We hadn’t been planning on looking for another work camping job once we reached Montana. We had settled into our job at the fly fishing camp with an offer to remain and work as long as we liked. We had planned to remain until it was time to head off to work the sugar beet harvest.
Unfortunately mother nature was working against everyone this season. Excessive snow melt, high water levels and a less than stellar fish spawn meant poor fishing conditions, which had a direct impact on business at camp. Our relief crew arrived mid-season, but there just wasn’t enough work to keep us all working as many hours as we needed. We decided to go ahead and turn things at camp over to the incoming couple and move on. The search for a new work camping job was on.
Luckily we subscribe to Workamper News, which posts daily bulletins of various employers seeking help. We knew we had to be in Sidney, Montana for the sugar beet harvest, so we wanted to remain fairly close. The last thing we wanted was to have to trek 1500 miles out of the way for a short-term job.
We found a job posting for a company called Forest Recreation Management. They are a contractor with the US Forest Service and provide campground management for 33 campgrounds under the Forest Service’s purview. The advertisement said they needed a camp host couple immediately for their Sheridan Lake campground in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
When we called initially, we were told that the position had been filled, but they would be happy to put us on their waiting list in case another job opportunity opened up. We agreed.
Just four days later we received the call. They had another position become available. A job offer was extended to us and we accepted. One of us would be responsible for maintaining one campground loop – hanging up arrival tags, cleaning sites, taking care of some after hours check ins or firewood sales. The other person would be responsible for cleaning all of the campground’s vault toilets on a daily basis. Both of us would help a few hours a week with checking in campground arrivals or collecting fees in the nearby day use areas. We didn’t have to work the same job every day, we could trade off if we wanted.
The compensation? A full hookup 50 amp campsite in our campground loop, $9.10 an hour for every hour worked and use of a minivan, which held all the gear for the toilet cleaning responsibilities.
Normally this job wouldn’t have been on our radar. It’s quite a bit less than the normal compensation we look for. It was only for a few weeks, though, and their season ended in time for us to still be able to get to the sugar beet harvest. It wasn’t too far away, so we weren’t trekking all over the US trying to remain gainfully employed. We decided to accept the job.
When we arrived, the outgoing camp host was still packing up her site. We later learned that she had been unable to meet they physical demands of the job. Apparently unhappy about our arrival, she began telling other work campers that we had arrived in “a half million dollar rig” (LOL we WISH!!!) and that we weren’t going to be the type of people to do any work. Nice, huh? Welcome to South Dakota!
Luckily everyone else who greeted us was very friendly and helpful. Our manager picked us up once we were settled into our campsite and took us to the main office, where we completed all of our paperwork and received uniform shirts.
We were originally scheduled to have Tuesdays and Thursdays off. Not ideal for sightseeing, but we were okay with it as long as Bubba and I were off together. Apparently other workampers weren’t happy with the split day off arrangement and were threatening to quit because of it, so the schedule was reworked and everyone received two consecutive days off. Ours moved to Monday and Tuesday off.
Timekeeping was pretty straightforward. We were given time cards to complete daily, and we just recorded whatever time we actually worked. Originally we were told the job would likely be 30 to 34 hours per week, per person. We ended up working 40 to 45 hours each until the season began to wind down.
The Upside of the Job
We were camped in an absolutely gorgeous campsite, among tall pine trees in a national forest AND we had full hookups (the guest sites were dry camping only). We were on a beautiful lake with easy access to a beach, kayaking, etc. and we were within a very short drive to some of the country’s most iconic landmarks.
The job itself was very low key. Site maintenance was easy, working the check-in booth enjoyable. People were friendly. We had a lot of flexibility with our work hours, and even though the pay was lower than we usually like, it was more than enough to fulfill our needs.
The Downsides of the Job
Let’s face it, cleaning toilets is no fun. People can just be gross. I’ll spare you the gory details, so just trust me on this one. You see things and wonder how they were physically possible. Since I had done most of the housekeeping at the fly fishing camp, Bubba took on the role of bathroom cleaner full time. We have both agreed we will NEVER clean toilets again (except our own).
Maintaining the campsites was relatively easy. Luckily most people are pretty good about picking up after themselves, although there are always some that remind you of just how messy some people can be. They like to utilize the fire pits as trash cans, which of course all has to be cleaned out before the next guest arrives.
Working in the check-in booth for the campground was easy once their system for handling reservations was explained, and there was always someone else there or nearby to help if a problem arose.
Working the day use areas was also low-key, although you end up taking a lot of grief from the Lakota people who don’t want to pay to enter. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of them were very polite, but we also took our share of verbal abuse from some of them.
Dealing with after hours issues was probably the biggest downside of the job. Even on our days off, we were expected to be back at the campground by 8 pm to be available to guests. A Friday or Saturday night around the campfire with friends would usually get interrupted several times, but again, everyone was polite and apologetic, and these instances didn’t bother us much. Some of the other camp hosts would have people bang on their door at midnight or 1 am wanting to buy firewood, but that never happened to us.
Then there’s the issue of babysitting grown-ass adults. The campground has established rules (which are based on common sense and common courtesy), and there are always those who are going to push the limits to see what they can get away with (or just plain don’t give a rat’s ass whether they’re bother anyone else or not). These are the people you’re sick of dealing with by the end of the season. They’re the ones that test your patience and make you bite your tongue so hard sometimes that it bleeds.
The biggest problem is noise. The most common after hours noise issue is generator usage. To be fair, a lot of people run them at night to watch tv before bed and lose track of time, but they’re also the first thing other campers will complain about.
The second most common noise complaint is loud music. I’m not sure why people want to head out to a quiet campground in the woods and then beat everyone else there over the heads with their music, but they do. It’s annoying. Our feeling is, if you want to be loud and party, go out into the middle of nowhere to do it. Please, have a little respect for the families with kids who try to get them to bed at a reasonable time. (Again, to be fair, there are people who will allow their kids to run wild around the campground at all hours of the day and night, but that’s another story).
The final type of noise complaint we would get is loud people. The more they’d had to drink, the noisier they were. Unfortunately they also would lose the ability to discern just how far their voices would carry in a crowded campground at 12 am.
When we had to go out and speak with someone, we were always polite and for the most part, people were cooperative and polite in return. (Except the drunk women…why are they always a pain? Lol!) Luckily we generally only had to deal with late night issues on Friday and Saturday nights, which meant we were able to actually get a full night’s sleep the rest of the week.
Are you interested in work camping? Do these issues make you hesitate, or do you feel ready to take them on? Work camping (or workamping) can be fun and exciting, and its a great way to see some of the best parts of this country while earning a living. Just make sure to ask plenty of questions and do your homework first, so you find a place that’s a good fit for you.
And please, if you have any questions, forward them to us. We’re happy to help however we can. Use the contact form on this site, or email us at tipsymarlintravels@gmail.com.
