Medicine Bow, Routt forests seek campground hosts for busy season

Campground hosts were still needed at Brooklyn Lake, Nash Fork and Tie City as the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests moved to cover the summer and fall rush in Albany County’s busiest mountain recreation corridor.

The Forest Service said the roles were volunteer positions with a small stipend, aimed at people who wanted to spend time outdoors while helping the public. Hosts handled the day-to-day work that keeps a campground functioning: answering questions from visitors, helping campers, posting reservations, and keeping campsites and restrooms clean. The agency said those duties help campgrounds run smoothly and improve the recreation experience for the people who show up once the weather turns warm and the roads fill up.

That staffing matters in the Pole Mountain area, which sits north of Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne and covers about 55,000 acres in Albany County. The Forest Service says the area sees heavy year-round use from Laramie, Cheyenne and Fort Collins, and the campground host role is often the first contact visitors have when they arrive. When host slots go unfilled, the burden shifts onto campground operations at exactly the time traffic, weather and demand can change fast.

In the Laramie area, the April 21 notice listed openings at Brooklyn Lake, Nash Fork, Rob Roy and Tie City. Brooklyn Lake has 19 campsites and an open season from mid-July to early October. Tie City has 17 campsites and an interior road the Forest Service describes as narrow and rough in places. Nash Fork, near Centennial, sits at 10,200 feet and has 24 campsites, underscoring how spread out the staffing need is across the forest.

The agency said the season typically runs from early summer to late fall, with start and end dates flexible. That gave applicants some room to fit the work around family schedules or other seasonal jobs, while still covering the stretch when recreation traffic is highest. The Forest Service also said campground hosting was one of its volunteer opportunities, that positions generally required a minimum of two weeks, and that hosts were not Forest Service employees but served under a signed volunteer agreement. Volunteers were covered by worker’s compensation while performing their duties.

Beyond Albany County, the notice also listed Douglas-area openings at Campbell Creek, Curtis Culch, Esterbrook and Friend Park. Interested people could email or call the recreation contacts listed for each area and could also ask about other campgrounds or recreation sites if they had a preference not already named.