Category: Camphosting

A camphost is an individual or couple who provides services to campers in a campground.

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Consequences of the Unattended Fire

A employee birthday party at Lake Piru in 2016

Irresponsible

Are you like me, and believe that it is irresponsible for anyone to leave a campfire unattended? Would you leave a firepit in your backyard unattended? Do you believe that when you are camping, it is okay to go for a hike, go to bed, or leave the campground for the weekend, with a fire going? Many people do not think it is a big deal. As a campground host, I say that these practices are irresponsible. Between my wife and I, we put out 8 to 10 fires every weekend in our campground. I often tell people that, as a campground host, I should never have to put out any fire but the one in my campsite.

Other Unsafe practices

There are two practices that cause great distress for a camp host or fire official. One is having wood in a firepit that does not fully fit in the fire pit. A campground axe or hatchet does not cost a lot and are easy to learn how to use. All campers need to practice the common sense principle of safety first, when they are having a fire at their site. The second is choosing to have a fire on the ground when a safer firepit is available. The camper needs to know that, if a Forest Ranger catches a camper having  a fire on the ground or allowing wood to hang out of a firepit, they will receive a hefty fine.

It only takes a spark

It only takes a spark to get a fire started. When you start a fire using match, it is the creation of a spark that lights the fire.  One spark from an unattended fire and a gust of wind blowing that spark into a carpet of pine needles, dry grass, or even a camper’s firewood pile could cause a forest fire. Most forest campgrounds are located off windy mountain roads with only one way in and one way out. You may not be able to out-run a forest fire. Be fire safe. Put out your fire.

What are the consequences?

Most campers do not seem to understand the consequences of a forest fire that they may have caused. If fire officials determine that you were responsible for causing a forest fire, you will have to reimburse the forest department, county, or state, the costs related to putting the fire out. A recent Southern California fire cost $200 million to put out. You should also be aware that, if it is determined that your negligence caused a fatality, you can be charged with involuntary manslaughter and go to prison.

What is the big deal?

All campers should act in a responsible manner when having a fire. Unsafe practices and a spark is all it takes to burn down a forest. Never leave a fire unattended, this includes going to bed for the evening when camping, never go on a hike or worse, leave the campground, with a fire burning. All campers should know that there are consequences in place for those that cause a forest fire, consequences that can change your whole life.

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How Do I Get A Camphost Job?

How to get a Camphost job


If you are interested in how to get a campground host job, there are a few things you should know. Camphosts jobs are not a career job, typically they pay local minimum wage, they are jobs for people who enjoy people and working in nature. The camphost is responsible for keeping up the facilities, enforcing the rules, and collection of camp fees.

A person who is interested in becoming a camphost can go online and search for camphost jobs. You will find posting s for jobs all over the country. There are listings for the U.S. Forest, National Parks, RV Parks, membership campgrounds, BLM land managers, US Military campgrounds (you must be a veteran to apply). State park hosts, or County park care takers. Decide whether you want to work at the beach, a lake, river, forest, city, or country, there will be an opportunity at one of these.

There are a number of ways that people are hired to fill available positions for camphosts. There are unpaid volunteer jobs, site trade plus salary for hours worked over and above cost of site, and free site with all hours paid. Being retired and on Social Security, this works well. Usually there will be an application online that you can fill out and send in. So, you should decide ahead of time where you want to work.


What does a Camphost do?


The camphost, park host, or docent serves campers by offering information, explaining regulations, and collecting fees. They direct people to hiking trails, give information about nearby activities, and at times lead campers to their camp sites.

Campground rules are universal, they are designed to ensure that all campers have a pleasant camping experience. These rules are generally posted at the entrance to the campground, it is the camper’s responsibility to be informed of the rules. An apt saying for the camphosts is, “We don’t make the rules, we just enforce them”. Take it easy on the camphost, they are doing what they were trained to do.

Another duty of the camphost, is to make sure that fees are paid by campers. And that is right, you guessed it, the camphost does not make the fees, they just collect them. Once a week, a camper comes in and complains about paying their camp fees, then the camphost patiently explains that the camp fees are used to maintain the facilities these campers came to use.

The camphost cleans the restrooms, mows the grass, cleans the roads, empties the fire-pits, paints and repairs buildings, if needed, and enjoys the surroundings that they are privileged to live in.


Showing Respect for the Camphost


What does it mean, show respect for the camphost? In order for campers to have respect for the camphost, they perhaps need to know a little bit about the camphost position. A campground host is a person between 18 and 80, it is not a career job, it pays minimum wage. In fact, many camphosts are retired from another line of work entirely. Sometimes, the camphost may be a person who grew tired of the corporate grind, the busy city life, or wanted a job that allowed them to travel.


Although Camphosts jobs are not a career job, they are jobs for people who enjoy people, travel, and working in nature. The camphost is responsible for keeping up the facilities, enforcing the rules, and collection of camp fees. You can find a campground job anywhere in the country, at any type of location you desire, and they should be shown respect.

