DNR Logo
Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation

Alaska State Parks Volunteer Program Campground Host Positions

Chugach Region


Chugach Area Office

18620 Seward Hwy.
Anchorage, AK 99516
phone: (907) 345-5014
fax: (907) 345-6982
email: csp@alaska.gov

Note: Please be sure to check the general information page for instructions on applying! Don't forget to look at the More Information on Campground Hosting page. Click here to return to the area listing of host positions.

The following host positions are all located within Chugach State Park. The half million acres of Chugach are mostly wilderness with rugged mountains, sweeping glaciers, and abundant wildlife. The park is next door to Anchorage and offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.



CHUGACH STATE PARK
The following host positions are all located within Chugach State Park. The half million acres of Chugach are mostly wilderness with rugged mountains, sweeping glaciers, and abundant wildlife. The park is next door to Anchorage and offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Bird Creek Campground
Bird campground is located between the highway and picturesque Turnagain Arm, which is famous for its bore tides and its Beluga whales. A mixed forest of birch and spruce surrounding the campground provides an attractive background for 24 camping sites and two public use cabins. Nearby Bird Creek is a stocked salmon fishery managed by the Department of Fish and Game. Bird Campground is within easy travel distance of Anchorage and Girdwood.
Job duties:
Serve as a primary point of contact for visitors and monitor user activity within the facility. Advise users of associated fees. Perform regular janitorial service and assist park staff with minor maintenance including limited mowing, trimming, litter pickup, and other duties as needed.
Amenities:
Subsistence allowance, septic hookup
Season:
5 months, 5/1 – 9/30, entire season desired.
Contact: Chief Ranger Keith Wilson
Phone: 907-345-5014
Email: keith.wilson@alaska.gov


Bird Creek Campground Overflow
The Overflow Campground is located above the highway with views of Turnagain Arm, which is famous for its bore tides and its Beluga whales. It is well known for its quiet family atmosphere where people return to year after year. The campground receives high use on holidays with moderate to high traffic when the salmon are biting at nearby Bird Creek.
Job duties:
Serve as a primary point of contact for visitors and monitor user activity within the facility. Advise users of associated fees. Perform regular janitorial service and assist park staff with minor maintenance including limited mowing, trimming, litter pickup, and other duties as needed.
Amenities:
Subsistence allowance, electricity, water, and septic
Season:
5 months, 5/1 - 9/30, entire season desired.
Contact: Chief Ranger Keith Wilson
Phone: 907-345-5014
Email: keith.wilson@alaska.gov




McHugh Creek Day Use Area
McHugh Creek Day Use Area provides stunning views of the Kenai Mountains and Turnagain Arm. It consists of 30 parking spaces, latrines, picnic tables and a covered picnic pavilion. McHugh Creek is also a jumping off point for the Turnagain Arm area trails that take you deeper into the mountains or parallel the Seward Highway. On weekends, McHugh creek fills with picnickers and nature viewers. During spring and early summer, it is common to see moose calves with their mothers wandering through the area.
Job Duties:
Serve as a primary point of contact for visitors and monitor user activity within the facility. Advise users of associated fees. Perform regular janitorial service and assist park staff with minor maintenance including limited mowing, trimming, litter pickup, and other duties as needed.
Amenities:
Subsistence allowance, electricity, water, and septic.
Season:
5 months, 5/15 - 9/15
Contact: Chief Ranger Keith Wilson
Phone: 907-345-5014
Email: keith.wilson@alaska.gov



Eagle River Campground (1 host position)
Tucked in the Eagle River Valley and conveniently located just off the Glenn Highway, Eagle River Campground boasts 57 individual campsites. Each campsite offers paved parking pad, picnic table, tent pad area, and fire ring; no RV hookups provided in this facility. There is a reservable picnic shelter located in the day use area. There is also a large reservable group camping site, a reservable tent platform site, and one public use cabin. The facility serves as both a weekend destination for local campers and a stopover for visitors traveling the state road system.
Job duties:
Serve as a primary point of contact for visitors and monitor user activity within the facility. Advise users of associated fees. Perform regular janitorial service and assist park staff with minor maintenance including limited mowing, trimming, litter pickup, and other duties as needed.
Amenities:
Subsistence allowance, electricity, nearby Ranger Station has additional amenities.
Season:
4 months, 5/15 – Labor Day, (entire season preferred).
Contact: Ranger Levi Schmidt
Phone: 907-244-0299
Email: levi.schmidt@alaska.gov



Eklutna Lake Campground (2 host positions)
This popular 50-site campground also has an 8-site overflow area, two group camping sites, picnic area, and trailhead to 30 miles of trail. It is located one hour north of Anchorage at the northern end of 7-mile-long Eklutna Lake. The area offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, ATV'ing, horseback riding, kayaking, and fishing.
Job duties:
Host duties include welcoming campers and day users and acquainting them with the park area and facilities; informing visitors of park regulations and fees; janitorial maintenance, staffing an entrance fee station some weekends and holidays. Hosts assist the area park ranger and staff with the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the campground facilities. There are two positions, one for the main campground and one for the overflow area and Group Sites.
Amenities:
There are two campground host campsites; one with full hook-ups and the other with partial. Ranger Station nearby has shower, washer/dryer, landline, and internet access all area volunteers can access. Both positions come with a subsistence allowance.
Season:
4 months, 5/15 – 9/4, (entire season preferred).
Contact: Ranger Levi Schmidt
Phone: 907-244-0299
Email: levi.schmidt@alaska.gov


Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge: Potter Marsh (1 host position)
Nestled between Cook Inlet and the Chugach Mountains, this 32,000 acre state wildlife refuge cradles the southern and western edge of the City of Anchorage. The refuge's tide flats and wetlands support 215 species of birds, 20 species of mammals, 5 species of Pacific salmon, and other wildlife. Potter Marsh, a 520 acre freshwater marsh, is the most accessible and popular area of the refuge and contains several day-use wildlife viewing sites including a half-mile of elevated boardwalks, viewing decks, spotting scopes, and short trails. The marsh provides habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, bald eagles, moose, brown and black bears, beavers, muskrats, spawning salmon, and many other species.
Duties: Overall supervision of visitor use sites, greet visitors in an informal setting on boardwalks and viewing sites, provide information and answer questions, and light maintenance. Optional duties for interested volunteer include staffing wildlife viewing sites and conducting informal bird identification walks.
Amenities: RV/Trailer host parking area (volunteer must provide own RV or camper), freshwater and wastewater holding tanks, subsistence reimbursement (with receipts) up to $575/month, electrical generator, cooking and heating fuel, uniform, and cell phone are provided. Showers are available at nearby refuge facility.
Season: Mid-May through mid-September, entire season preferred but may be split.
Contact: Sue Rodman
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99518
phone: (907) 267-2281
email: sue.rodman@alaska.gov
website: http://www.refuges.adfg.alaska.gov.


Mission Statement

"The Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation provides outdoor recreation opportunities and conserves and interprets natural, cultural, and historic resources for the use, enjoyment, and welfare of the people."

Accessibility Notice

Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation

Atwood Building
550 West 7th Avenue
Suite 1380
Anchorage, AK 99501
DNR Public Information Center:
(907) 269-8400
DPOR Director's Office:
(907) 269-8700