Workamping / Volunteer Hosting in Canada

In researching "boondocking" and "free camping", I came across a work demographic I had never even known existed - "workampers".  I love it!  The idea that we could stay in a place for free, meet new people, give back to our beautiful parks and possibly earn some extra cash is awesome!


Volunteer host opportunities are available here at Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park

The best site I've visited for general workamper information is www.workamper.com   I found this in their comprehensive workamping FAQs

While you won’t find the word Workamper in Webster’s dictionary, you will find it in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The official definition goes as follows: Workampers are adventuresome individuals and couples who have chosen a wonderful lifestyle that combines any kind of part-time or full-time work with RV camping. “WorkCamper” with a “C”, also a registered trademark, denotes RVers who volunteer for charitable organizations such as Habitat For Humanity or the Christian Ministry in National Parks. 

The site has different levels of access depending on free or paid.  Free subscription includes access to a ton of informative articles detailing where & how to look for workamper jobs.  You can't access the job listing without paying for a subscription, but you can see a sample of past ads.

Another paid subscription service ($4-5/month) is  http://www.workingcouples.com  This site has job postings for 11 different countries, including Canada.  There were only 4 new postings in the Canada section this past year, but would be cool for looking for international opportunities.
  


Volunteer Host opportunities are available in Waterton National Park

For free access to Canadian workamping jobs, I've been looking at  http://www.happyvagabonds.com/Jobs/canada_rv_jobs.htm  The site describes itself as:

You'll find information about work camping, boondocking, places to visit, health and fitness, camp hosting jobs, campgrounds, rv parks, and lots of other information related to the outdoors experience. Please feel free to add your own article. Got something to sell or rent? List it for free in the Free RV Classifieds section.

The pros:  Canadian content, with full access to contact info, both paid & volunteer opportunities.
The con:  I can't tell how old these postings are.


Volunteer Host opportunties are available at Lac La Hache Provincial Park

I was able to find current volunteer workamping opportunities in Alberta Parks & BC Parks by visiting their respective official websites.  Most of the prime sites are no longer available, but opportunities still abound for those who do not need power hook ups.  Click here for the current volunteer opportunities in BC Parks.

To work in National Parks, you will need to find a park you would like to work in first & then look at the bottom of their campsite page to see if volunteer host opportunities are available.  Check out these two current opportunities at Yoho National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park.

No-Fee Campsite Review - Steveville Alberta Canada

I'm learning a new vocabulary - Boondocking, coyote camping, workamping.  A door has opened on a whole new world.  I have been immersed in the internet, my brain on overdrive absorbing all this new information.

I am in love with freecampsites.net .  I can't believe how many free camping sites are available in British Columbia!  Alberta has only a handful of free sites but one of them is less than an hour's drive away.  So we packed some snacks and headed out with the dogs to check it out.

Steveville is located about 40 minutes north of the Trans Canada Highway and only 20 minutes from the hugely popular  Dinosaur Provincial Park .  Make sure you have groceries & full tank of gas before you go though.  The nearest grocery & gas stations are in Duchess 40 km away & Brooks 50 km away.

The site is rustic, but pretty.  The leaves are just beginning to bud on these cottonwood trees, but in the summer they'll provide full shade & relief from the summer heat. There are fire rings, picnic tables and garbage cans.  In the middle of the site is a picnic shelter with a wood stove.  Sites are large & grassy, with options for privacy.  When we arrived 2 of the more secluded sites were being used, one by a large 5th wheel and the other a tent.

On the downside - It's worth noting that, with the exception of the first 100 m, the roads within the park are pretty bad with large potholes.  I was able to easily navigate them in my Ford Escape, but a large RV might have more of a problem and would need to take a spot near the entrance.  The pit toilets aren't in great shape.  Cattle graze in fields immediately adjoining the campsite and cow patties litter the landscape - this might be a problem for bugs in the summer.

On the upside - the sandy beach has spectacular views and is just a 5 minute walk away.  You can access the beach by walking to the SW corner of the campground.  There you will come to the base of the bridge and the access to the water.





The view to the west - note the bridge you will cross over right before the turn to the campsite.

Those are tumbleweeds in the water!

The view to the east - the beauty of the badlands and the border Dinosaur Provincial 

The river is fast flowing and the current is strong, making it dangerous to swim in.  But this beach lies on a bend and there are several shallow sandy pools that would be safe for wading in.






I imagine myself creating elaborate sandcastles here in June.  I wouldn't be the only one building...  although we didn't see any of the creatures themselves, we did see plenty of evidence that beavers are actively working the area.


One of two dams I saw along the river.  It might look just like a collection of sticks but the tell-tale marks in the sand, from sticks dragging as the beaver pulls them into the water, give its true nature away.




























Looking around the environment, we saw many other signs - well worn pathways from the tree line to the water, the abundance of sticks on the beach, tooth marks on tree stumps and then something I'd never seen before but couldn't mistake for anything else...










It looks like sawdust brickettes for the bbq but I'm absolutely positive that this is beaver poop!









Besides the beavers, we encountered an abundance of bird life including hawks and ring necked pheasants.  As I was standing at the river's edge, I could hear coyotes yipping in the distance.  I found evidence that deer have been lying down in this treed strip that borders the river.



All things considered, the good out weighs the bad on this little campsite and I'm looking on trying it out as our first boon-docking experience!

Have you ever done something completely off the chain?

Something that makes some people roll their eyes & others secretly, or not so secretly, jealous?

Hubby & I are completely unhooking that metaphoric chain.  We are going to run free.   At least for a year.  We are selling pretty much everything we own, moving into a camping trailer.  We plan to live as free as we can, moving to where ever the wind blows us for 12 months.

We're giving our notice on May 1st and starting this new life June 1st.  The tasks ahead of us right now are sorting our stuff, organizing a giant garage sale, buying a trailer to renovate, learning about the boondocking lifestyle, applying for workamping jobs and planning out a route of free campsites we'd like to stay in.  So much to learn and do in an overwhelmingly short time!  Yet, we are giddy with it.  Our conversations are animated as we discuss the possibilities opening up in front of us.   We can't wait to get started!

So I've started this blog with a few purposes in mind:

1.  To chronicle our journey, right from these first few steps.

2.  To connect and share information with like-minded people.

3.  To give me a place to share all my photos of the beautiful places we visit.

In my next blog, I'll be sharing photos and a review of a free campsite at Steveville, Alberta.