BLM Seeks volunteer campground host for California’s remote Lost Coast
[Stock image from BLM]
The Bureau of Land Management’s King Range National Conservation Area is seeking a volunteer campground host for the 2026 recreation season at Mattole Campground, the northern gateway to the renowned Lost Coast Trail in Humboldt County.
Situated where the Mattole River meets the Pacific Ocean, Mattole Campground welcomes thousands of hikers, backpackers, and day visitors each year. The campground host is often the first friendly face visitors encounter before setting off on the 25-mile Lost Coast Trail — one of California’s most spectacular and remote coastal routes.
The volunteer position runs May 15 through October 15, with a commitment of approximately 20 to 30 hours per week. Duties include greeting visitors, providing trail and tide safety information, helping campers find sites, promoting Leave No Trace principles, and assisting with light campground upkeep such as litter pickup, restroom cleaning and restocking, and reporting maintenance needs to BLM staff.
The ideal candidate enjoys working with the public, operating independently in a remote environment, and caring for public lands. Volunteers must provide their own self-contained RV or trailer, as Mattole Campground has no on-site potable water, dump station, cell service, or Wi-Fi.
In exchange for their service, hosts receive a complimentary campsite and the rare opportunity to spend a summer living on California’s rugged Lost Coast — surrounded by sweeping ocean views, abundant wildlife, and some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in the American West.
For more information or to express interest, contact Sandy Miles, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at [email protected] or (707) 986-5415.
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So no income for this work. All the money BLM has and they keep it for their road closed gates and pensions.
Wow! You get to camp out in your own trailer while you clean the restrooms? What a great deal!! (yes- sarcasm) How did BLM ever find this in their bloated budget?! Wonderful BLM- the agency with so much overhead, shiny offices and many many meetings and conferences….
This “volunteer position” is merely a government version of GoFundMe (which in previous eras was accurately known as beggary but has since been rebranded and made hip).
Absolutely not!! You gotta offer something like food budget or percentage of campsites paid for. This is embarrassing of BLM.
Pretty sure I can get a grant to bust dopers. They grow the dope there. I can raid their food caches. I’ll need a LE spec Charger, or at least a hopped up tactical golf cart!
Unpaid camp hosting is common in state and federal parks. Many people jump at the chance to live rent free in exchange for work. They can receive a free campsite, water, electricity, and sometimes sewer/Wi-Fi (where available). There is often a waiting list for positions. No one is getting taken advantage, the key word being VOLUNTEER.
Quite contrary to the general mood of the trusty grumbling commentators. Well done MaryAnne. Point goes to MaryAnne.
Except there’s no housing, water, electricity, WiFi, the food store there doesn’t have much and it’s not rent free. 20-30 hours on duty with garbage, toilets, and bugging campers… for a campsite where its actually free to camp a stones throw away. I guess they could find someone that’s all set up with a craving to be an authority figure. Remind me of farms looking for workers who are given a tent site for the privilege of finishing projects 30 yrs a week.
I’ll bring a camper. But only if I can vend cigarettes, hard ciders, MrT, maybe some fish bait, varmint traps and Deep woods Off. It can be like a co-op. The locals will love the idea and clamor to participate. We can call it Sugar Daddy Plantation, or something equally inoffensive.
But only if those fuckin fuckers tow my toy holler out there.
You are welcome for my attention to this matter.
I just want to be sure I’ve got the wufi, and sewers. I’m on my way now. Just gotta dump some on my way up the Wilder Cats. No one is getting taken advantage of.
Don’t disappoint me.