Your Life Is Better Than A Vacation

A visit to Yellowstone National Park is a bucket list item on its own. However, when you’re coming to a national park that’s millions of acres in size, a mere visit is barely enough time to scratch the surface of what Yellowstone has to offer.

Most visitors spend their time rushing through the park to hit the highlights: Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Grand Prismatic Spring, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Mammoth Hot Springs. When you work here, you have an entire season to explore these treasures. You can see the cycles of life from baby bison being born in the spring, to wildflowers blanketing the mountains in summer, to hearing an elk bugling in the fall.

So, what’s the best way to check everything off your Yellowstone National Park bucket list? Hire on as a seasonal employee with Yellowstone National Park Lodges!

Imagine being able to tell your friends and families that you live and work in the world’s first national park. When you come to Yellowstone for a seasonal job, there is an endless amount of incredible, one-of-a-kind experiences to be had.

Read on for some tips on what to embrace in order to make the most of your time in Yellowstone. Then you will be able to testify to family and friends that your life truly is better than a vacation.

Embrace your community: Live for your location

• People who work seasonally love being able to call a national park home, even if it’s only for a few months. They love finding a sense of community and belonging with others who also take pride in being ambassadors to the national parks they work at. But it is the sense of community formed with your roommates and co-workers on location that really forges bonds and creates memories that last a lifetime.
• Your friends, co-workers, and neighbors come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Not every day will be a “walk in the park”. There can be challenges to living in a remote, close-knit community. Be prepared to have a roommate in a dorm and eat in a cafeteria-style setting. But that’s not such a bad tradeoff to make;  you measure your daily commute in terms of steps, not miles, and you don’t have to plan and prepare meals or wash dishes!
• Read how one group of “Yellowstone Savages” formed friendships and memories while working in this special place that lasted a lifetime.

Embrace your attitude: Live for your positive side

• It can be easy to become jaded working in Yellowstone. The hard work, remote location, homesickness, occasional rude customers, etc., can all wear on you over a season. We’ve noticed that employees who do their work with a smile on their face and who find the positive side in all situations tend to enjoy their work more and are more enjoyable to be around.
• By its very nature, seasonal work can be busy and demanding. But you don’t choose a seasonal job because it’s easy; you choose to be one of the lucky people who can call Yellowstone National Park home (seriously, that’s your mailing address!)
• Read about how some of our employees made the most of their experience with a positive, contagious attitude.
  • An Open Letter to a Yellowstone Employee
  • How a Summer in Yellowstone Changed Everything

Embrace your strong work ethic: Live for your time off

• Yellowstone receives over four million visits throughout the year. The majority of these visits come during the summer. The work in Yellowstone is not always easy. A commitment to service and high levels of performance are a must. Yellowstone employees understand this and that makes their time off that much sweeter.
• Make the most out of your time in the park by taking advantage of employee perks like discounts, free passes, and recreation programs! Through your many adventures, you’ll develop pride in being an ambassador of Yellowstone.
• Read about how one of our employees makes the most out of her lunch hour.

Embrace your adventurous nature: Live for the off-season

• Those who come to Yellowstone National Park to work typically have an appetite for adventure. Armed with big ideas and some money in their pockets, they set off to various corners of the planet during the “off-season.” When you live and work in a national park, the opportunities for adventure and exploration are virtually limitless.
• A seasonal job is a lifestyle. While it’s not for everyone, those who experience it often consider it one of the best experiences of their life. It is a bold step to decide to travel across the country (or around the world) to arrive in a place you likely have never been before. But that adventurous attitude will bond you with other people seeking the same thing and you will help each other through the day-to-day. You’ll experience limitless opportunities for personal and professional growth in this new adventure!
• If you want some inspiration, check out where some of our Yellowstone staff vacation and volunteer in the off-season.

Why only visit a national park on vacation when you could work here? Consider adding “living in Yellowstone” to your bucket list.

It doesn’t matter what your experience level is.

• Positions are available even if your only qualification is a passion for Yellowstone. When you work hard, there are opportunities for growth. Much of our leadership team came to the park as seasonal employees with no experience. Our Executive Chef started on the kitchen crew at the Old Faithful Inn and our Director of Human Resources started as a guest service agent.

It doesn’t matter what your job title is.

• What’s important is you are helping to create memorable experiences for our guests and exceeding their expectations in one of America’s most beautiful places. Don’t get fixated on a certain job title you want. Rather, be willing and open to accept a job that gives you an opportunity to live, work, and explore in Yellowstone.

It doesn’t matter what your availability is.

• Working in a National Park is not “just a summer job.” Yellowstone’s operating season runs from April through October. While preference is usually given to hiring people who can work the entire season, there are still plenty of opportunities to work spring and/or autumn seasons. These 6-12 week positions allow you to try seasonal employment and see if it’s right for you. If the lifestyle isn’t a good fit, it’s only a few months, and then you can move on.

Check us out on Facebook and follow the hashtag #yellowstonejobs for a “boots on the ground” perspective.

The key to starting your seasonal adventure is preparation and research. The first step is reviewing our website. Not only will you find employee-specific information (housing, pay, recreational opportunities, etc.) but you will also be able to review our industry-leading sustainable business practices.  You can also check Xanterra’s website for more information on our values, lifestyle, and personality.