Schwarz 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 Schwarz Campground located along the Row River and below Dorena Dam 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 Schwarz 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.

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 within the volunteer village at Schwarz 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 poor to non-existent cellular phone coverage within Schwarz Campground and around the lake. Volunteers will have access to free laundry machines at Schwarz.

About Schwarz Campground and Dorena Lake:

Dorena Reservoir and Schwarz 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.

Schwarz Campground offers a mixture of nearly 90 single and double-family campsites and six group sites. Flush toilets, drinking water, showers and a dump station are provided. Younger campers love the park's big playground.

Dorena Reservoir is a great location for boating, water skiing, fishing, and swimming. Nearby Baker Bay County Park offers a boat ramp and marina. USACE manages two, day-use parks - Harms Park and Bake Stewart Park - along Dorena Reservoir.

The Row River Trail stretches 14 miles from downtown Cottage Grove, past the Dorena Dam and along the entire north side of the lake. This popular path is open for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

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 Pine Meadows Campground, along Cottage Grove Lake.

Start Date - 2025-04-01

End Date - 2025-09-30