a neat campsite with the exception of one COE park in Kansas where they had some permanent hosts whose sites looked much like those found in an old RV park that is full of permanent, rundown RVs.
 

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