The last two weeks, we talked about the day-use side of Dash Point State Park, and then the trails and campground. This week, we’ll break down workamping for Dash Point State Park.
Available Positions and Responsibilities
Many workamping gigs are typically “camp host” positions; their responsibilities are:
- Updating reservation tags on camp sites
- Cleaning up campsites, especially cleaning out campfire rings
- Reporting damaged property to the rangers
- Reporting/collecting abandoned gear for lost and found
- Acting as a point of contact for guests
- Educating guests about park rules and regulations (BUT NOT ENFORCING)
- Light maintenance of trails and landscaping
When we applied to work at the state park, the only position they had available was as a “Maintenance Host.” The maintenance host position is largely the same as a camp host, except that instead of being responsible for a relatively small campground loop and being “on call” for campers, the maintenance hosts are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the day-use side.
A typical day as a maintenance host involved:
- Pick litter from the maintenance host site to Picnic Point
- Pick litter at Picnic Point
- Clean the grills at Picnic Point
- Pick litter on Picnic Point Trail
- Pick litter on the beach
- Clean the grills at the beach picnic areas
- Pick litter in the beach parking lot
- Pick litter on the Thames Creek Trail
- Pick litter in the group camp between reservations
If you had time or access to a UTV (the park never had enough for the camp hosts, maintenance hosts, and maintenance staff), you could spend time trimming the ever-present and ever encroaching blackberry canes around the beach parking lot and picnic areas.
All positions require 28 hours a week in exchange for your site.
The Best and Worst Parts of Workamping for Dash Point State Park
The Good
- Beautiful environment
- Work is light
- Close to amenities and supplies
- Free FHU slot
The Bad
- No structured expectations. See below.
- VERY scant communication/coordination with other hosts, rangers, and maintenance
- No pay, and not much time to work off-site
- Lots of hills, so walking requires strong legs
Regarding the expectations. When we arrived, we had to track down a ranger and request a schedule and training. The only schedule we ever got was 2 days off a week. Other than that, they didn’t seem to care what hours we worked, how we divvied things up, or even what we did. We had to initiate every conversation regarding anything. One of the rangers showed us around, indicated what equipment was available, and what would require additional training (though never followed up on the training for it). But they never told us what to do. Finally, we just stuck to litter picking and called it good. Hours were reported on a paper time sheet, but it was apparently on the honor system. We never got any feedback, so hopefully they were happy with our work.
At Dash Point State Park, Lack of Communication is the Main Drawback
By far the most memorable experience from working at Dash Point State Park was the near total lack of communication and coordination. It looked like the paid staff had semi-regular huddles to discuss projects and events, but the hosts, both camp and maintenance, were never roped in. This meant that if there were any projects that the hosts could help with, we never knew, and if we did decide of our own volition to work on a project, we always had that fear that we were screwing up plans from the other departments. In the last month of our stay, the lead rangers set up a group text for all the hosts, which significantly increased coordination, cooperation, and communication between the hosts, but it didn’t enhance communication beyond that.
Would we return to Dash Point State Park? Probably not, but it could be a good option for you if you’re fiercely independent and just want free hookups for minimal effort. This isn’t to say all Washington State Parks are like this, as different supervisors may manage things differently. Best of luck to you.