Are you wasting away your retirement years playing solitaire and watching TV game shows? Perhaps spending several hours a day loafing with other retirees while talking about old times and how America’s youth are circling the drain?

If not yet retired, is this what you have to look forward to?

There are more productive ways to enjoy your spare time and volunteering at national parks is one of them.

Tight budgets and increased visitation have caused America’s national parks, along with other federal agencies, to increasingly depend on volunteers to staff a variety of important jobs.

Park volunteers assist at information stations, act as campground hosts, help with trail maintenance and offer visitor education programs. They work in maintenance, serve as interpreters, offer walking tours, work in bookstores and help design and update park websites.

National park units located near large population centers often rely on volunteers who live nearby and are interested in working one day a week for several hours.

Parks in more remote locations rely on individuals willing to volunteer for three or four months of full-time work.

The latter group near always consists of retirees, although some are teachers who are free during the summer.

We frequently talk with volunteers during park visits. Many choose to return to the same park, while others prefer experiencing a different park each year.

We have found that park volunteers are an interesting group of people who have discovered an enjoyable and educational way to spend their free time.

They make new friends, enjoy beautiful places and gain a respite from babysitting the grandkids.

In general, no pay is involved with volunteering although some positions include park housing and reimbursement for certain expenses. RV pads with electric and water are available without charge for campground hosts and also for many seasonal volunteers who work in maintenance, interpretation and visitor centers.

You should consider volunteering as a labor of love.

Public agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the National Park Service, offer a helpful website (www.volunteer.gov) publicizing volunteer opportunities at their various units.

The site allows potential volunteers to search the U.S. by state, by agency and by area of interest. It is a great tool to determine available positions, what the positions entail, when the positions are open and what benefits, such as housing, are included.

Among the volunteer positions we discovered during a recent search were:

1. Big Bend National Park (Texas): Assist in operation of a visitor center and help with park projects. From three to six months working 32 hours a week. Housing included.

2. Dinosaur National Monument (Utah): Campground host at Green River Campground. One-month minimum commitment and work 40 hours per week. Campground spot with electric, water, sewage and garbage removal provided.

3. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Arizona): Receptionist at park headquarters in Page. Orient park visitors, answer phone, etc. No housing provided.

4. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin): Lighthouse keeper to give tours, orient campers, work trail maintenance and more. Hiking and climbing up to 200 steps required. Includes housing in lighthouse station.

5. Glacier National Park (Montana): Astronomy assistant to provide visitors with night sky interpretation. Telescopes provided. Includes RV pad on the park’s east side and possible housing on the park’s west side.

6. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado): Volunteer to assist with staffing the Junior Ranger Station at the Chapin Mesa Museum. Duty for six hours per day for five days per week. Housing provided in a furnished Hogan (stone/adobe cabin) within walking distance of the work site.

7. Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia): Interpretive guide to offer tours of Plum Orchard mansion. Requires climbing steps. Furnished one-bedroom second-floor apartment with small kitchen provided. Two-month commitment required.

These are a small sample of numerous volunteer opportunities available with the National Park Service.

The website includes many more volunteer positions offered by other federal agencies. Opportunities are available for people who love gardening, hiking, conversing with visitors and more.

Giving one of these opportunities a try could be a life-changing decision.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at mypages.valdosta.edu/dlscott/Scott.html. View former columns by the Scotts at www.facebook.com/DavidKayScott. The Scotts live in Valdosta, Ga.