Rick Hoeninghausen has spent 28 years connected to Yellowstone National Park, starting as a room attendant at Lake Hotel and going on to work in marketing for Xanterra, the park's concessioner. On this episode of the Tom Rowland Podcast, Rick joins Tom, who got his own start in the outdoor world working in Yellowstone, to talk about what a summer in the park can do for someone, and what it actually takes to get a job and live there.
Rick Hoeninghausen has 28 years of experience connected to Yellowstone National Park, starting as a room attendant at Lake Hotel and later working in marketing for Xanterra, the park's concessioner.
Tom got his start working in Yellowstone National Park while in college, taking a job as a room attendant at Lake Hotel, which he calls his favorite summer to this day.
He was the first in his immediate family to graduate college, and he missed his own graduation to come out west that first summer, a decision his parents initially questioned before he fell in love with the place.
Rick explains that the process is mostly online through Xanterra's employment page, starting with a hunter-safety-style application process specific to seasonal park jobs, open to college students, retirees, and career-changers alike.
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I have been asked so many times how I ended up in the outdoor world, and the answer always starts the same way: I got my start working in Yellowstone National Park. I wanted Rick on to hear the same story from someone who stayed even longer than I did, and to help people understand exactly how to do it themselves.
Rick's parents thought he had lost his mind when he skipped his own college graduation to head out west. What he found in Yellowstone that first summer changed his plans entirely, and hearing him describe that shift is a big part of why this conversation stuck with me.
I have sent a lot of people to Yellowstone over the years, including members of my own family, and Rick walks through exactly how the process works today, from the application through what housing and seasonal work actually look like.
Working in Yellowstone was the first step in a path that eventually led me to guiding and to this podcast, and talking with Rick reminded me why I still recommend it to anyone looking for a gap year or a fresh start. Press play above to hear the rest.
Rick Hoeninghausen, Xanterra, Yellowstone National Park.
Rick Hoeninghausen has 28 years of experience connected to Yellowstone National Park, starting as a room attendant at Lake Hotel and going on to work in marketing for Xanterra, the park's concessioner.
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