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.