Want to spend months living in Yosemite, Tahoe or along California’s wild backroads? If you’ve ever dreamed of spending your summer in California’s great outdoors, federal land agencies are offering a way to do it — and even cover your campsite while you’re there.
The Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service are looking for people to fill volunteer positions at campsites throughout California in 2026, including campgrounds at Yosemite and Tahoe. There are also some camp host jobs open at some California State Parks. In addition, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are looking for a visitor center assistant from April 2025- April 2026.
BLM staff work those campgrounds, said California BLM spokesperson Jesse Pluim, but they rely on hosts to be on site to help guests and be a friendly face. The agency used volunteers to man California campgrounds for at least three decades. Each field office hires its volunteers and trains them to work their particular campground.
You can serve as camp host for one season, or make it a lifestyle by taking sequential host positions and travel from one campground to another around the country, said Outdoor Recreation Planner Stan Bales at the Susanville BLM office. Some hosts spend the summer in Northern California, then move to BLM lands in the Southern California desert or wherever the BLM needs a host for a winter camping season.
What BLM campground hosts do when they’re not hiking or fishing
Hosts greet campground visitors when they arrive and provide information ― from fishing rules to where to find water. They clean camp bathrooms and keep them stocked with supplies, and post information on camp bulletin boards.
Stipends, free power hookup: What the BLM gives campsite hosts
Hosts usually live in their own RV or camper throughout the season. They go through an orientation and training.
The BLM provides a free place to park. Where available, hosts also get free power, water and sewage hookups. Sometimes they also get a small stipend to help with living expenses, the BLM said.
Some hosts rough it with just a sleeping trailer and no hookups, Bales said, while others arrive with tricked out RVs with solar power, TV and other amenities.
What are some downsides to living on a campground?
As with camping, there are other challenges to living in the wilderness. Services are limited and it’s often a bit of a drive to get to a doctor, pharmacy or grocery store. Some sites, like the Pit River campsite in eastern Shasta County, doesn’t get cell phone service.
And yeah, you’ll probably need to clean public bathrooms.
California campground host jobs open at national parks, forests, BLM sites
The BLM and these national parks and forests announced volunteer camp host job openings in California as of Feb. 4. Some districts have multiple positions open and some allow people to work half seasons with other volunteers.
For updates and a full list of federal campground host positions nationwide go to volunteer.gov/s. For state park volunteer jobs go to parks.ca.gov.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Live in a California national park for free — and get paid to camp
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Visalia Times-Delta
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