NPS Locations with RV Volunteer Camp Sites

[Xplorer]

This is a Full edit of the original post as a result of over a year's experience with NPSVIP Network, which was the original subject of this post.

The type of information I look for when searching for a RV Volunteer locations, includes RV Volunteer Site Amenities to include 30/50 amp, water, sewer. Normally, this type of information is not easily located without direct contact with an individual Park.

I have taken over a year to consolidate RV Volunteer Sites and Amenities information by personal contact, and identified NPS locations that Have RV Volunteer Sites and those that Do Not have RV Volunteer sites. This consolidation of information includes over 300 NPS locations. The information is available on the National Park Service Volunteer In Parks Network (NPSVIP), which is a free National Park Service sponsored site.

The NPSVIP Network is designed for intereraction and the sharing of information between Volunteer Managers, Volunteers, and Friends of Volunteers. It is not a discussion forum, however, it is designed to allow members to easily share information.

The NPSVIP Network requres registration. I have not had any issues with the site since becoming a member and creating an RV Volunteers In Park (RVVIP) Group in September 2010. The NPS Areawide Volunteer Coordinator that Administrators the site is a National Park Service Employee. The site does not have commercial advertising, soliciting, etc. Access is made available for Volunteers to obtain NPS items from a sponsored NPS Book Store and Gift shop.

NPS Historic Sites and Parks are creating Social Media Sites on twitter, facebook, etc.,. NPS Park Rangers are being assigned as Media Rangers to setup, administer and monitor social media sites for their specific Historic Site or Park.

Folks interested in having access to RV Volunteer Site Information as well as other Volunteer Information can access the NPSVIP Network here:

http://npsvipnetwork.org/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

If folks are looking for an alternative to paid work camping positions, and their Volunteer time is not about money, then RV Volunteering may be a great Option.

A study of Volunteer Work for the NPS was determined to be worth approximately $20.00 an hour to the National Park Service. Working hours vary from Location to Location and can range from as little as 16 hours per week to 40 hours per week for singles and couples. The Perks other than being provided a FHU Site vary from location to location which are described on the RVVIP Group Page. There is one Perk that can not be adequately described; that is the experience of the experience.

Addendum: With the help of other members of RVVIP, I am in the process of identifying RV Volunteer Locations, Sites and Amenities and consolidating that information on the US Forest Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish & Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, State and County Parks throughout the United States.

I hope this followup information is of interest and helpful to those who have thought about RV Volunteering, but didn't know where to start.

[wolfe10]

Great information, thanks Xplorer.

Ya, as you get new information, you can just click on "Edit Post" and then "Full Edit" on your original post and update the post.

That way readers have one complete document.

Brett

[Xplorer]

Great information, thanks Xplorer.

Ya, as you get new information, you can just click on "Edit Post" and then "Full Edit" on your original post and update the post.

That way readers have one complete document.

Brett

Done and Done,,,

Thanks

John

[lmsooter]

Thanks for the info. I have checked out the NPSVIP site and registered. Now it is time to do a little exploring on the site.

[Xplorer]

Imsooter,

just realized I repeated some information. If you just registered on npsvip, Joy will approved it by tomorrow, and you get a notice. She is really responsive. Being thanksgiving, it probably won't be until tomorrow. Also, after your membership is activated, if you indicate in your profile that you are an RV'r, you will also get an invitation to become a member of the RV Volunteers-In-Park Group. If you interested in the RV side of the NPS. If not, you should be able to see the information collected to date on NPS locations that use RV Volunteers, provide sites, hookups and other amenities.

I explored the npsvip network site for awhile before registering, the site is administered by the NPS Servicewide Volunteer Coordinator, nps employee located in DC. She was previously a Ranger in Philly.

The NPS is encouraging all NPS locations to expand their horizons by assigning Rangers as Media Relations Rangers to setup sites on facebook, twittr, flikr, etc....the youn Rangers assigned, seem to be enthused and interested in these new media's.

npsvip began in 2009, and now has 455 registered members. What I am seeing on the site, is more Park Rangers, permanent, seasonal, Volunteer Coordinators, and Volunteers becoming members of the network.

Collecting NPS RV Volunteer site information has taken a lot of time to accumulate. I am about 1/2 complete with the project, then I want to expand the information base. I only update the information on the npsvip rvvip group page. It is too timely to try to update more than one location, so I am keeping it specifically available on npsvip network. I don't want to commercialize it, etc. It is a fun project, hopefully folks that are interested in nps will enjoy having access to information not available elsewhere. Accessing the information, will require registering as you have done.

As an nps specific site, there is already a lot of nps info on the site.

Good Luck with the site and hope it is beneficial. Hope you enjoy the npsvip.