State Parks is hiring 305 park aides

Seasonal positions will serve parks across Washington.

OLYMPIA – Jan. 17, 2023 – Washington State Parks is recruiting seasonal park aides to work in its beautiful outdoor places this spring, summer and fall!

Parks is looking for 305 park aides and senior park aides to work from April through September in diverse environments like old-growth forests, channeled scabland and shrub steppe, as well as on Pacific Ocean beaches and the high desert and around Puget Sound and its islands.

Park aides enjoy a variety of duties. They may register campers, maintain trails, clean campgrounds and maintain facilities. They also may staff park offices, assist visitors and help with interpretive and educational programs. Park aides work in one large park or cover an area with several small parks. Each senior park aide leads a team of park aides.

As valued members of the Parks family, park aides span multiple generations. This opportunity is ideal for recent high school and college graduates, retired workers looking for an encore, military veterans transitioning to civilian employment and mid-careerists taking time to reinvent themselves. Most park aides appreciate the flexibility of seasonal outdoor work and the mix of public interaction and physical labor.

According to Customer Service Manager Ariel Ryon, who originally joined the agency as a park aide, “No two workdays are alike.”

Park aides have the chance to grow with Parks, and several, including Ryon, have gone on to success in the agency's customer service, planning, conservation and construction departments. Former park aides also have found work in the outdoor industry, for environmental nonprofits or with other public lands agencies.

Non-permanent

Most park aide positions are non-permanent. The position typically runs five to six months. Some parks offer park aides temporary housing.

Application process

Applications are open now through August. Park aides earn $16.61 to $19.09 an hour, and senior park aides earn $17.79 to $20.98 an hour, depending on qualifications and experience. More information and online applications can be accessed at Parks Aide Jobs. Staff testimony and other details are available in this video.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons over 40 years of age, disabled and Vietnam-era veterans and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 902-8565, Human Resources office or the Washington Telecommunication Relay Service at (800) 833-6388.

News media contacts:
Meryl Lassen, Communications Office
media@parks.wa.gov