For some Smokies volunteers, campground hosting is the ideal lifestyle

Before they retired, Bob and Nancy Furlow owned and managed apartment buildings for a living. Now, they don’t even own a home—at least, not one without wheels. Since selling their house seven years ago, the couple, both in their late 60s, has resided in a 160-square-foot Boles Aero trailer, which Bob painstakingly rebuilt to feature cedar-paneled walls, a king-sized bed, and a full bathroom and kitchen. Four years into their new life as full-time RVers, they joined the ranks of the five dozen people who serve as campground hosts every year in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“This is the way to go when you retire,” said Nancy. “It’s fantastic.”

Taking up temporary residence at one of the park’s ten frontcountry campgrounds, campground hosts perform a variety of tasks aimed at making the camping experience as safe and enjoyable as possible. A friendly and welcoming presence for campers, hosts offer guidance on campground rules, local wildlife, and outdoor safety. These volunteers are a critical link between campers and park staff, and they are “essential” to park operations and visitor experience, said Andy Sinclair, campground program coordinator for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“By supplementing the efforts of permanent and seasonal staff, camp hosts effectively multiply the park’s capacity to serve the public and ensure that our campgrounds are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations,” he said.

The Furlows got involved with camp hosting “quite by accident,” Nancy said. Originally from Florida, the couple visited the Smokies for the first time in 2023, when they pulled into Smokemont Campground for the same two-week stay they planned at every campground they visited. They quickly noticed two things: the abundance of rhododendron bushes about to bloom and the absence of a host at the campground. The next day, Nancy visited the ranger office and asked if the park was recruiting. Before they knew it, the Furlows were onboarded as volunteers and scheduled to stay in the Smokies for more than enough time to see the rhododendrons blossom.  

“Normally a campground host will only stay a month, and what happened that year was, every month the campground host would cancel,” said Nancy. “Being full-time RVers, we have complete freedom in our lives, so I’d just say, ‘I’ll stay.’”

The Furlows spent seven months in the Smokies that year, and they loved it so much they kept coming back: seven months in 2024, seven in 2025, and, if all goes as planned, seven in 2026 as well. Though their first post was at Smokemont, they quickly developed an affinity for Deep Creek, and that’s where they’ve been stationed ever since. For the past two years, it’s just been Nancy donning the brown camp host uniform, but Bob is never far away, her unofficial backup. 

Though stationed at a camp chair she’d set up outside the office while on duty one sunny summer Wednesday morning, Nancy never sat down for long. She popped up to help a couple from Tennessee plot out their day hike, chat with two locals who walk the campground loop daily, check in a late arrival from the previous night, and direct multiple carfuls of disoriented visitors to the trailhead parking area. These constant opportunities to help others are a source of joy for Nancy, who explained that service has always been an important part of her life.

“I love the weather and the wildflowers,” Nancy said. “I love hearing the families in the background—tubing, having a good time. I love to make everyone’s visit here a good experience. I like being that person who knows everything. It’s like being a concierge at a hotel.”

Instead of directing guests to five-star restaurants or sketching out metro routes, Nancy dispenses knowledge on bear safety, offers input on hiking itineraries, and answers questions about sites of outstanding natural beauty nestled within the 816-square-mile national park. She hangs the American flag in the morning, takes it down at night, cleans the camp office, and ensures campers are following food storage requirements—whatever there is to be done.

“I meet a lot of great people,” Nancy said. “I’ve met some really good friends here. It’s nice to be known and loved.”

Camp hosting is now a way of life for Bob and Nancy, and the same is true for Mark and Cathy Ault, who spent three months this summer stationed at Cosby Campground. This is the tenth year since they took on their first camp hosting assignment, at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Since then, they’ve hosted campgrounds for the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and North Carolina state parks, traveling across 25 states. Though it’s only their second year hosting in the Smokies, their connection to the place is deep—they’ve visited the park throughout their lives, and 14 years ago they even got married in Gatlinburg.

“What keeps Cathy and I going is just helping people out,” Mark said.

Maintaining a home in the coastal town of Swansboro, North Carolina, the Aults, in a similar age bracket to the Furlows, aren’t full-time RVers like Bob and Nancy—who live solely out of their trailer, forgoing even a storage unit—but they come about as close as it gets. For ten months out of the year, the Aults travel from campground to campground with their Silvarado truck and 33-foot trailer, respectively named the White Stallion and the Covered Wagon. They go home in April to do taxes and again in December to celebrate Christmas.

“We’re 70ish, and hopefully we have about another good ten years doing this,” said Mark.

Retired from the intelligence community, Mark also spent 23 years serving in the Marine Corps, while Cathy has led a multifaceted life as the owner of cosmetic and cleaning businesses, a professional painter, a secretary, and caretaker for her three children. The demands of work and family during those busy years often made it hard to slow down and appreciate the things that really matter.

“You’re not thinking about all the other elements that go into a good life—getting out in nature, exercising, building relationships, things like that. That’s what makes hosting great,” Cathy said. “You’re helping your country. You’re helping the campers. You learn a lot about how things work, and you realize that if it weren’t for volunteers in America, America would be in a very difficult situation.”

So would the park. Every year, more than 1,600 people give their time as Volunteers in Park to fill more than 2,600 volunteer positions. Areas of service range from litter patrol and trail maintenance to resource education and data collection. During the last fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2024, the park recorded 113,448 volunteer service hours valued at nearly $3.8 million.

Campground hosts are integral members of this volunteer force. The Smokies records more than 300,000 overnight stays in its campgrounds each year—382,00 in 2024, despite closures from Hurricane Helene reducing fall visitation—and 12 million visits overall. As the park works to serve these visitors while protecting the Smokies for future generations, volunteers like the Aults and the Furlows are more important than ever.

“It’s an awesome feeling that everybody has the confidence in Cathy and I performing our duties here,” Mark said. “It’s just an honor.”

To apply to become a campground host or to view other volunteer opportunities in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, visit nps.gov/grsm/getinvolved/volunteer.htm.