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It’s the kind of thing you come up with in a fantasy: a magazine wants to pay you to ramble around the nation’s 63 national parks, checking out hiking trails and bike trails, assessing each beautiful site for solo travelers and families, as well as disabled access. And all you have to do is write reviews, for which you also get paid. Friends, the fantasy is true.
Lucky Mag is hiring someone to do just that. In return for big, gusty inhales of Mother Nature’s great outdoors, you’ll be paid $200 a week, plus expenses. (Can you expense your Dom Pérignon? Probably not, but we’re thinking kayak rentals, tents, s’mores and travel between the parks are covered — plus maybe a few luxury stays.)
The goodness isn’t over yet. You’ll also get paid $500 for each review, and the job listing isn’t clear how many you are limited to writing. These detailed reviews will document your experience in each park and be accompanied by your photographs, which will appear in an in-depth guide on the Lucky Mag website.
Hopefully you’re good at chatting with folks and getting those special insider stories that only come from speaking with locals who really know the park, as well as those who work inside them – gathering up of the narratives will enrich what we know about each park.
What's that? You noticed the job lasts 18 months? Yes, you’ll be testing the parks in winter months as well, in which a whole new world of beauty can arise. Yosemite in winter is a breathtaking experience, with snow covering the valley and encasing trees in crystal.
This job posting comes at a time when park visitorship hasn’t yet bounced back completely from the last two years of limited or nonexistent tourism due to the pandemic. In February, the National Park Service announced that while 44 parks broke visitation records in 2021, such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, some were still limping along — and seven remained closed throughout last year. One of the aims of the online guide resulting from this job is to increase visitors to our beautiful national parks.
Lucky Mag editor Christina Davies writes in the job posting that the job’s focus is lofty: “the most accurate and valuable list of National Parks yet.” Sounds pretty great to us!
Now the nitty gritty: you must be 21 or over, fluent in written and spoken English, and have–no worries here–an adventurous spirit! You’ll write a 200 word summary of why you think you’re the best person for this job, as well as a brief description of your favorite adventure. Apply by July 10; the dream job winner will be informed by the end of July.