California State Parks

Docents are highly trained volunteers who interpret the cultural, natural and recreational features of state parks for visitors. 

Docents receive initial and continuing enrichment training to which they add their own unique approach and experiences. If you have a passion for sharing and enjoy speaking to the public, a docent position may be a good fit for you.  

Interpretive activities that docents become involved with include:

• Museum Tours and Tours of the Historic Adamson House  
• Educational Programs for School Groups and International Visitors
• Group tours, Garden Tours, and Holiday Tours

Camp Reynolds Bakehouse

Camp Reynolds is the earliest US Military site on the island, established in 1863 to provide for the defense of San Francisco Bay during the U.S. Civil War. Angel Island SP hosts Environmental Learning Programs (ELPs) for elementary schoolers, where students spend the night emulating Union Army soldiers stationed here during the War, running drills, spending the night in the barracks, and baking their own bread. During ELPs and during special events, we staff the bakehouse with a volunteer who’s interested in operating the historic brick oven and guiding students and visitors through the bread making process. We provide training for the operation of the brick oven to everyone, as well as lodging for the night in Quarters 10 for volunteers who stay after the last ferry of the day.

Camp Reynolds Cannoneer

Additionally, Camp Reynolds will occasionally host cannon firing demonstrations during special events. Volunteer cannoneers safely perform cannon firing demonstrations with the public, wearing period clothing or an approved volunteer uniform and providing general assistance to visitors.

Natural Resource Volunteering

Natural resource volunteers play a pivotal role in habitat restoration and monitoring, wildlife surveys, and invasive species eradication in our parks. Typical tasks include:

• Pulling weeds;
• Planting native species;
• Monitoring vulnerable species populations, and;
• Cleaning up beaches and trails in parks.

Group Service Projects

Additionally, we welcome group organizations like scout groups, high schools, college classes, or other interest groups looking to come out to the island for volunteer service project days to help with natural resource management. Such groups often, but are not required to, camp overnight on island, in which case it is your responsibility to reserve a campsite. If you wish to inquire further and schedule a service project day, please reach out to volunteer.angelisland@parks.ca.gov or 415 435 9380.

The US Immigration Station is the preeminent historic site on Angel Island. Our park is looking for volunteers who are interested in learning more about the history of the Immigration Station in order to act as roving guides in the Detention Barracks, answering questions and interpreting the space for visitors.

Visitor Center Volunteers aid park staff in welcoming visitors, recommending points of interest, advertising activities happening within the park, and interpreting the Visitor Center exhibits for guests. Our Visitor Center includes exhibits on the history and geography of the island, as well as a room dedicated to climate change. If you enjoy working with the public, this may be the position for you! 

The Auburn State Recreation Area Canyon Keepers is a volunteer group that promotes healthy recreation by providing assistance and information for visitors to the state park. They organize hikes, conduct trail maintenance, provide guided history walks, maintain a native garden, remove litter, perform roving trail education, and assist the professional ranger staff through volunteer work.

Train crew operate the excursion trains. Positions include Conductor, Engineer, Fireman, Brakeman and Fire patrol.

The interpretive team engages with the public to tell the Railtown story.  Positions include Greeter, Tour Guide, Roundhouse Host, Car Host, Narrator, Station Agent, Ticket Agent, and more.

The maintenance & restoration team work on various projects throughout the park.

The Living History program at Railtown participates in special events such as History Train and Tales of the Roundhouse. Volunteers also demonstrate important skills such as blacksmithing.

The Depot Dogs team sells food and drinks.

The Polar Express is a seasonal event at Railtown. A wide variety of volunteer positions are available to support this fundraising event.

Railtown photo club take photographs and video of activities throughout the park for use in volunteer recognition, social media marketing, etc.

Wilder Ranch has a history going back thousands of years including the indigenous Uypi people, the Santa Cruz Mission Period, the Mexican-owned Rancho Refugio, Moses Meder's dairy ranch, the Wilder-Baldwin owned (and later Wilder alone) operation, and finally to it's designation as a state park. If you're interested in local Santa Cruz history, this may be the volunteer job for you! Opportunities include:

Leading tours of the historic dairy ranch

Living history events

Operating and educating visitors about the Blacksmith Shop (certification needed) 

Operating and educating visitors about the water powered machine shop and Pelton wheel

Helping with school field trips and teaching small groups of children about the ranch's history

and more! For questions or more information, contact wilderranch@ports.ca-us