Volunteer Programs

Volunteer in the beautiful California State Parks of the Sierra foothills!

There are a wide variety of volunteer opportunities at Empire Mine State Historic Park, South Yuba River State Park, and Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park to match any interest. Volunteers can participate in any or all of the following activities after completing comprehensive training. 

 

Empire Mine SHP:

• Tour Leaders/Assistants: Lead or assist with Estate & Mine Yard Tours, Garden Tours, and/or Nature Trail Tours

• Trail Rovers: Answer visitors' questions and keep trails clean while you hike through the beautiful forest

• Blacksmiths: Interact with visitors while you demonstrate making period ironwork to sell in our gift shop

• Gift shop: Meet people from around the world and financially benefit our park's non-profit association

• School Tours: Lead tours and/or assist with 3rd-5th grade school programs

• Garden maintenance: help with gardening and maintenance of our Rose Garden and other Estate landscaping

• Living History: Wear Living History period attire while giving Tours and/or staffing Special Events

• Special Events: Staff and/or assist with event setup and takedown for interpretive park events such as Miner's Picnic or Holidays at the Park.

 

South Yuba River SP:

Visitor Center/Gift Shop: Greet and assist visitors to the historical community of Bridgeport 

Gold panning: Teach visitors and/or students how to pan for gold at our gold troughs

School programs: Lead tours and/or assist with 3rd - 5th grade school programs

Trail Rovers: Answer visitors' questions and keep trails clean while you hike

Nature tours: Lead or assist with wildflower, geology, and other natural history hikes

 

Malakoff Diggins SHP:

Town Tours: Lead or assist with tours to share the colorful history of North Bloomfield

School programs: Lead tours and/or assist with 3rd-5th grade school programs

Gold panning: Teach visitors and students how to pan for gold at our gold troughs

Living History Special Events: Help bring the town to life by staffing and/or assisting with annual events such as Humbug Day.

• Visitor Center: assist park staff with the gift shop and addressing visitors’ questions.

  

Spring 2024 Training Dates

Beginning April 12th, California State Parks is hosting a multi-day training for volunteering at Empire Mine State Historic Park, South Yuba River State Park, and/or Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park.

Training begins with a required 2-day Orientation held at Empire Mine SHP. Applicants can then attend the following on-site Activity Training days for any of the three parks that they are interested in volunteering at.

Orientation sessions are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will be offered on both Fridays and Saturdays. Trainees only need to attend one of the days each week; the Friday and Saturday trainings have the same content, except school program training is only included on Fridays.

RSVP is required to attend the training: Jean.Rhyne@parks.ca.gov or call (530) 686-7110 with the dates you plan to attend.

Required Orientation Training dates (held at Empire Mine SHP):
Day 1: Friday April 12th or Saturday April 13th AND
Day 2: Friday April 19th or Saturday April 20th

Empire Mine SHP activity training: Friday April 26th or Saturday April 27th

South Yuba River SP activity training: Friday May3rd or Saturday May 4th

Malakoff Diggins SHP activity training: Friday May 10th or Saturday May 11th

 

Apply Now!

Start by setting up an applicant profile on our Better Impact volunteer program webpage. Go to www.myimpactpage.com and in the "Keyword" box, type Empire, Yuba or Malakoff (if you want to volunteer at multiple parks, they can be added to your profile after training). You will then be on the contact list for the next scheduled training. 

For more information about the program or if you have trouble setting up a profile, email or call Volunteer Coordinator Jean Rhyne at (530) 686-7110.