Camp hosting at North Dakota State Parks

Public relations is a big part of a camp host position. From welcoming campers to providing information about the park, registering, the area, etc. Also relaying comments and concerns to the park staff. After that, each park may differ due to size, amount of employees, type of park, etc.

Little Missouri Bay State Park is 20 miles northeast of Killdeer, ND at the edge of the Badlands. It is also a horse campground, with corrals, and horse/hiking trails in the Badlands. We were there from June 14th through July 12th. They requested 25-30 hours per week/per couple. They have 35 sites; just electricity, three without electricity. They have two rangers that live there in the summer. 

If guests were there, we cleaned the toilets and the showers daily. We also cleaned up the corrals after horses left, and cleaned manure off of the road or grass. Campers cleaned out the corrals when they left, but sometimes there is extra loose hay and/or manure. We also cleaned out fire pits and picked up litter and branches. Curt helped mow a couple of times. We helped sell firewood and hay and deliver hay. We could drive a Kubota or walk.

We had a camp site with 30 amp, water and sewer in between the office and first row of campers, and across from corrals. We were able to use the 50 amp from the camp site next to us when it was empty. There’s also a 50 amp power pole behind the office, but you will need a couple of cords to make it that far. The Verizon service was iffy some days but we were okay with our booster in our rig. We used our own internet. The TV channels came and went too; some days we’d get five, other days nothing.

Lewis and Clark State Park is 22 miles southeast of Williston, ND. We were there from July 13th through August 14th. They also requested 25-30 hours per week/per couple. There are 101 sites; full hookups, partial hookups, tents, two cabins. There are three rangers and one office person there year-around, and about 10 rangers/office/maintenance seasonal.

We walked through the park and on the beach picking up litter and checked the comfort station and pit toilets. We drove around the campground with a Toro Workman (stick-shift) selling firewood and watering flowers. We took the old camping permits off posts and cleaned up the campsite and fire pits after campers left. Also, checked the current campers with the daily roster sheets. I helped the naturalist at the amphitheater on weekends with her programs. They also had two special events when we were there that we helped with – Christmas in July and Family Fun Weekend.  We put in more than the minimum 25-30 hours hosting there.

We had a camp site with 50 amp, water and sewer. We couldn’t get any TV channels. There is internet provided by the Friends of Lewis and Clark State Park, but it’s usually slow. Verizon worked in a few areas of the park. We were okay with our booster in our rig. We were parked near campers in the bottom loop near the dump station, comfort station and playground.

For our blog posts and pictures, please click here for Little Missouri State Park and here for Lewis and Clark State Park.