Jobs in the Great Outdoors

Camp together. Work together. Learn together. Get paid for your work. Complete exciting conservation projects on public lands. Rebuild the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail. Plant trees in a National Park. Construct a boardwalk bridge in a wetlands area. Preserve a cultural heritage site. Create and deliver educational interpretive programs at a State Park. Restore a wildlife habitat. Reduce wildfire risks. Help build energy-efficient homes for low-income residents. Rebuild a campground. Teach kids about forest ecology.

These are the types of opportunities that thousands of seasonal workers, summer jobbers and interns enjoy in America's parks, forests and outdoor playgrounds. With jobs that include conservation volunteers, youth corps members, field crew leaders, backcountry crew supervisors, forestry staff, leadership opportunities, environmental internships and a variety of outdoor field support staff, you'll explore every conceivable assignment while working in the great outdoors.

More to Explore
• Check out the Outdoor/Environmental Education Jobs or Meaningful Work channels for more outdoor-focused work programs!

Explore the Upper Midwest, make an impact outdoors, build lifelong friendships — and get paid doing it!

Wisconsin Conservation Corps crews are responsible for the gritty aspect of conservation at natural areas throughout the upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan). Crews work and live together throughout the experience, eat healthy meals, minimize their impact on the Earth, and complete hands-on projects, build trails, manage habitats, and complete carpentry projects on publicly accessible lands. Embrace the simple life outdoors — campfires, good books, journaling, and meaningful conversations with new friends!

Participants spend the duration of their project time living, serving, and traveling together. Crews stay together during their non-project time to participate in recreational activities, take care of chores, or travel to their next project site. WisCorps operates crews during the summer (May through August) and fall (September through November). Crew Leaders work both terms while Members have the option of one or two seasons. Compensation includes $550/week for Leaders ($300/week for Members), plus meals, single occupancy tent camping or dorm-style housing, an AmeriCorps education award upon successful completion of service, and the chance to network with land management agencies and learn various land management techniques. Crew Leaders also participate in a five-week intensive training program to kick off the season. If you are self-motivated, hardworking, confident, independent, passionate about the environment, and thrive in rugged conditions, explore current opportunities and fill out the crew application (will take about 30 minutes to complete) OR email Eric Robertson for more information.

• On the weekends, Conservation Crews stay together to explore or travel to their next project site. WisCorps believes staying together throughout the experience creates a close-knit community! This is a great opportunity to explore Wisconsin’s best-kept secret natural areas, local festivals, or farmers markets.
• View a short clip of the WisCorps crew experience.

Are you ready to work hard and make a difference? Develop leadership, career, and conservation skills? Connect with new friends? Camp and serve under the big skies of the wild Northern Rockies?

Montana Conservation Corps believes that through conservation service and authentic connection, members can sharpen their ability to create change and join the next generation of leaders for a better world. MCC focuses on the growth of members, making a positive impact on public lands, and teaching transferable career skills. MCC is currently accepting applications for many positions! Leaders and their crews will camp while working on physically demanding and essential natural resource and conservation projects on some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the Northern Rockies and Plains. Projects may encompass trail maintenance and construction, watershed and habitat restoration, invasive plant species management, fuels reduction, native planting, remote backcountry tasks, and more! Crew Leaders go through a leadership development program crafted over two decades to enhance their confidence, resilience, and technical capabilities.

Compensation ranges from a bi-weekly living allowance of $1,200–$1,440 and an AmeriCorps education award, with many great benefits (depending on position) that include FREE health insurance, housing opportunities may be available in specific regions, enrollment in the Member Assistance program (providing FREE 24/7 behavioral health consulting), CPR/first aid certification, technical skills training, food per diem while on projects, access to pro deals on day 1, professional level certifications, resume building, federal hiring training, Public Lands Corps hiring authority, and so much more. Apply now to launch your conservation career!

Why join an MCC crew? View member perspectives, see a day in the life, and learn about community at MCC.

• If you're eager to invest yourself in a physically and personally demanding service experience, the Montana Conservation Corps will give you the resources to help you improve your world and your life. You’ll take away a lifetime of memories, career skills, lasting friendships, and the tools to make a difference in your world.

A season with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps involves hard work in tough conditions but makes for amazing memories and life changing experiences!

Rocky Mountain Youth Corps engages young people in the outdoors, inspiring them to use their strengths and potential to lead healthy, productive lives. Whether serving with the Youth Conservation Corps, Conservation Corps, or Natural Resource Internship program, RMYC offers a diverse set of skills and training opportunities including trail work, environmental restoration, historic preservation, wildlife habitat management, invasive species management, wildland fire, and more within land management and natural resource fields. All programs are designed to engage youth and young adults in valuable work experiences within natural resources and land management. The experience can vary from backpacking to remote locations to build a bridge to surveying invasive species in a wildland fire burn scar. One day you might help build a campground and the next you could be blazing a new trail in the wilderness. Expect to spend a ton of time camping outdoors, hiking, and exploring Northwest Colorado’s natural beauty on your weekends with your fellow crew members as well!

Positions generally run from April through mid-October with varied start/end dates. Compensation varies by position or placement, with additional benefits that may include lodging, transportation, food, showers, laundry, gear stipends, and an AmeriCorps education award upon completion of the season. Many positions are entry-level, so no experience is required—just a willingness to learn, get dirty, and work hard in the outdoors. Whether you are looking for a fun summer job or the next step in your career, RMYC provides an unforgettable experience filled with growth, adventure, and meaningful work.

