How to Find Outdoor Seasonal Jobs with Housing
Whether you are just starting out in the tourism industry or have been working seasonally for years, it’s important to find a job that aligns with your values (and allows you to save money while doing it).
Although the outdoor industry isn’t known for its high-paying positions, many guides and hospitality professionals find it is possible to boost their savings each season by opting for roles that provide housing and allow them to live rent-free in breathtaking destinations around the globe.
Whether you’re an avid skier looking to spend a season in the mountains or prefer to post up at a scenic lodge, there are several options to consider when looking for seasonal jobs with housing.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to find seasonal jobs with housing and live out your nomadic dream.
Narrowing Down Your Job Search
Before you start looking for a job, it’s important to consider what your priorities are. What’s more important to you: the specific job or the location? Saving money? Having an incredible community? Or having an employer-provided place to live? Assessing what is most important to you will help you narrow down your search and allow you to decide which seasonal jobs with housing are right for you.
Things to consider before you begin your search:
- What is your desired location? Do you want to work in Alaska? Moab? Hawaii? Depending on the location you want to work in, you will need to weigh the benefits and challenges associated with each place to understand what works best with your lifestyle. For example, Alaska summers receive constant daylight and several feet of rain, while Moab summers are extremely hot and dry. Cost of living in your desired location might also be a good thing to research.
- Do you have experience living in communal settings? Seasonal housing typically involves sharing your space with others. Are you a respectful community member? Do you wash your dishes? Keep the bathroom clean? Will you be able to keep calm when others aren’t pulling their weight in community chores? If your answers are yes, this will confirm that you are on the right path as you look for seasonal jobs with housing. If not, you may want to reconsider.
- What kind of accommodation options are you open to? The outdoor industry tends to attract individuals who enjoy the outdoors and eschew luxury and don’t mind sharing their space. But everyone has different boundaries. Make sure to ask your hiring manager whether you’d have your own apartment, cabin, room, bunk, canvas tent, etc. so you can gage whether this will be comfortable enough for your current lifestyle.
- What does the community look like? Are people friendly? Is it a tight-knit community? Are there other people your age? Will there be other people to hang out with on your days off? Are your values aligned?
- Do you have access to amenities? Make sure to clarify what is provided with your hiring manager to be sure it works with what you need. Does the provided housing include things like kitchen use, electricity, heat, AC, showers, and laundry? Consider asking for a picture of the space so that you can get a better understanding of where you’d be living and what you might need to supplement.
- Is there a place for you to store your car? Some jobs offer onsite parking for cars, while others do not. It’s important to understand whether an offer for housing comes with free parking or if that is at an additional expense to you.
- What does time off look like? It’s important to consider what opportunities exist nearby for activities and recreation and how much time you might have to enjoy them. For example, if you’re working at a lodge on a remote island with no cell-service you might have very different time-off options than if you are based in downtown Moab or in the heart of a city like Las Vegas.
- Are pets allowed? Most seasonal positions do not allow pets to live in shared spaces; however, it never hurts to ask.
- Is food included? Some seasonal jobs that offer housing will also provide food. Clarify whether food is included with housing. If food is not included, ask whether a kitchen is provided and whether a grocery store is easily accessible.
- Is there access to cell-service/WIFI?: Some outdoor jobs take place in remote settings. If having access to cell-service and WIFI is important to you, make sure to ask what this looks like so that you aren’t blindsided when the closest internet is a two-hour ride away.
- How much gear do you need to bring along/store? Seasonal housing options don’t typically offer a ton of room to store personal gear. Many seasonal workers opt to rent a storage unit or store belongings with a relative prior to the season.
Seasonal Jobs that Often Have Housing
- Lodge-based hospitality roles – lodges, hotels, resorts, and ranches
- Guiding jobs – multiday guiding roles
- Ski-industry jobs – ski patrol, ski instructor, guest services, resort services
- Rafting jobs – multiday and day guiding
- Cooking/Waitstaff Roles – especially at remote lodges and in National Parks
- Cruise ship staff
- Dude ranches
- Science school and outdoor academy programs
- Conservation crew positions
- Hostel staff
- Seasonal farm jobs – harvest, picking, farm management
- National Parks and Forest Service Jobs
- Summer camp (traditional – or adventure/expedition based)
Where to look for seasonal jobs with housing:
- Coolworks – Jobs With Housing Page
- Vagajobs.com – Jobs With Housing Page
- Occupation Wild – Jobs With Housing Page
- Basecamp Outdoor Jobs
- Ski Industry – visit individual resort websites
- WWOOF – work on farms around the world in exchange for housing
- Hostel positions
- Pick Your Own – Jobs on Farms
- National Park Lodges
- National Park Positions
- Government Jobs (Antarctica)
How to Make Seasonal Jobs Without Housing Work
If your preferred job doesn’t come with housing, don’t stress. You can still live out your nomadic free-spirited dreams, save money, and have an awesome season.
Start by looking at your financials. If you have spare income to spend on rent, try renting a shared space with other seasonal workers (local Facebook housing groups are a good place to start). Sharing a space with others will help cut down on costs. Another way to save money on rent is to look at housing options in neighboring towns. For example, if you are spending your summer in Jackson Hole, WY and are willing to drive a little farther to save on rent, you may try looking into Driggs, ID, where rent is less expensive.
If paying for rent isn’t an option:
- Search for housesitting/caretaking/work-for-trade options
- Consider living out of your vehicle for the season and/or camping for free on federal land like that managed by the National Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. You could also investigate options for renting a small tow-behind trailer or a pop-up rooftop tent for your car.
- Ask around town – stop in local coffee shops, climbing gyms, shops etc. Locals typically have the best scoop, and opportunities are often posted on community-based bulletin boards.
Join Wildland Trekking
Come guide for us! Work perks are important. At Wildland Trekking we have offices in eight different regions around the US: Utah, Arizona, California, Washington, the Greater Yellowstone Region, Colorado, North Carolina, and Vermont). Our guides run high-end backcountry and lodge-based tours in wild spaces across the country.
Housing for guides is provided while guides are out on tour with guests (rooms on lodge-based tours, campsites on backpacking trips etc.) and shared housing is available in select program areas for pre and post trip nights.
We welcome you to learn more about our day hiking and multi-day guiding positions.
Our parent company, Intrepid Travel, also offers hotel-based/and shared communal housing opportunities for their road trip tours for the duration of the season.