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Camphosting and Rule Enforcement

This image depicts camp activities at Lake Piru in Southern California

We Don’t Need No Sticking Rules

Every camper should already know the rules and the camphost is responsible for rule enforcement. So as a camphost, I say that when you go camping, you should know and follow the rules? Why are there rules for camping anyway? Yes I get asked that. Why does the Camphost interfere with my trying to have a good time?  Where are the rules anyway?  To answer why there are rules, a campground is a mini community, with neighbors, families, and friends. Everyone came to have a good time. But your good time should not take away your neighboring camper’s enjoyment of the campground. The campground host, also known as, the Camphost, is tasked with facilitating the enjoyment of all campers in the campground. The rules are based on principles of safety, comfort, and respect for the individual, the environment, and the property.

The rules that campers are asked to obey are universal to every campground in America, they are clearly posted at the entrance to the campground. This means that it is the camper’s responsibility to read and know the rules.  As a Camphost. I just don’t understand why campers feel that by removing the walls of a house, they can cut loose and not be respectful of others.

What are the rules?

                Pay your camp fees- If a camper does not have a reservation, they must pay their camping fees, within 30 minutes of choosing your camp site, these fees are clearly listed at the entry kiosk and pay envelops are likely provided.

                Speed limits- Camping is a family activity, you never know when a child may dart into the road; animals such as squirrels, fox, deer, and bears can be on the road; few campgrounds have sidewalks, campers use the road to access campground amenities. 15 MPH is a safe braking speed in a campground.

                Site condition- Don’t leave trash laying around the site, Forest Rangers can cite you for trash on the ground. You should leave the site cleaner than it was when you arrived. If there are no trash containers available, take out what you brought in. Pack It In, Pack It Out.

Campfires– It is the camper’s responsibility to know if there are fire restrictions in place, to know if permits are needed and where to obtain them (online on the US Forest website or at a Ranger Station), and to know if the they are allowed to bring firewood into the campground. Fire safety is ALL camper’s responsibility, do not go to bed, take a walk, or leave the campground with a fire going. Most of the wildfires in America were started by careless campers. Be fire aware.

                Pets- Going camping with your dog is a great experience, not picking up after your dog or keeping your dog on a leash is bad manners. A barking dog is annoying to all campers. Last season, the Forest Rangers told me that a camper had lost two dogs, the camper believed that the campground host should be responsible for finding their dog, I found out that they went 4x4ing and left the dogs tied to the picnic table, the dogs got loose. It is not the camphost responsibility to watch or find a camper’s abandoned dogs.

                Dishwashing- It is bad form to wash your dishes in the fresh water spigots or bathroom sinks, a camper should bring a pot for hot water and dishwashing pans in order to wash dishes in their site. Using hot water will assist in the health and enjoyment of all campers in your group. Dispose of your dirty water safely.

                Children- Camping is a great family activity, guests are responsible for the behavior, activities, and the where-a-bouts of their children at all times. The camphost may send out for law enforcement or emergency personnel if needed, but it is not the hosts responsibility to look out for camper’s children.

The rules in a campground are for safety, comfort, and respect for other camper’s, the environment, and for individuals. The Camphosts responsibility is to enforce the rules of the campground, it is the camper’s responsibility to know what the rules are.

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5 Frustrations of a Camphost

An RV park in Grants Pass, Oregon

1 )Contract Violations

What would cause a campground host to be frustrated? Before a camphost accepts a position at a campground, they negotiate a contract with the employing company, RV Park owner, state, or county. When these contracts are violated, they can be very frustrating for the camphost. This could be as simple as being asked to work hours that not in the contract, grounds work that the employee is physically incapable of doing, or being promised a full hook up (FHU) site, that is in fact, not full hook up. An example of a full hook up violation was at a campground that I worked at, that did not have an actual sewer hook up for the camphost.  The employer remedied that situation by providing a macerator pump with a 75-foot garden hose to dump into a vault toilet, it worked but it was not what was promised.

2) Other Work Campers

It is not surprising that you get all kinds in this industry, workers who do the job as trained and workers who try their best not to do a thing and get paid for it, you wind up doing their job and yours. One worker at campground my wife and I worked at, would not go anywhere without his dog, the dog was his excuse not to do his job. Another employee who did not stay at the campground, never showed up and got paid for it, of course, I did his work. Employees at a campground need to work as a team in order to best service the campers needs, dogs should be left at home.

