Robinson Lake Campground Host

I arrived at Robinson Lake early May and left early September.  Volunteering as a campground host has been on my bucket list for a while something I wanted to try.  I had a great time as camp host at Robinson and will continue doing some camp hosting in the future but not 4 consecutive months.  By the end of the third month I was getting burned out, not to the point of ready to leave just ready for my next adventure.  

When looking at host positions I was only interested in government run facility and did not look into private campgrounds.  In looking at the government programs I found several different programs but for the most part it breaks down into two types.  One program found at most state parks and larger federal parks required a set number of hours a week 20-32 hours typical.  The set hours is structured more like a nine to five job with you reporting to someone that schedules your assignment.  The other type found at the smaller federal campgrounds have no set hours.  With no set hours program you are responsible for the campground 24/7 and report to office staff if assistance is required.

Which type of campground host is better is a personal question…it depends on you.  I like the no set hour’s system even though you have to put in more than 32 hours a week it is done at your leisure and not per someone else’s schedule.  Robinson Lake is small busy campground some days I may work 4 or 5 hours but most days required a couple of hours to take care of required task.  A typical day would require 30 minutes of paperwork, an hour cleaning restrooms, couple of hours cleaning vacated sites and fire rings during the day I would walk around policing the area of loose trash and chatting with campers.   Actual labor was probably more like 32 hours a month if the truth be known.

I met some amazing people and had a GREAT SUMMER.  I have a lot of stories and incidents to share but to keep this post short I thought I would share my most memorable story or event.  When I started looking at my notes and remembering all the great times I had this summer I realized the most memorable part of the summer was all the great people I had the pleasure of meet and interacting with.  I will post one picture on this post.  This picture is of a gift left by one family as they finished a week of camping.  After they left I went to their site to get it ready for the next guest knowing that they had probably left it in great shape.  To my surprise they had left me a gift that expressed the warmth and kindness that I had received from all the campers at Robinson Lake this summer.

Volunteering as a Camp Hosting at Robinson Lake was a very rewarding experience for me.

I have requested and approved for the Host Position at Robinson Lake next year for May through the 4th of July.