Campground Employment

Please print off the Job Descriptions/Applications above for more information

       It is never too early or too late to apply for the next season to be a campground host, attendant, or manager.  (please email: mark@umbrellaproperties.com) or call Mark Hawes at our Coburg, Oregon office at 541-484-6595. Our hosts range from "volunteers" who do receive a stipend to help pay for utilities to mostly full time attendants and managers who receive a place to stay and a higher salary. The stipends on jobs range from $100 to $600 per month plus your campsite.  Salaries for full or part time employment are higher basically rated at least $10 per hour plus your site plus money for utilities if appropriate.  About half of our host sites have electrical hookups along with water and vaults. The earlier you commit to working with Hoodoo, the better the chances are that you will get the location that you want. In general though the nicer the campground and the better the hookups, the lower the wage, the more isolated the campground the higher the wage. We have about a hundred hosted campgrounds in the Cascades either in Washington in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest or in the Willamette or Deschutes National Forests in Oregon. About a third of the campgrounds will have hosts living in the campgrounds and the other two-thirds will have attendants who stay in one campground and visit other campgrounds as well. Hoodoo provides work trucks for almost all attendants who have to travel as part of the job. We start our hiring process in October, but hire throughout the season through August.

    To be a host you must have a love of the out of doors, an ability to get along with people and an RV or trailer that will present a clean image and allow you to live comfortably during the summer. Hosts need to commit to staying at least one month, but we prefer that they stay from Memorial Day to Labor Day or longer if they wish. We do have shorter jobs though. We have slots available throughout the three Forests.  (the Willamette, the Deschutes, and the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie) The hosts are responsible for greeting people in the campgrounds, they will help give receipts as campers pay, sell firewood, and help keep the campgrounds litter free. Attendants often do the host duty in their "home" campgrounds  while also traveling to other campgrounds in the area cleaning toilets, collecting fees, helping the hosts, and doing small maintenance jobs. Attendants usually work from half time to full time with salaries that go along with the amount of hours expected. Attendant jobs usually go to those with previous experience or those who have unique abilities that would help them work in the outdoors. Attendants occasionally can work from their homes if they live in the area.

    Managers usually are people who have worked with Hoodoo for awhile and proved themselves as those who do well with people and enjoy the outdoor jobs, but occasionally we will hire outsiders to be managers if they have previous experience in recreation or live full time in the area where they would be working. Managers will often do a limited amount of hosting and attendant jobs plus help others do their jobs. They should also have the ability and tools to do small maintenance jobs.

    As a host you may be expected to work as little as an hour a day. You may go exploring during the day, but will be expected to spend the evening in the host campground. Most hosts work longer hours, but all will have time to leave the campground during the day to fish or explore. Attendants often will have some time off during the middle of the day, but normally will spend the night in their hosting campgrounds. Managers more normally will work something like a 9 to 5 job.

    No matter which job you might be interested in doing, the most important criteria is that you like working with people. These are not difficult jobs, but you will be working with people who sometimes will blame you for problems that are not in any way your making. We have retired CEOs working for us and retired blue collar workers, one group is not necessarily better qualified than the other. If you are the type of person who responds to criticism by saying "that's not my fault" even when it isn't, you are probably not the right person. If you don't love the out of doors and enjoy conversing with people, the salary is not going to be adequate to make this job worthwhile. For most people being hosts, attendants and managers the money they get paid is secondary to the love of the job. You will be working in some of the most beautiful places in the world. If that stays with you, you will want to come back year after year, like many of our employees do.

   If you are not acquainted with the weather of the Northwest, you will  be pleasantly surprised. The early weeks in May and June might be rainy unless you work in the Deschutes Forest which is drier, but by July 4 the rain normally is completely gone and with the exception of a few days, the season will be dry to the end of September. The temperatures are usually cool (50s and 60s) in the evenings with very low humidity, but will be in the 70s to 90s during the day. Again this depends upon the exact location of the campgrounds. The higher the elevation the cooler the temperatures. The average temperature at Waldo Lake and Big Lake in the Willamette National Forest will be about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than Lake Billy Chinook in the Deschutes. In almost all areas the main camping happens between July 4 and Labor Day. Memorial Day is also crowded, but June usually gives you a chance to gradually get used to working in the campgrounds.

   Email mark@umbrellaproperties.com Phone Mark Hawes 541-484-6595. For specific questions especially if you have worked in Washington previous to Hoodoo's involvement, you are welcome to write the head of the company Chuck Shepard at umbrella96@aol.com.