Work Camping: Could You Survive on Camping Wages Alone?
I have seen so many questions on social media, asking if a person or a couple or even a family could survive on work camping wages only. You could make some sweet moola with work camping, plus have the benefits of sight seeing amazing places and meeting new people you would have never met otherwise. Work camping is not always play, but definitely some work involved, depending on what is required for the campground. I am here to tell you if you could survive on work camping wages alone and the answer might surprise you. But first, what is work camping and how could it benefit you?
Work camping is basically what those two words mean: you work while you camp. You may receive a wage or may not. However, we will only talk about earning that green money some of us may need. You get to go to a place you desire to, lets say, Yellowstone National Park (and they do hire!), provide some working hours, usually anywhere from 30-40 hours a week (this could vary from campground to campground and the need), and on your days off, you get to explore. I mean, who would not want to explore Yellowstone? Here is a LINK if you are interested in working at the Yellowstone General Stores, located throughout the amazing park of Yellowstone!
But there is a catch, as a work camper myself, so read the following and I will give you the truth at the end:
Research: Before you dive into work camping, take a good, hard look at your finances. Do a spreadsheet. Do a rough estimate of what you might be earning at a campground. With your current expenses, will the income be enough to cover them?
Look before leaping: Take a look at some work camping opportunities in areas you want to explore, see what the requirements are and how work camping can benefit you and the campground. A lot of campgrounds offer free campsites and wages, but there are some that have you partially pay for a campsite (maybe work 10 hours for your site and the rest will be income for you) and still work camp. It really depends on the area and what you are willing to do if that is a place you want to visit. Take a look below as I have links to find work camping opportunities!
OK wages, no rent: The wages will vary as some campgrounds or even all will use your free campsite as a part of compensation of the benefit package. For example, lets say you want to visit the Black Hills in South Dakota for the summer (the Black Hills are amazing). The pay is $12 per hour, which might seem a little low according to our expensive economy we live in today, and your RV site is free. That means no rent and no utilities (water, sewer and electricity are free). Perhaps you will receive free WIFI: but be warned about campground WIFI. Take a look at this LINK about WIFI and how you can achieve numerous and better WIFI options than a campground. You may also get discounts in the campground store, propane, laundry money, and nearby amenities such as rafting, horseback riding if the campground offers it. So if you weigh that in, you are actually saving money, especially with high rent everywhere!
Great wages, low rent: On the other hand, some campgrounds will pay a high wage, lets say $15 per hour (could be more), but want you to pay a partial rent, maybe per person if a couple, every other week. But the place is fabulous to explore and you want to spread happiness on social media with all your photos. Again, you will have to weigh what is right for you. But there are some people that do not want to pay ANY rent, and just receive wages for hours worked, and that is ok, too.
Working at a campground, what is it really like? Well let me tell you, it is not like what people on YouTube say. It is work. You just do not sit around and do nothing, unless, there is really not anything to do. I have worked only in the office where my husband is outside, escorting guests and doing maintenance. I have met wonderful people, especially from foreign countries. They are the best! And I have met not so nice people, the entitled crowd that expect things, and they will not get. There are the phones to answer, troubleshooting (why do bad things happen when management is not there?), greet new guests as they arrive and especially help them find touristy places to visit. I got to know the state of Wyoming really well, and Yellowstone was like our home away from home. I feel it is important to help tourists when you work at a campground to find those amazing places and they will ask and expect you to know! There is more about working at a campground that I want to share so click on the LINK to find out more!
As we wrap this up, I have concluded that work camping and surviving on work camping wages alone are NOT compatible. You will need a second source of income, like retirement, a spouse remote working, inheritance or a job in town. Even though you can save money living rent free, no utilities, you will STILL bring your own bills with you and have to pay them. You know how I said you can visit amazing places where you work camp at? It will cost you gas, a LOT of gas and we all know gas is high now. Plus time and wear and tear on your vehicle. I view work camping as making extra money just to explore. We have retirement from my husband (not me yet), so that helps us tremendously, otherwise, we probably would not work camp.
I hope this has been helpful, not a downer as I want to be honest about the work camping experience and help you make the best decision of whether to work camp or not. As promised I have some links, not in any order, I would like to share with you to help you find great work camping jobs:
Work Camper News: Honestly this is my number 1 place to go as they have so many work camping opportunities, whether it is for wages or volunteering. There is also a Facebook group for this site, just google work camper jobs. This is fee based, (not the FB group) however, but not only do you get work camping opportunities sent to you via email and some you can search on their website, but also you can build your resume, post it on your account and receive free training resources to help you with work camping!
Workampingjobs.com: this is a free site where you can look for work camping jobs with a filter, narrowing it by state and/or wages or no wages, by what job you are applying for and most recent jobs at top. There are plenty here!
Happyvagabonds.com: Another free site with listings of work camping opportunities by state. Lots of jobs listed here and we did find a job one time here. The only negative I have about this website is that they do not update the job listings!
Share with us what you liked about this post and if work camping is in your future!