(corrected phone number at bottom of story)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say opportunities to spend the summer in an Iowa state park is available for individuals who serve as campground hosts. Hosts are needed for the season at Pine Lake, Pilot Knob, Walnut Woods, Lake Keomah, Lake Manawa, Lewis and Clark, Bellevue, Backbone, Beeds Lake, Clear Lake, Ledges, Nine Eagles, Pikes Peak, Viking Lake, Yellow River and Elk Rock. If an entire season is too much, three state parks have host needs of shorter durations. Hosts are needed from April through June at Lacey-Keosauqua, from the end of June through October at Prairie Rose, and for July and August at Volga River.

Campground hosts receive free camping at a designated site while they help state parks staff by assisting campers, explaining park rules, and helping with registration, and serving as an impromptu local tour guide. Hosts will help park staff to keep the park clean and with light maintenance.

Applications are available online at http://volunteer.iowadnr.gov then click on the campground hosts link toward the middle of the page.  Or, call 515-242-5074 to have an application mailed. Linda King, with the DNR’s office of volunteer services, said they would like to get hosts placed in parks by around the middle of March, so they are ready to go, in April.