Opportunities From: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Help! Our wildflower habitat is being over run by garlic mustard and Japanese honeysuckle. We need volunteers to help us control the invasives so that our rare native species can continue to thrive. This is a work-on-your own, but we may have some planned work days. Add if you are interested in helping!

A completely on-you-own activity! Pick up sticks anywhere in the park that has manicured lawn (day use and picnic areas). Toss them into the woods or put them in piles already created by staff and volunteers. Submit your hours and tell us what area you covered. That's it! Year-round, anytime you'd like! 

We have approximately 150 young trees that need checked, some straightened in their tubes and possibly some tubes removed. We also may have trees to plant in the coming months. Please sign up for this opportunity if you have an interest in planting, regardless of your availability. Plantings or care can occur during a volunteer event or on your own time. We will email all who are interested if we get additional trees to plant. 

Want to help us monitor wildlife in the park? Help us complete American Woodcock Surveys! Volunteers would be asked to walk a pre-determined distance (~1/4 mile) at either sunrise or sunset once per week during the month of March, then at least bi-weekly through April until May 15th. Volunteers are asked to spend roughly a half hour at sunset listening for woodcock calls and recording visible birds.  

This position is for potential hosts at Little Buffalo State Park. Signing up for this opportunity does not guarantee you a position, it just allows you to be on our waiting list for an open position for the 2026 season. You will be emailed when there are openings that you can apply for. This is NOT for the 2027 season, so please do not sign up if you are unavailable for this current year. Another opportunity is created for the 2027 season, and you may sign up to be on that list. 

Our campground host duties are fairly simple. Hosts are expected to be fully available during peak hours of camping (Friday evening through Sunday morning, within reasonable hours) and available during the week as needed. Hosts are primarily in charge of placing and removing permits, greeting guests, pick up trash, tidy restrooms if needed, and kindly reminding folks of rules. They are also required to notify law enforcement of any violations they witness during their stay. Hosts will also be asked to occassionally stack wood on the front porch of our firewood shed as needed and may be asked to assist with any festivals or environmental education activities during their stay. 

Hosts may be permitted to leave for periods of time as long as they notify rangers and/or management of their absence. Hosts may be asked to kindly remind visitors of rules when needed, but not to enforce them. Hosts must be role models for other campers - any pets must remain on leash or fenced in (or remain safely in the camper), hosts must wear shirts during their stay, and hosts MUST remain courteous and kind to all visitors at all times. Hosts must NOT engage in visitors that are overly disruptive or potentially dangerous - hosts need to notify rangers or local police to deal with any and all major disturbances. 

Our campground has 5 primitive (walk-to) sites, 43 campsites (roughly half are electric and 2 are paved/ADA accessible). We have one host site, so the position is a bit competitive. Sites 42 and 43 that are ADA accessible also have sewage hook ups in addition to electric. Due to our water situation, NONE of our sites have water at the site. 

**Water Situation**

Please keep in mind that there is no water at our park's campsites at this time. There will not be for some time. We will use a potable water tanker to haul water to the campground, and you may choose to fill your tank at a fill station at the park office or with the tanker beside the bath house prior to going to your site. If you need to refill during your stay, you will have to move your camper in order to do that. For that reason, we are allowing 2 week stays for hosts as well as the normal month-long assignments. The host site is located beside the newer (built in 2019) bath house. The bath house has nice showers and a large sink in the back for dish washing. Water is not drinkable but is safe for showering and cleaning dishes with. If you have further questions about the water situation, please reach out to the park office at 717-567-9255.

This position is for potential hosts at Little Buffalo State Park. Signing up for this opportunity does not guarantee you a position, it just allows you to be on our waiting list for an open position for the 2027 season. You will be emailed when there are openings that you can apply for. Another opportunity is created for the current 2026 season, and you may sign up to be on that list. 

Our campground host duties are fairly simple. Hosts are expected to be fully available during peak hours of camping (Friday evening through Sunday morning, within reasonable hours) and available during the week as needed. Hosts are primarily in charge of placing and removing permits, greeting guests, pick up trash, tidy restrooms if needed, and kindly reminding folks of rules. They are also required to notify law enforcement of any violations they witness during their stay. Hosts will also be asked to occassionally stack wood on the front porch of our firewood shed as needed and may be asked to assist with any festivals or environmental education activities during their stay. 

Hosts may be permitted to leave for periods of time as long as they notify rangers and/or management of their absence. Hosts may be asked to kindly remind visitors of rules when needed, but not to enforce them. Hosts must be role models for other campers - any pets must remain on leash or fenced in (or remain safely in the camper), hosts must wear shirts during their stay, and hosts MUST remain courteous and kind to all visitors at all times. Hosts must NOT engage in visitors that are overly disruptive or potentially dangerous - hosts need to notify rangers or local police to deal with any and all major disturbances. 

Our campground has 5 primitive (walk-to) sites, 43 campsites (roughly half are electric and 2 are paved/ADA accessible). We have one host site, so the position is a bit competitive. Sites 42 and 43 that are ADA accessible also have sewage hook ups in addition to electric. Due to our water situation, NONE of our sites have water at the site. 

