Washington State Parks announces its annual recruitment for a variety of positions across the state

Washington State Parks jobs - seasonal and non-permanent

Each summer, State Parks employs 400 park aides and 45 senior park aides to work the busy season, which runs from April through September. 

Park aides register campers, maintain trails, clean campgrounds and comfort stations and perform a variety of custodial maintenance chores. 

They also may work in park offices, interact with visitors and help with interpretive and educational programs.

Senior park aides are designated as lead workers and lead other park aides.
Park aides are essential to summer operations in Washington state parks. 

Many who served as park aides report they received benefits well beyond a paycheck, learning about parks and the natural and cultural resources in State Parks’ care. 

Park aides gain people skills by interacting with the public and working as part of a team. They also may learn everything from trail-building techniques to the use and operation of small power tools and equipment.

Non-permanent and seasonal positions
Most of the currently available park aide positions are non-permanent, meaning the position is allotted for a certain amount of time, typically five to six months and less than one year. 

State Parks also has many seasonal and non-permanent senior park aide positions available. Seasonal park aides and senior park aides come back each year for the same time period, for example March 1 to Oct. 31. With seasonal positions, the employee has the opportunity to gain permanent status.

Application process
Applications are open now through August. Park aides earn between $14.42 - $18.48 an hour, and senior park aides earn between $17.24 - $20.32 an hour, depending on qualifications and experience. 

More information and online applications are at www.careers.wa.gov. Enter “park aide” or the name of a specific state park in the website’s search function.

Work for Washington State Parks
More information about the job of a Washington State Parks park aide, as told by current and former staff, is available in this video.