Pine Meadows Campground Volunteer Host

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Spend your summer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley!

The Willamette Valley Project is looking for highly motivated, energetic couples or 2-person teams to help manage Pine Meadows Campground along Cottage Grove Lake near Cottage Grove, Oregon. If you like working in the outdoors, helping campers, and maintaining recreation areas this could be a great opportunity for you.

Duties:

Daily work involves assisting in the operation of Pine Meadows Campground which includes, but is not limited to, staffing the entrance booth, selling campsites and passes (cashless system), conducting campground checks, checking in/out reservations for campers, updating reservation placards, providing information to visitors, and informing visitors of campground rules and regulations. It will not be your responsibility to enforce the rules and regulations, however you will need to be comfortable speaking with campers about our policies. Additionally, campground hosts may also perform minor maintenance as needed to include, but not limited to, installing, and removing signs, painting, vegetation management, and picking up litter. Hosts are not responsible for cleaning bathrooms.

There is a loop adjacent to Pine Meadows Campground called Primitive. Hosts will need to use a personal vehicle or bike to conduct campground checks at Primitive. Mileage will be reimbursed for official duties involving use of personal vehicle.

Time Commitment & Hours:

Position starts in April 2025 and goes through mid-September 2025. Exact dates TBD. This position requires working a minimum of 32 hours/week spread between two-four days for each couple.

Amenities:

In exchange for volunteering 32 hours of work per week, we offer a full hook-up campsite (water, sewer, and electric service) for an RV or trailer at Pine Meadows Campground. Volunteers must provide their own street legal RV or travel trailer and street legal transportation. Volunteers must have the ability to transport their RV or travel trailer for the duration of their service and must be able to remove RV or travel trailer without delay. Volunteers cannot have a third party drop off or leave an unmotorized trailer. WI-FI/internet is not provided but may be purchased through local companies. There is dependable cellular phone coverage at Pine Meadows Campground and around the lake.

About Pine Meadows Campground and Cottage Grove Lake:

Pine Meadows Campground is set in the gentle rolling hills of the Calapooya Mountains, less than 10 miles from the quaint town of Cottage Grove, also known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of the West", and 30 miles south of Eugene, Oregon. The campground has nearly 100 sites that each offer fire rings and picnic tables, several of which are on the lake shore. The main campground has flush toilets, showers, dump station, and designated swim area. Additionally, there are primitive sites with limited amenities on a loop adjacent to Pine Meadows Campground.

Cottage Grove Lake is a popular destination for numerous outdoor activities both on land and on water. There are two USACE managed boat ramps at nearby Lakeside Park and Wilson Creek Park, giving visitors easy access to the lake for boating and fishing. Families can use the swim beach or picnic along the shore. The lake is also a designated stop along the Big River Loop of the Willamette Valley Birding Trail, a self-guided driving tour that includes 138 birding hotspots.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited at all U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands and lease areas around Dorena and Cottage Grove Reservoirs including Schwarz and Pine Meadows Campgrounds. Volunteers are required to comply with this policy.

Other volunteer positions may be available at nearby Schwarz Campground, below Dorena Dam and Lake.

Start Date - 2025-04-01

End Date - 2025-09-30