The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-03)

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ EE K F5

galleries and restaurants in the

picturesque town of Banff. In

peak season, the main thorough-

fare, on the north side of the Bow

River, is crammed with visitors.

You’ll have to elbow your way

through the crowds to get a cup

of coffee at Wild Flour Bakery or

pick up a souvenir at the Banff

Trading Post. And good luck

finding parking.

As for accommodations,

there’s no shortage of places to

stay, but most are either prohibi-

tively expensive or in need of a

serious refresh. The rustic, cabin-

style lodges in the town of Banff

are overpriced and dated, and

the park’s most luxurious hotel,

the Fairmont Banff Springs — set

on the base of Mount Rundle and

modeled after a Scottish castle —

will set you back about $800 per

night during high season.

For less congestion and easy

access to the outdoors, bed down

in the neighboring town of

Canmore, about a 25-minute

drive from downtown Banff.

With its wide-open scenery and

vibrant main street, the walkable

town is the preferred base of

local visitors and avid outdoors-

people (as well as the home to

roughly 16,000 full-time resi-

dents).

You don’t have to sacrifice

your Banff experience by staying

in Canmore. Buses frequently

run between the two towns, sev-

en days a week. Or you can cycle

between Banff and Canmore on

the scenic Legacy Trail, which

was constructed in honor of the

park’s 125th anniversary.

But keep in mind that Can-

more has its own charms: Grab

breakfast at the bright and airy

Communitea Cafe, discover the

colorful paintings of Indigenous

artist Jason Carter at the Carter-

Ryan Gallery, and enjoy a tasting

menu at Sauvage. Or set out on

one of the 24 hiking trails that

run through and around the

town.

A crop of hotels has also

popped up, offering style and

great value. Local hospitality en-

trepreneur Sky McLean has

opened four properties in

Canmore in recent years, the

latest being Basecamp Suites

Canmore. Perfect for families

and large groups, the apartment-

style hotel has spacious suites

with kitchens and laundry facili-

ties, bath products from Rocky

Mountain Soap Co. and free

parking.

Then there’s the 124-room

Malcolm Hotel, located a quick

stroll from downtown Canmore

with dead-on views of the Three

Sisters mountains. The rooms

are contemporary and bright,

and the outdoor pool deck —

complete with a heated pool and

hot tubs — is the place to relax

after a long day on the slopes or

the trails.

Reid is a writer based in New York

City. Her website is siobhanreid.com.

Find her on Instagram:

@siobhanmreid.

BY SIOBHAN REID

Offering alternatives to over-
crowded destinations.
Synonymous with alpine
peaks, glacial lakes and heart-
stopping wildlife encounters,
Banff National Park is the jewel
of the Canadian Rockies. First
Nations people had long been
drawing medicine and therapeu-
tic relief from the waters there
when Canadian Pacific Railway
workers “discovered” natural hot
springs at the base of Sulphur
Mountain, in what is now the
heart of the park, in 1883. When
conflict arose over the rights to
develop the springs for tourism
and commercial purposes, the
country’s first prime minister,
John A. Macdonald, stepped in
and declared it the country’s first
national reserve in 1885.
These days, there’s more to do
in Banff than just “take the
waters.” (However, no visit is
complete without a sulfurous
soak at the Upper Hot Springs,
the only pools still open to the
public.) In winter, tourists brave
the icy 1^1 / 2 -hour drive from Cal-
gary to Banff to hit the slopes at
three world-class ski resorts
within the park: Lake Louise,
Mount Norquay and Banff Sun-
shine Village. Summer draws a
more diverse mix of adventurers,
who come to paddle the waters of
Lake Louise, raft down the Bow
River and conquer mountainous
trails, such as the 7.3-mile trek
from Johnston Canyon to Ink
Pots, which passes limestone
caves, rushing waterfalls and
mineral-tinted, brightly colored
“ink pot” pools.
Most tourists spend an after-
noon discovering the shops, art

GO HERE, NOT THERE

Going to B an≠? You can get more for your money by staying i n Canmore.

TOURISM CANMORE-KANANASKIS

PAUL ZIZKA

LEFT: Stand-up paddleboarders move across Quarry Lake Park in

Canmore, Alberta. ABOVE: Nearby Banff is a major tourist draw,

located next to hot springs and the country’s first national park.

dar. “It’s sort of the secret menu.

You have to know it exists to order

off it,” Fowler said. Strategies to

find these openings include apply-

ing and listing only the fall dates

you can work, or contacting em-

ployers in August to ask about

opportunities for September and

October.

Xanterra runs its Helping

Hands program in some parks in

spring and fall, which allows par-

ticipants to work 20 to 30 hours a

week for six weeks. “That allows

us to help backfill into shoulder

season while providing employees

that maybe are not available the

entire season but would like to

have an experience,” Dierenbach

said.

Do your research

Anyone considering a seasonal

park job should contemplate what

they want and why the experience

is attractive. The answers to those

questions can determine the right

job, and even park, hiring manag-

ers say.

Fowler advises researching a

potential employer to determine

whether it is the right fit. One

company might have people

working six days a week, while

another might prioritize giving

two days off. Know your deal-

breakers and what you hope to

gain from the experience. “Lead

with that as you pursue different

opportunities with different com-

panies, because it’s a jobseeker

market,” Fowler said. “It can be

easy to get swept up in the excite-

ment of something.”

All experience levels are

acceptable

Some jobs are specialized, and

for management roles, you will

need supervisory experience. But

many openings are entry-level po-

sitions, where a positive attitude

and willingness to learn can be

enough. “A lot of these hospitality

roles, if you have the will and the

positivity rolling into it, that’s 90

percent of it,” Glazier said.

