Highest Paying Outdoor Jobs
A lone figure walking a dirt trail through subalpine forest with cloud-covered peaks behind.

The outdoor hiring calendar

Seasonal work is advertised months before it starts, and some announcements close at the first 75 applicants. If you begin looking in spring for a summer job, you are applying for what is left.

Agency and employer sources Updated 11 August 2026
Timing

When to apply, and when you actually work

Every row below is an application window quoted from the agency or employer that runs it. The gap between the amber band and the green one is the part people miss — for a national park summer job, you apply up to eight months before you start.

Seasonal hiring windows

Amber: applications open · Green: season running
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
NPS seasonalSummer positions
NPS seasonalWinter positions
Federal wildland fireBLM, NPS and Forest Service
Xanterra — YellowstoneSummer season
Xanterra — YellowstoneWinter season
Xanterra — Glacier13 April – 10 October
Ski resortsWinter hiring opens
Applications open Season running
Windows shift slightly year to year. Always check the live posting — this calendar tells you when to start looking, not when to stop.
Federal

USAJOBS is the only door, and it closes fast

Park ranger, wildland fire and Forest Service roles are posted on USAJOBS and nowhere else. Two things make them different from ordinary applications:

  • Some announcements cap applicants. A posting may close at the first 75 applications received, whichever comes first. A vacancy advertised for six weeks can close in two days.
  • The search terms are not obvious. Wildland fire roles are frequently titled forestry technician rather than firefighter. Search both, and filter Work Type to Temporary.
2026 is an unusually good year to apply. The Park Service plans more than 5,000 seasonal hires, including up to 1,560 nine-month positions — the first year it has used the nine-month seasonal authority, which runs through January 2027. Most of the remainder are six-month appointments. Nine months is long enough to change the financial arithmetic of seasonal work considerably.

Federal application windows

EmployerApplications openWhereNote
National Park ServiceSummer positions October – FebruaryUSAJOBSSeasons generally run March–September
National Park ServiceWinter positions July – AugustUSAJOBSMuch smaller intake
BLM and NPSTemporary wildland fire Typically 1–21 OctoberUSAJOBSSearch "forestry technician" too
Forest ServiceTemporary wildland fire Typically 15–29 OctoberSome extended to mid-NovemberUSAJOBSLargest single fire intake
Federal wildland fire is paid on the GS scale, which the BLS "Firefighters" wage data does not describe — that figure is overwhelmingly municipal structural firefighting.
Concessionaires

Park hospitality is not run by the Park Service

Lodges, restaurants, shops and tours inside national parks are run by private concessionaires — Xanterra, Aramark and Delaware North chief among them. They hire separately from the Park Service, on their own calendars, and they are where most of the jobs are.

  • Xanterra at Yellowstone recruits from roughly 1 March to 30 November, running a summer season April–October with about 3,500 hires and a winter season December–early March with about 400.
  • Xanterra at Glacier runs a tighter season: 13 April to 10 October.
  • Delaware North at Grand Canyon hires for spring, summer, fall and year-round roles without publishing fixed dates.

These roles come with housing, which is the main reason they are worth taking at the wage. What that housing costs varies more than the wage does — see what park housing actually costs.

Practical

If you want a summer season, start in autumn

  1. September–October. Set up a USAJOBS profile and upload documents before the fire postings open on 1 October. The window is three weeks and the profile takes longer than you think.
  2. October–February. Park Service summer announcements appear. Apply the week a posting opens, not the week it closes.
  3. March. Concessionaire recruiting is in full swing for summer. Housing allocation is often first come, first served.
  4. September, for winter. Ski resorts open winter hiring. Ask about the housing deduction before accepting.

Common questions

When should I apply for a summer national park job?

Between October and February. Summer seasons generally run March to September, so applications open up to eight months ahead. Some announcements close at the first 75 applicants, so applying early in the window matters more than applying well at the end of it.

When does wildland fire hiring open?

Federal temporary fire positions typically open on USAJOBS from 1 October for BLM and the Park Service, and from 15 October for the Forest Service, with some postings extended into mid-November. Search "forestry technician" as well as "wildland firefighter".

Is it too late to apply if the season has started?

Usually for the good positions, but not always. Concessionaires backfill through the season as people leave, and Xanterra's Yellowstone recruiting runs to the end of November. Late applications get the roles nobody else wanted, which is a real option if you are flexible.

Can I work summer and winter seasons back to back?

Yes, and many people do — a park summer from April to October, then a ski resort from December. The two hiring calendars interlock, which is why the resort applications open in September while you are still working the summer season.

Sources

Federal windows
National Park Service and Department of the Interior hiring guidance, plus published Forest Service regional announcements. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
Concessionaire seasons
Season dates and recruiting periods as published by each employer.
Ski resorts
Winter hiring generally opens around September. Individual resorts do not publish fixed dates, so this row is a general pattern rather than a quoted window.
Corrections
Dates shift year to year. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it and note the change.