Camp for a Living

Remember summer camp? It was an opportunity to get away from the everyday grind and connect with nature in a way you rarely got to do. Now imagine if camp never ended. Although we’re not kids anymore, some older Americans are giving up their 9-5 jobs to take on a new adventure that brings them to campgrounds all across our beautiful country. They’re called “work campers,” and they represent what might be the next big trend in retirement living.

See also: Living the RV lifestlye.

Work campers are people who travel the nation, from campsite to campsite, doing various jobs to benefit the local community. Jobs range from being a general handyman or a store manager to chopping wood. While many of these campers get paid for their work, others get a free spot to park their RV along with free electric, cable and water.

“You don’t get rich doing this, but boy it’s a great way to live a life because you see so much and you can enjoy so much of our great country,” says Dale Brechlin, one of more than 80,000 work campers spread out across the U.S.

My Generation hitched a ride with a few of these work campers to discover what’s so great about their unique lifestyle.