3) Wanted: Your Fire Dead Out

Unfortunately, ten to fifteen campers per week come to the forest, have a campfire, and either go to bed, go for a hike, or worse, leave for home with a camp fire burning. This angers me as a campground host! In the forest, wind comes up at all hours of the day or night, one spark in the pine needle carpet in a forest campground, can decimate our forest. No one should leave a camp fire until they can safely put their hand into the ashes without getting burned. Learn the principle of Sprinkle, Scatter, Sprinkle. Responsible campers or day use visitors should carry water to put out their fire, or have a shovel to smother the fire with dirt. If they do not have one of these two things, they should not have a fire. It is frustrating for the camphost to have to put an irresponsible campers fire out. I tell everyone that the camphost should only put the fire out in their own site, not an irresponsible persons fire.

4) Pack It In, Pack It Out

When a camper goes to a campground that does not have trash cans provided, they must take their trash home with them. How do you know that there are no trash cans provided? You look up the campground online to see what amenities are provided before you arrive at the campground, and you plan accordingly. Cleaning up after a lazy camper is not my idea of a good time. Campers need to practice the principles of leave no trace.

5) I’m in Love with My Car

Not sure if you follow the band, Queen, but they had a song named, “I’m in Love with My Car”. Vehicles in a U.S. Forest campground are to be on the asphalt at all times. In a forest campground, a hot engine over the pine needle carpet could cause a fire. If your vehicle does not fully fit into the site and the camphost asked you to park it in overflow or to pay for another site to park it at, do it. US Forest campgrounds have barriers to keep vehicles on the asphalt, but campers take these out so they can have their precious vehicle next to them at all times, and to add insult to injury, they burn the creosoted (cancer causing when burned) barriers.

Camphosting allows a person to live and work in nature. Unfortunately, there are many frustrations that can steal your enjoyment of hosting. Just a few of which are contract violations, fellow employees that do not pull their weight, abandoned fires, micro trash clean up, and vehicles that are not parked correctly.

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11 Types of Work Camper Jobs

The beauty of the forest is why we camp

What jobs do campgrounds hire for?

When you are searching for a campground host job, you will find 11 different types of jobs. All work camper jobs have the purpose to serve the needs of campers and maintain the campground facilities. If you have a background in a useful field for the campground, even the pay scale maybe higher than the usual minimum wage most campground workers earn. Let me show a partial list of what is available in the work camper industry.

               1) Manager- If the RV Park is not owner-operated, or for US Forest campgrounds with more than one campground, there may be a need for a manager. These employees should be able to lead a staff of one to twenty, have knowledge of the campground industry, know the Campground Masters program, and be able to accept a fulltime position. The pay rate is higher for the manager. There is often an onsite accommodation offered. And a long-term contract may be available.

               2) Camphost- There are several names for this position. Park host, workamper, work camper, to name a few. These employees tend to work on a seasonal basis, typically April to October, directly service the needs of the campers. Collect fees, lead campers to their sites, sell firewood, enforce the rules, and help to keep the campground clean.

               3) Relief camphost- These employees cover for the hosts on their days off, may cover lunches for store employees, and assist management as needed. These are seasonal positions.

                4) Kiosk or Gate house worker- These employees collect fees from visitors or campers as they enter the park. Or they may take phone reservations at a busy campground. This could be seasonal or part time in the slower winter months.

              5)  Volunteer workers- These employees are often called Docents. A docent is a person who instructs visitors on the local flora and fauna (plants and animals) of an area, they may act as trail guides, and trade their time for a site at the campground.

               6) RV Camp Employee- These employees help the campground owner to operate the park in areas of store clerk, grounds maintenance, pool safety, game amenities, etc. They may be onsite or offsite employees.

               7) Activities Director- These employees organize activities for campers. They usually live off-site and may have come from a recreation, teaching, or human resources background. Table tennis, shuffle board tournaments, whiffle ball games, board games, barbeques, dances, concerts, are just a few of the events that this employee may organize and oversee.

              8)  Grounds Maintenance- These employees can live onsite or offsite according to the needs and size of the campground. Although the camphost will assist with grounds when the campground is not busy, a full-time grounds employee maybe needed to keep focused attention on the grounds of the campground or RV Park. These positions could be seasonal or year around.

              9)  Marina dockhand- These employees are needed for lake campgrounds with rental boats. They may live onsite or be hired locally. They could be seasonal if in snow country, or year around in temperate climates.

              10)  Store clerk- There are several ways that a campground can cover a store, a camphost couple could have the husband hosting and the wife in the store or they can hire an offsite local.

                11) Pool lifeguard- Most RV Parks hang a no lifeguard on duty sign up, but if the park is large enough, a full-time lifeguard may be necessary. These employees would likely be hired locally and live offsite. Unless the pool is indoor, this will be a seasonal job.

Naturally the number of camphost jobs that are offered to run and maintain a campground, is factored on the size, use needs, and finances of the campground or RV Park. More employees are needed in the summer months and of course just a skeleton staff remain in the winter when most amenities are closed or not available. The wage scale for campground workers is based on experience, the needs of the campground, and the position applied for. I have been a camphost for seven years, I have done nearly all the positions listed above, and I highly recommend working in a campground.