Winter storms can be pretty awesome on the coast, and we aren't ready to do a lot of traveling this year. We spent last winter in GA and after the drive back to the west coast want to stay around here for the year. We have a 3 year contract with the Corps from March thru October. Next winter we may go to AZ or NV. We would like to host at Harris Beach near Brookings, hear it's kind of a banana belt. Not sure of the weather further up the coast, I suspect lots of rain.

Ann & Hank,

I was just thinking about you last night & wondering how you're doing, so glad to see your names pop up! I tried to Google Oregon State Park Camp Host positions but we have such a slow connection here that I couldn't follow the links. Have you tried that?

I'm with Jim01 that I wouldn't want to spend my winters there but you're from that part of the country originally so it might not bother you as it would us former Arizonans. I definitely wouldn't want to be on that river with the winds that come along. However the Western part of the state around Bend and Sisters is milder and could be fun. Still have to bundle up though.

You might also consider private parks, just by selecting one and calling to see if they are open & need help. Crater Lake RV Park in Prospect, OR is one I can think of. Just call and ask for Jim. I know they get snow but I don't think it lasts too long.not sure if they use workampers thru the winter. Seven Feathers Casino & RV Resort?

Wishing you luck. Please let us know where you end up.

Sherry

For Oregon State Parks, just apply via their website.. pretty easy process. To get the actual jobs, you mark what you type of positions you want on the application form. Winter should be pretty easy. But it's also helpful to get in contact with the parks you want to host at and talk with the ranger in charge of coordinating volunteers.

We volunteer at Cape Blanco Lighthouse, and the process was pretty easy.

Good to hear from you Sherry, I think of you every time I make the upside down cornbread....love that stuff. Your right, the wind here on the river really sucks. We went to Eugene fro a couple of days this week and when we got home on Thur. we had 40+ MPH winds all night. It's 62 deg now and blowing 10+ MPH.

When we were in Port Angeles, it clouded up and drizzled from Oct till May. Get gets old, but the storms on the coast are pretty spectacular. Ask me how I feel next summer, may have a different answer.

Where are you and Jesse at now?

Thanks for all the input. We have the application and have spoken with the ranger at Deschutes about hosting in March. Cherie and Chris, how did you like Cape Blanco? It's closed in the winter, but the campground is open year round. It really helps that Oregon State has such a good web site. Just would like to know of any good or bad experiences or sites to avoid.

Thanks Bill, 100 MPH wind can't be fun. Had a hard time standing in 40+ the other night.

We totally loved our experience volunteering at the lighthouse - felt like we were really appreciated there. We liked it so much, we're going back this year for 2 months in the fall.

Cherie,

Maybe we will bump into each other sometime, that would be fun.

Ann-Hank - nice to see you back on the forum! Welcome back to the Pacific NW. If you were interested in southern OR but a little inland, we had talked to the hosts at Valley of the Rogue State park when we stayed there a while back. One of the hosts stayed year round and loved it, said they got a little snow but it usually didn't last too long. They were originally from Port Townsend WA so were used to similar winters that you would have had in Port Angeles. He said there was a lot more sun in the Valley of the Rogue area in the winter than he ever saw in Port Townsend or along the OR Coast where they had also hosted over a winter.

Good to hear from you Ruth, we went down to Eugene this last week and looked at a Corps spot at Fern Ridge. Don't think we could get our trailer in to the site, but like the area down there. will check out Valley of the Rogue park.
We have almost no cell signal here, so I have a hard time getting on line. It's ALMOST not worth the trouble most of the time. Where are you and Dale now? We are glad to be back on the west coast, but really liked GA and miss all the rangers we worked with.

Ann & Hank,

We're back in Western WA for June & July, headed to Idaho in August. W have 4 art shows while we're here plus we're trying to "shrink the storage room", 2 trips to Salvation Army already to get rid of more stuff.

If you come down the Columbia we're at LePage Park. Would love to see you.
Ann