Are you scrambling to find a summer job? Itching to get out of your hometown and find something that includes housing and a meal plan? Maybe you’re searching for something a little off the beaten path, something extraordinary that your friends haven’t thought of yet? If so, I’d like to introduce you to the best summer of my life thus far: working and living in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2022.

Summers can be tricky — especially coming from Elon, where the majority of students head home for summer break and few remain on campus. If you’re an Elon student reading this, you’ve likely spent your summers back in your hometown, which inevitably means that it might be time for some change.

Seasonal work that includes on-site housing — think sleepaway camps, national parks or resorts/hotels in remote places — can be great ways to spend a summer outside of your comfort zone with all of your necessities met and handled by your employer. With that being said, I’d like to recommend Yellowstone as your next destination.

On the clock

Last summer as a hospitality intern, I cycled through six different jobs in Yellowstone. Because of this, my days looked drastically different from most as my program constantly had us rotating in and out of new roles and uniforms in an attempt to give us a greater understanding of hotel operations. Despite the nonstop moving around, I really enjoyed this schedule and unique experience. I spent time working in housekeeping, behind the front desk, as an inspector and even spent a day in the laundry facility! Full transparency: they weren’t all glamorous roles, but all were worth the greater experience at hand.

Off the clock

Some of my best days looked like…

-Camping in the Tetons with my best friends

-Taking a road trip to Idaho to surf and sled on the St. Anthony Sand dunes

-Joining and completing YCERP’s 100 mile hiking club

-Going to the Rodeo (best known as the Cody-o) and staying at a beloved KOA

Chiller moments looked like…

-Polar plunges into Yellowstone Lake

-Debriefs with my beloved roommate Ab (and Hannah and Meg and all the other beautiful souls I met)

-Yellowstone prom

-Drives through the park (never without arguments over who is on AUX)

-Hiking Storm Point a million times

-Eating pub pizzas

-Reading in various spots

-Being on the front porch of Lake Lodge around sunset

-Participating in the intern basketball league

-Fishing

-Square dancing

-Being in hammocks, looking at stars, being in the park, being in nature, the list goes on and on…

Overall, it was an amazing experience, and one you should definitely consider applying for.

Logistics

My search for a job in Yellowstone began on https://www.coolworks.com. CoolWorks is a job posting website, where you can find applications for ski resorts, National Parks, dude ranches, summer camps and everything in between. They have a page dedicated to National Park jobs that explain what each park is like, including Yellowstone.

If you're interested in working in Yellowstone, Xanterra Travel Collection (the company I worked for), currently holds a contract with YNP, meaning this company operates all of the hotels, restaurants, gift shops and activities within the park. It is not the only company in Yellowstone, but it is the largest and hires about 3500 people each summer. You can find their job applications on CoolWorks website or by visiting Xanterra’s website directly.

Have you worked somewhere cool over the summer? Tag us @theedgemag with where I should head to next!

I Spent the Summer in a National Park, and You Should Too

On the clock

Off the clock

Logistics