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 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:
- Host Spot with water tank for RV
- Electricity: yes
- Water: yes
- Septic: above ground, functional with one of the two underground pipes working
Additional Info: The host site is located in a corner of the parking lot near a shed. It has power and a septic holding tank that works, though it relies on one of the two underground pipes. The water situation is managed by a volunteer switching on the well pump, filling a potable water tank (we provide) near the host spot, and using a 12v pump (we provide) to fill the RV from the tank. The well pump need to be turn off when not in use.
Season:
5 months, 5/1 - 9/30, entire season desired.
Contact: Ella Fitzwater
Phone: 907-345-5014
Email: ella.fitzwater@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:
- Host Spot for RV
- Electric: Yes
- Potable Water: Yes (Water delivered as needed)
- Septic: Yes
Additional Info: McHugh has a paved pad for the Caretaker Site with electric and a septic tank. However, the underground water tank is not functioning, so we’ve switched to providing an above-ground potable water tank and arranging for water deliveries as needed. Camp hosts can access the Potter Ranger Station facilities 24/7 for laundry, showers, heat, electricity, and water.
Note: The more frequently camp hosts use the Ranger Station’s indoor plumbing, the less often their site’s holding tanks will fill, reducing the need for frequent pumping.
Reminder: All Turnagain Arm volunteer sites (McHugh, Bird Overflow, Bird Point) use holding tanks (no septic leach fields). Both blackwater and graywater fill the same holding tank and require periodic pumping.
Season:
5 months, 5/15 - 9/15
Contact: Ella Fitzwater
Phone: 907-345-5014
Email: ella.fitzwater@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:
- Water: Yes
- Power: Yes
- Portable Tank for Waste: No (Portable 22-gal tank provided for waste disposal)
Additional Info: Power and water are run to two spots near the wellhouse for host sites—one near the group site, and the other at an actual campsite (map attached). However, there is no septic system; we provide a portable 22-gallon tank for waste, which is then rolled over to a latrine manhole to be emptied. Camp hosts also have 24/7 access to the Eagle River Shop/Ranger Station for laundry and showers, bathroom.
Note: The Eagle River cabin has power and heat, but no water or septic.
Season:
4 months, 5/15 – Labor Day, (entire season preferred).
Contact: Ella Fitzwater
Phone: 907-244-0299
Email: ella.fitzwater@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:
First Host Site:
- Electric: Yes
- Water: Yes
- Septic: Yes
- Subsistence Allowance: Yes
Second Host Site:
- Camp Host Cabin Provided: Yes
- Electric: No
- Water: No
- Septic: No (Portable tank required for blackwater disposal)
- Ranger Station Access: Yes (Showers, washer/dryer, landline, and internet available)
- Subsistence Allowance: Yes
Additional Info: The first host site has full hookups (electric, water, septic). The second host site is a gravel pad where we can run water, electricity, and a phone line seasonally. The second site has a gray water-only sump/French drain. Blackwater disposal requires a portable tank, but the second site is a short distance from the Ranger Station, where indoor plumbing is available.
Season:
4 months, 5/15 – 9/4, (entire season preferred).
Contact: Ella Fitzwater
Phone: 907-244-0299
Email: ella.fitzwater@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.
