Currently accepting applications for the 2025 Summer Season. Come spend your summer living and working in gorgeous Glacier National Park!
The Glacier Institute is the official non-profit education partner of Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest. Since 1983, we have been providing hands-on, field-based education in some of nature’s wildest places. We educate outdoors to inspire action. Employment with Glacier Institute allows you to empower future generations and hone your educational finesse.
About Glacier Institute
We provide a wide range of guided hikes, camps, and educational programs for all ages and abilities. Our mission is to connect people to the natural world through outdoor education. From personalized hiking tours to kids' camps, and week-long nature courses, we promise to connect guests to the world around them like never before and provide an unforgettable experience.
We achieve our mission by delivering educational programming from each of our three campuses:
Big Creek: A historic Flathead National Forest Ranger Station, is located along the Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Flathead River adjacent to Glacier National Park, a twenty-minute drive from West Glacier. The Big Creek campus includes two large bunkhouses with bathrooms, a main dining hall (which can accommodate up to forty people), a meeting room, and a large classroom. Big Creek is off-the-grid and relies on solar power for the summer months. Big Creek is primarily our youth educational site.
Field Camp: A National Park Service facility operated by the Glacier Institute, is located just inside the West Glacier entrance of Glacier National Park on a bluff overlooking the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Field Camp has five cabins for student housing, a community kitchen, an energy-efficient bathhouse with hot showers, a classroom and the Morris Brown Myerowitz Memorial Library, which contains a myriad of educational materials on the Crown of the Continent ecosystem. Field Camp is primarily our multi-day adult educational site.
Columbia Falls Office: Located in Columbia Falls, a family-friendly community at the gateway to Glacier National Park. The town averages about 4,800 year-round residents and is 14 miles from the western entrance to Glacier National Park. Columbia Falls is nestled against the northern tip of the Swan Mountain Range and the Flathead River, which flows through the east end of town. Columbia Falls offers numerous options for outdoor recreation including fishing, river floats, hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. We operate single-day family educational programming out of our main office location.
The Employee Experience
Come spend your summer living and working in the beautiful Glacier National Park! Free housing and food is provided for all staff. A typical workday is spent exploring the premier wilderness of Glacier National Park. Feel free to spend your off days fly fishing, rafting, or floating world-class rivers, skiing or mountain biking top-rated slopes, or diving headfirst into some of the last remaining wilderness in the lower 48. Explore Montana and the endless possibilities with Glacier Institute.
Glacier Institute employees leave each season with a renewed sense of self, a honed skill set, and a better understanding of their career goals. We believe in thoroughly mentoring all staff members and offering assistance to help employees attain their goals. Year after year, staff members leave with unforgettable memories, incredible photos, and lifelong friendships.
Ideal Candidate
Ideal candidates are excited about spending the summer in and around Glacier National Park! You should have great customer service skills, be comfortable living and working in remote landscapes, and enjoy meeting people from all over the world. Successful employees are flexible, have a positive outlook, and thrive in challenging environments. Employees often live, eat, and work in close proximity to each other, so interpersonal skills are beneficial.
The positions available this summer are: Outdoor Education Specialists, Site Supervisors, Camp Hosts, and Interns.
Room and Board
Housing for Glacier Institute seasonal employees is provided at no cost. There are 3 housing options: Big Creek, Field Camp, and Columbia Falls.
In addition to housing, you will also receive access to the food prepared at our two campus kitchens: Field Camp and Big Creek
Big Creek: our historic Forest Service dorm-style site. We house up to 18 employees at this beautiful off-grid location.
Field Camp: our property inside Glacier National Park. We house up to 12 employees at this site on the banks of the Middle Fork River.
Columbia Falls: This is our rental property inside the city limits of Columbia Falls. This gorgeous 5-bedroom, 2.5-bath home houses 7 employees and is in close proximity to local amenities.
Employee Perks
- We offer free housing and provide food for all staff free of cost
- Each employee receives a 2025 Employee Vehicle Park Pass
- We provide 2 or 3 consecutive days off, depending on position, every week for the opportunity to adventure, rest, and enjoy Glacier National Park and the surrounding National Forest
- Earn up to 40 hours of paid leave
- We offer great support and training for all positions
How to Apply
Please send all application materials to careers@glacierinstitute.org.
Please apply with a Cover Letter, Resume, and contact information for three (3) references.
Contact Info
- Dawn Glynn
- dawn@glacierinstitute.org
- glacierinstitute.org