• Join Rocky Mountain Youth Corps for an immersive outdoor experience on public lands in 2026! Through meaningful conservation projects, youth and young adults are taught responsibility for self, community and environment through teamwork, service and experiential education.

Here is your chance to live and work outdoors in some of the most beautiful and rugged areas of the Pacific Northwest! Northwest Youth Corps provides opportunities for youth and young adults to learn, grow, and experience success outside. Programs focus on education, challenge, community, leadership, and empowerment, and typically include epic outdoor experiences in some of the most wild and scenic places in the Northwest. Programs include residential conservation crews for both youth and young adults, local community crews, community wildfire protection crews, an internship program for participants aged 18-30 (up to 35 for veterans), and a fully accredited high school.

Crews participate in physically challenging conservation work across various weather conditions and terrains and engage in collaborative tasks like meal preparation, water treatment, and tool maintenance, family-style dinners and organized educational sessions. Crew members receive guidance and support from their leader, who encourages them to gradually take on greater leadership responsibilities within the team. Compensation includes a monthly living allowance along with an AmeriCorps education award upon successful completion of the program. All meals, transportation, and camping accommodations are also provided. Many participants view this as a launchpad for careers in natural resource management, outdoor recreation, forestry, or environmental nonprofits. For others, it’s an opportunity to build versatile job skills, explore new destinations, connect with diverse people, and enjoy extended periods surrounded by the stunning landscapes of the Northwest. Previous outdoor experience is not necessary, although you should come prepared to camp in tents for over two months in all weather, work with your hands, and collaborate closely with a small group. If you are motivated to work outside and excel at teamwork, view individual postings and apply online. Questions are welcome at info@nwyouthcorps.org. Now hiring for the spring, summer and fall seasons!

With the guidance of experienced field staff, crew members earn money working on conservation, reforestation, and recreation projects, while developing leadership skills and learning how to work as a team. View the crew experience »

• The Northwest Youth Corps is about accepting challenge, getting in shape and being outdoors. It is a life where boots, sleeping bags, mosquito repellent and dips in icy cold lakes replace the usual comforts of home—time where building a campfire, pitching a tent and cooking in a Dutch oven becomes second nature.

Eager to gain hands-on environmental skills, learn new things, and serve in a team atmosphere? With more than 350 members and experienced staff statewide who restore critical habitat, build trails, and respond to local and national disasters, Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 as well as military veterans. Member positions are located statewide, from the peaks of the Olympic Peninsula to the fields of Eastern Washington. WCC crew members spend their days outdoors in all types of weather to accomplish environmental stewardship projects as part of a five-member team led by an experienced supervisor. Projects may include planting native trees and shrubs, controlling invasive plant species, using hand and power tools, building trails, and improving recreation access. Members in individual placement positions service directly with partner organizations on a variety of education, research, stewardship and restoration projects.

• No previous outdoor or field experience required. WCC seeks candidates who are interested in environmental stewardship and motivated by service.
• WCC is a career development program and offers professional mentorship, on-site skills training, and paid professional training opportunities.
• Networking opportunities abound with project partners from a diverse network of more than 100 federal, local, state, Tribal, and non-profit organizations.

Most WCC members serve 11-month positions beginning in early October, with limited opportunities to serve nine months (January start) or three months (June start). Benefits include a twice-monthly living allowance of $1,455 ($2,910/month, pre-tax), health insurance, access to mental health services, and the AmeriCorps education award after completing the service term. When overnight travel is required, WCC covers food and lodging. View current openings on the WCC web map, review the general member position description, and apply today!

• Join Washington Conservation Corps for a transformative, memorable year full of growth, learning, fun, and valuable skill-building! One of our own crew members says it best:
I can now walk a trail, point out an entire patch of thimbleberry based on the leaves alone, and share its scientific name, "Rubus parviflorus." I could not have done that a year ago. —Emily A, WCC crew member
• Step into a year with a WCC restoration crew. Learn about its members, the projects they've accomplished, and what life is like on a crew.

Spend a season or year outdoors conserving natural resources, gain field experience, and make a difference! From Minnesota’s scenic Superior National Forest, Mississippi River water trails and Twin Cities parks to Iowa’s forestland and wide-open prairies, Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa offers a wide range of opportunities to develop leadership and natural resource skills. If you want to work on a team of peers, build trails, learn how to manage wildfires, lead youth in conservation work, or land a hands-on apprenticeship, CCMI might be a good fit for you!

Featured Programs:
• Field Crew Leader/Member
• Individual Placements
• Youth Education Members

Benefits include a living stipend ranging from $2,300-$2,500/month depending on position, health insurance, student loan forbearance during the service term, a post-service AmeriCorps education award, and hands-on training and certifications. Applicants must be 18-30 years old (35 for Veterans) and able to perform essential functions of the job including physically strenuous work. Corpsmembers value hard work, community service, and environmental stewardship and join the Corps to give back to the community while gaining life-long skills. Whether looking to jump-start a natural resources career, protect the environment, or simply try something new, Corpsmembers often have a transformational experience leaving them feeling more prepared for whatever comes next. Explore open positions and learn more!

Whether it's a renewed appreciation for the outdoors or a personal roadmap for a career in natural resources, check out what these Corpsmembers had to say about their lives being positively impacted during the course of their service term.

• CCMI offers a wide range of year-long and seasonal opportunities for youth and young adults interested in a meaningful service experience, leadership development, and environmental stewardship. Not to mention, working outside in the beautiful states of Minnesota and Iowa. What more could you ask for?

Do you have the determination of a wombat? A forestry expert provides you with a Get-Up-And-Go approach to seasonal jobs in National Parks and U.S. Forests.

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