I work at Yellowstone with free housing, meals and 3 day weekends

On my trip, my boss called me and offered me a six-month contract as a supervisor. I hadn’t managed anyone before and I didn’t know if I wanted to commit to six months.

But I decided to try.

Six years later, I’m still here working for Yellowstone’s Co-Op Employee Recreation Program.

The advantages are unbeatable

As a manager I got free accommodation which was huge. I started living in a dorm with roommates, but now I live alone and have a studio with a double bed, a kitchen, a large closet and a dining table.

I have an amazing view from my bed of Electric Peak, the highest peak in the Gallatin Range. I uploaded it, which makes it even cooler that I can see my achievements every morning.

Managers also receive three free meals a day. The cafeteria has a hotline, cereal, soup, a sandwich bar and a salad bar. Some days are better than others, but I’m always glad I don’t have to grocery shop or spend time cooking.

As a manager I work 10 hours a day and have a three-day weekend, although sometimes I have to adapt to events. It was a game changer and I don’t think I could ever do a five day work week. My salary allows me to live comfortably here and even save a little for leisure travel.

I have a built-in community and a social life

Every day, I have breakfast with everyone in the dining room. It’s really fun because the moment I wake up, I’m around my friends and my community.

Every day looks a little different, but our mission is to host events for the approximately 5,000 employees in Yellowstone. There is almost always evening programming, such as karaoke, volleyball, movie nights, craft nights, and trivia games. We even have prom where we all get ready together, go to prom and then finish the night at the staff pub.

On weekends, my friends and I do all kinds of activities around the park.

Sometimes we bundle up and bring sleeping bags into the open valleys and go stargazing. We also enjoy watching wildlife, paddle boarding, hiking, and visiting gateway towns. We even have bonfires and camping nights where we gather large groups and hang out in the national forests.

Some lifestyle aspects can make it difficult to build roots

Relationships move quickly here because we all live and work together. People who met two weeks ago will move in together or leave to go to another park. I’ve had a lot of friends who met here and got married and now have kids from Yellowstone, which is great.

But for some, it’s the complete opposite.

Lots of people have “Yellowstone ventures” where you know when the season is over you’ll be going your separate ways. Sometimes I’ll meet someone and go out with them, then they leave and I want to stay. I still think it’s a great place to meet people because everyone is the same. People want to travel, work seasonally and live this adventurous life. But it’s also really hard and usually doesn’t work unless you’re both ready to go.

There is generally a turnover every three to six months and that is just the nature of seasonal work. So, I had to say goodbye to one group of friends after another. I think that’s the hardest part.

But I’m also super lucky to have solid friends who have been here all along, like my boss who started the same year as me and who I’ve been best friends with ever since.

At 28, it’s hard because I’m so happy here, but I also want a family and to settle down. This job and lifestyle has opened my eyes to where seasonal work can take you, so working in other parks and places around the world has also been on my mind recently.

But one of the great things about living in Yellowstone is that there is always more to do and more to see. With this amount of land to explore, I never get bored.