Don’t worry about being con-

sidered overqualified; corporate

professionals apply and are wel-

comed. “It’s a great opportunity to

take a break or pivot from one

career to another and take a few

months off. What better place to

do that than out in nature?” said

Andy Stiles, general manager of

Xanterra’s services in Glacier Na-

tional Park.

The desire to work in a national

park can sneak up on people, per-

haps while they are on vacation,

said Stiles, who knows this first-

hand. He grew up in Tyler, Tex.,

and had never seen a mountain

until he took a road trip with

friends after graduating from high

school. While in Yellowstone, an

employee jokingly asked the pals

with the National Park Service to
manage park lodges, restaurants
and recreation such as mule rides
and boat tours, and they need to
fill seasonal positions such as
shuttle drivers, servers, house-
keepers and cashiers. Jobseekers
can visit each company’s website
and search for seasonal employ-
ment by park and position.
One such company is Xanterra,
which typically has 3,500 summer
employees and manages opera-
tions in Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion,
Rocky Mountain and other parks.
Another is Aramark, which has
about 3,000 summer workers in
Yosemite, Mesa Verde, Denali and
elsewhere.
Small companies land con-
tracts, too. Bright Angel Bicycles,
for example, runs a bike shop and
cafe at the Grand Canyon’s South
Rim and offers housing in the park
in northern Arizona.

Jobs are available late into the
season

Currently, positions with the
National Park Service are limited;
a recent search of the federal
usajobs.gov site showed only
three seasonal openings. (Search
by keyword and/or location, then
filter the results by “National Park
Service” as the agency and “sea-
sonal” or “summer” as the ap-
pointment type.) But opportuni-
ties abound with private compa-
nies, which generally post sum-
mer jobs starting in November
and make offers through early
spring. Positions are always open,
however. “ W e’re having a really
difficult time finding employees
for all of the summer jobs that are
available,” said Shannon Dieren-
bach, chief human resources offi-
cer at Xanterra.
Xanterra’s jobs website had a
banner in late March: “New jobs
just posted! Join us for the 2022
season.” The company on-boards
seasonal workers throughout the
summer, Dierenbach said.
Aramark recruits until the end
of April, but it also expects to have
open positions after that, said Jor-
dan Glazier, vice president of hu-
man resources for the company’s
leisure division.
Forever Resorts, with opera-
tions at Badlands, Bryce Canyon,
Big Bend, Grand Teton and more,
does the bulk of its hiring now for
the season, but it continues to hire
throughout the summer, accord-
ing to Kim Clancy, human re-
sources director.

There are short-term gigs

In addition to summer-long po-
sitions, there also are less-publi-
cized opportunities to work as few
as four weeks during the fall, after
students return to college and be-
cause some other workers quit.
The parks “absolutely need an in-
flux at the end,” said Fowler, of
CoolWorks, who calls the brief
gigs “toe-dipping.”
Because recruiters focus on fill-
ing positions for the summer, the
short stints remain under the ra-

PARKS FROM F4 if they wanted jobs. “It was an
epiphany. I didn’t realize people
actually work in national parks if
you’re not a ranger,” Stiles said.
After finishing college, he worked
the front desk of Roosevelt Lodge
in Yellowstone. What started as
one summer became a 20-year
career in various roles in multiple
parks.

Housing is cheap, but

communal

Each company has its own

housing in the park, as part of its

federal contract. Accommoda-

tions vary, but the norm is dorm-

style, with meal plans in an em-

ployee dining room. The cost, de-

ducted from paychecks, is a frac-

tion of what tourists pay for a

room during summer. Limited RV

sites may be available.

Most workers have roommates,

and couples live together. When

matching roommates, housing

managers ask about personal

preferences and avoid pairing

people who work opposite sched-

ules, so sleep is not disrupted. “It’s

probably one of the great jigsaw

puzzles that our housing manag-

ers manage,” Glazier said.

Friendships form faster and

deeper than in other environ-

ments; industry veterans com-

pare it to the early days of college

or summer camp, as everyone

meets and decides who they click

with. As different generations

work, live and dine together, unex-

pected friendships occur, such as a

70-year-old and a 20-something

who become hiking partners on

days off.

Bridget Byrne, 26, spent the

summers of 2017 through 2020 as

an intern, then as a park ranger

interpreter at Isle Royale National

Park in Michigan. The remote is-

land in the middle of Lake Superi-

or is only accessible by boat or

seaplane, so the close-knit com-

munity of employees was crucial,

said Byrne, a Michigan native.

“These are the people you depend

on day-to-day,” she said. “We get to

live and work in places that people

may only dream of visiting.”

This is a job, not a vacation

The parks bustle with activity

all summer, and hard work is part

of the deal. The advice repeated by

seasonal employees and recruit-

ers is to be open-minded and flexi-

ble. “It’s all about your mind-set

when you’re in these places,” said

O’Brien-Ducharme, the Yellow-

stone seasonal worker. “If you’re

the type of person to get flustered

easily or are not used to change, it

might not be for you.”

The experience pushes you out

of your comfort zone, so Fowler

advises packing patience along

with your hiking boots. “You’re

going to have a button pushed,”

she said. “It has all the makings of

a mini-drama, all the twists and

turns.”

Waters is a writer based in New

Jersey. Her website is

sharonannwaters.com. Find her on

Twitter: @sharonannwaters

Finding work in places ‘people may only dream of visiting’

MLADEN ANTONOV/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

COURTESY OF CHELSEA O’BRIEN-DUCHARME

TOP: A view of the Norris Geyser Basin in 2016 at Yellowstone National Park, where seasonal

workers can earn money and enjoy the environment. ABOVE: Chelsea O’Brien-Ducharme visits

Kenai Fjords National Park, at the edge of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, in 2019.