Campground hosting

kb0zke · March 5, 2022

We enjoy being campground hosts, and have hosted at several parks. Most of the visitors are great people, but once in a while we get someone that leaves us scratching our heads.

One park had a two-week limit. One family used to move every 10 days or so. One time he would make the reservation and the next time she would. The computer saw them as two different people, so allowed the reservations to go through. They had a rather distinctive vehicle, and after I noticed it at this site, then another site a week or 10 days later, then at another site, I asked the Ranger. He was able to do more checking, and found out what they were doing. They had to leave the park when their current reservation was up.

Another person wanted to do something that was allowed. I asked the Ranger and was told 'No," so I told him that. He said, "That's what the Ranger says. What's the real rule?" I told him it is what the Ranger says it is.

Then there was the guy who wanted to move the fire ring. He thought it was just sitting there on the ground! No, he didn't move it.

The best one, though, was the guy who had a site for Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday came, and no evidence of moving. The site was rented to someone else for Saturday night, and he was told that. Eventually, the Saturday arrival arrived, and he still wasn't out. He said he was going to stay another night and wanted to pay for the night. We told him that we were full, and his site was rented, so he had to leave. He wasn't happy. When the ranger told him he had 30 minutes to be gone, he realized that he had to move.

mptjelgin · March 5, 2022

Like most things in life, you'll spend 90% of your time and effort dealing with the 5% of folks who won't/don't follow the rules. That was our least favorite thing about campground hosting, and why the vast majority of our volunteering was for USFWS in either refuges or hatcheries, or in non-campground host assignments in state parks (like maintenance, interpretation, etc.)

LiveWorkDream · March 6, 2022

We've never been campground hosts, but we have workamped in hospitality settings and encountered similar jaw-dropping behavior. People are strange creatures. You get all kinds when you work with the public.

Kirk W · March 6, 2022

Like Mark & Teri, we have done mostly inturp and maintenance positions, but we have been campground hosts in 5 different states and agree that the vast majority of visitors are great people who appreciated what we did. If I really think back we did meet more than a few jerks, but my grandfather used to tell me that the difference between a good experience and a bad one was all in what you choose to remember, so I dwell on the good people and try to forget the others. ☺️

oldcodger · April 19, 2022

We workcamped for four seasons at an amusement park and have camp hosted the last several years in privately owned rv parks and will again this season in to the fall. IMO it is easier to camp host at private parks because if the owner also works and is in the park alot what he says goes. If he or she changes the rules we just roll with it. It's their park. What we found at our amusement park gigs was too many bosses and not enough knuckle draggers.

Case in point. Last summer had some rv'ers that let their dog run around off leash which was not allowed and so stated in the park brochure which was given to every one on entrance. I had to go up the hill twice and tell them after complaints. Third time a party called about the dog I informed the owner. He came over from home and and put the kibosch on the rv.ers. These folks and the dog were removed from the park.

His park his rules.

Dave

TXiceman · April 20, 2022

Oh, some of the stories we can tell while campground hosting. 98% of the campers are great. It is that 2% that give you 98% of the problems. We have seen campers ticketed and kicked out of the campground.

One of my favorites of all time clueless people was two couples with a herd of kids who were feeding them a steady diet of junk food. The kids did not pick up any wrappers. The wind was blowing, and the trash was blowing on the neighbors. I stopped and asked one of the ladies(?) if they could pick up the trash as it was blowing all over the place. She said, "Isn't that what the rangers were paid to take care of?" She was serious. I just told her I would let the office know and a bit later I went by again and she was picking up the trash. The LEO ranger had visited her and told her to pick it up or she would receive a litter citation.

Then there are the idiots that go off and leave a big fire blazing or want to play washer toss at 2 AM and totally wasted.

You really meet some nice folks while hosting but expect to meet some real clowns in the mix.

Ken

Kirk W · April 20, 2022

39 minutes ago, TXiceman said:

It is that 2% that give you 98% of the problems.

I prefer to remember the visitors who did things like giving us fish that were already fileted and ready for the skillet. But there were a few of the others that one really can't forget. My favorite was the night in a KS state park that I was alerted by campers that a male who had been drinking waded out into the lake and had not returned. I radioed for the park LEO and he and a sheriff's officer responded to join me at the campsite. As I stood near the community campfire trying to reassure the wives and the two officers were organizing to start a search, someone from the dark spoke up. "Hey man, what is all the racket about? Is there a party?" I turned to see who it was and the missing man came strolling into the firelight with all of the women and children gathered there, and not a single stitch of clothing on.

Edited April 20, 2022 by Kirk W

durangodon · April 20, 2022

10 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I prefer to remember the visitors who did things like giving us fish that were already fileted and ready for the skillet. But there were a few of the others that one really can't forget. My favorite was the night in a KS state park that I was alerted by campers that a male who had been drinking waded out into the lake and had not returned. I radioed for the park LEO and he and a sheriff's officer responded to join me at the campsite. As I stood near the community campfire trying to reassure the wives and the two officers were organizing to start a search, someone from the dark spoke up. "Hey man, what is all the racket about? Is there a party?" I turned to see who it was and the missing man came strolling into the firelight with all of the women and children gathered there, and not a single stitch of clothing on.

Pretty sad when a guy can't take a little midnight skinny dip without the campground host calling the authorities on him.