Cabin at Backbone State Park.
Volunteers are needed to spend up to seven months living in one of five Iowa state parks.
Linda King, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says campground hosts are wanted between April and October at Backbone State Park in Delaware County, Elk Rock in Marion County, Gull Point in Dickinson County, Lake Wapello in Davis County, and McIntosh Woods State Park in Cerro Gordo County. Applications are on the DNR’s website.
“All of our campground hosts go through both a State of Iowa and a federal background check,” King says. The volunteers live on site in their own camper for free, but also must do some work around the campground.
“Clean the restrooms, do a little bit of maintenance around the park, and check-in the campers,” King says. The Iowa DNR manages over 60 state parks and state recreation areas. King says most of those parks have campground hosts who’ve been there for many years.
“We have a lot of returning hosts and they typically get precedence at that park,” King says. “We have some who have hosted for over 10 years, so it’s nice that they keep coming back year after year.”