**Water Situation** Please keep in mind that there is no water at our park's campsites at this time. There will not be for some time. We will use a potable water tanker to haul water to the campground, and you may choose to fill your tank at a fill station at the park office or with the tanker beside the bath house prior to going to your site. If you need to refill during your stay, you will have to move your camper in order to do that. For that reason, we are allowing 2 week stays for hosts as well as the normal month-long assignments. The host site is located beside the newer (built in 2019) bath house. The bath house has nice showers and a large sink in the back for dish washing. Water is not drinkable but is safe for showering and cleaning dishes with. If you have further questions about the water situation, please reach out to the park office at 717-567-9255.

Our Friends of Little Buffalo is actively seeking someone to assist with searching for and applying for grants for projects in the park. No experience is needed, but some background knowledge of grants is definitely helpful. We will mostly be working with historical type grants to allow us to find funding for our historical projects, as well as ADA grants to improve accessibility in the park. 

Help us learn more about our past! There are opportunities for individuals to help the park through research. This would be mostly on your own through the use of a computer or historical societies. No expertise needed! A good wintertime activity or for those who enjoy local history.

Volunteer to maintain one of our 9 trails for 2026! Adopt-a-trail volunteers are expected to walk their designated trail monthly from April through October to pick up trash, notify staff of hazards, and lightly trim over-hanging brush as needed. 

Spur trail is a 0.5 mile trail from the campground down to Little Buffalo Road and the lake. It is not a loop. This trail will need occasional pruning and trash clean up. It is one of our lower-maintenance trails. 

This opportunity is for logging hours from last year's Women in the Wild program. Please do not sign up for this opportunity if you are interested in helping with 2026. 

This project is to help us maintain and weed our flower beds at the park office. No knowledge of plants needed for basic weeding and maintenance. If you prefer to work on your own over time, we do ask that you become familiar with the plants in the beds. This opportunity may also include mulching once a year. 

Help us install our charismatic cartoon characters throughout the Covered Bridge Trail for Light Up Little Buffalo! This job requires pounding in stakes and use of a drill to secure the figures to the stakes. It is generally done in November before the ground freezes. 

We're looking for volunteers with an eye for interior design to help us wow our visitors! Our Outdoor Classroom, Train Car, Pavilion, and Shoaff's Mill will all need decorated, and it could be up to you to determine how! Coordinate with our staff to get access to our indoor decorations and you decide when a good time is for you to help us bring some holiday cheer to these buildings. 

This opportunity is for firewood processing for the campground at Little Buffalo. 

This opportunity is for the care of the Blue Ball Tavern Trail. This trail mostly just requires occasional trash cleanup. We ask that adopters walk the trail monthly from April through October to keep it clean and provide monthly feedback on its care. 

This opportunity is for any individual who wants to help us protect our native plant communities and improve habitat in the park! Little Buffalo is plagued with several invasive plants, including mile-a-minute, honeysuckle, autumn olive, privet, multi-flora rose, barberry, and oriental bittersweet. These plants need to be regularly controlled in order to maintain the diverse flora of the park! Help us tackle these invasives by signing on today!

When you sign on to this opportunity, you'll be contacted by park staff for your availability. You will need to meet with park staff to learn what plants to remove and what to protect. We can supply tools and gloves. 

Help us decorate for Light Up Little Buffalo! Each year we adorn our buildings with beautiful fresh wreaths and swags. Come and help us make and decorate them! We are flexible for anyone or any group willing to help us put together some beautiful greenery.

Volunteer to maintain one of our 9 trails for 2026! Adopt-a-trail volunteers are expected to walk their designated trail monthly from April through October to pick up trash, notify staff of hazards, and lightly trim over-hanging brush as needed. 

Fisherman's Trail is just under one mile of gravel trail that connects the main Boat Launch to the Swimming Pool parking lot. The main duty for this trail is trash cleanup. 

Volunteer to maintain one of our 9 trails for 2026! Adopt-a-trail volunteers are expected to walk their designated trail monthly from April through October to pick up trash, notify staff of hazards, and lightly trim over-hanging brush as needed. 

Creek trail is a 1.5 mile trail through the western part of our park. It has numerous springs and wet areas and is popular with our wildlife watchers and dog walkers. This trail will need occasional trimming with pruners as well as regular trash pickup, especially during fishing season. 

Volunteer to maintain one of our 9 trails for 2026! Adopt-a-trail volunteers are expected to walk their designated trail monthly from April through October to pick up trash, notify staff of hazards, and lightly trim over-hanging brush as needed. 

Middle Ridge trail is a 2.5 mile trail along the North ridge of the park. This trail is our most demanding trail in terms of maintenance. It will need regular trimming with pruners and/or loppers, which we can provide. Volunteers for this trail will be expected to walk it monthly, and it would be best to break the trail into two sections to work on when doing trim work in the spring and summer.