Like many New York City millennials, my partner and I moved upstate with our two rescue dogs early into the pandemic. We ended up in the Catskills near a ski mountain and I wasted no time applying for an instructor role. I’m now in my third year as a private ski lesson instructor, and I still work full-time during the week, as a remote writer and editor. But in season, my weekends are spent on the slopes, teaching private lessons to both adults and kids.

Even though my livelihood doesn’t necessarily depend on teaching these private lessons, I’ve found thatÌę offers a wide range of physical, social, and monetary benefits for which I’m eternally grateful.

Below are the many reasons you should consider joining your local ski mountain’s staff if you have the time.

Clinics and Training Sessions Have Made Me a Much Better Skier

Many ski mountains offer frequent and . Sometimes athletes from other mountains come to lead them, and other times, higher-ups are in charge. If you aren’t already scheduled to work at that time, or if your lesson is a no-show, they strongly suggest that you participate — you’ll , learn new teaching techniques, and make sure your form is up to snuff. I’ve certainly felt that my skills have vastly improved from skiing alongside more experienced skiers over the last three years on staff.Ìę

I Get to Ski All the Time

Adulthood hasn’t brought me nearly enough time on the slopes, especially compared to my high school racing days. Living in New York City in my early 20s earned me only a couple of trips annually. Now, though, I’m skiing several times per week — whether I’m teaching a weekend lesson, or catching up with a fellow instructor over some morning laps before logging into Slack. I’m skiing more than ever — which means I’m always improving.

I Get a Free Season Pass—My FiancĂ© Gets a Discounted One

There’s no denying that skiing is a wildly expensive sport — and as avid skiers, we’re always looking for . As a part-time ski instructor, I get a free season pass, and my fiancĂ© gets a steep discount on his (which is major, considering how much lift prices cost!). It ultimately ends up saving us up to a few thousand dollars per year, if we were both to pay for season passes —Ìęwhich is definitely a wallet win for us.

Get Discounts and Lift Tickets at Other Mountains

Another wallet win: instructors get access to a wide range of pro discounts. Every year, my mountain has a “pro night” where the staff is invited to peruse steeply discounted gear from a wide range of major ski brands. You can also get buddy discounts at mountains across the U.S. — just ask your superior to write a recommendation for a “buddy pass,” and bring it to the ticket office at your mountain of choice. More often than not, they will give you a discounted lift ticket, which is always appreciated.

It’s Supplemental Income (Private Instructors Often Get Tips!)

Obviously, teaching ski lessons comes with a little extra income, and what you get paid is generally contingent on what kind of lessons you’re teaching (whether it’s ski or riding school, private lessons, a seasonal program, etc.). It can also vary based on your level of expertise — as an instructor, you tend to get paid more if you get (and there are multiple levels). You may or may not also as a ski instructor — although it generally is not required for patrons to tip, it’s strongly suggested.

I’ve Made So Many New Friends

After moving upstate from New York City, I didn’t know too many people in my small Catskills town. But through working at the mountain, I’ve made tons of . Every adult knows that making friends after college can be somewhat challenging, however, joining my local mountain staff has helped me find awesome new friends with similar interests (and as we all know, most skiers are cool as hell).

Ski Instructing Can Be Extremely Rewarding

As you can probably imagine, there are days that bring an unthinkable amount of frustration, for both you, as the ski instructor, and the student. However, most days on the slopes are . The second something new clicks for your student, or when you see them start to realize how much fun skiing can be, it feels like you’ve just passed on your passion to someone else. Whether you just effectively taught them how to carve, or to simply transition from pizza to french fries, it’s a small victory that you can bring to your aprĂ©s drinks, and more importantly, it’s something that your student will be able to look back on forever.

The post Why You May Want to Consider Teaching Skiing as a Side Gig appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

1. BSW Wealth Partners

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 31
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 27 days after 10 years

Perks: Paid volunteer days, work from home and hybrid work schedules, home-office/workstation stipend, early Fridays for weekend adventures, annual ski trips, paid sabbatical after a decade, summer and winter fun days, custom branded gear, dinner and babysitter stipend to celebrate work anniversary, matching 401k, paid parental leave, kids’ first day of school off, plus a fully stocked breakroom, Thursday catered lunches, craft beer and unlimited seltzer, and an office located near local mountain trails

What makes it great: “We prioritize work-life balance and flexibility, allowing our team members the freedom to work independently while fostering trust and accountability. Meaningful work is at the heart of what we do. We solve impactful problems, genuinely help people, and continuously evolve to make life better for our clients. Additionally, our vibrant culture of fun and connectivity sets us apart. We believe that a workplace should inspire, support, and uplift its employees, and at BSW Wealth, we do just that.”

2. Workshop Digital

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of Employees: 28
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 12 days of PTO

Perks: A four-day work week, your birthday off, fully remote work, hybrid work option if located near Richmond headquarters, quarterly team recreation events, and two company-wide annual offsite events

What makes it great: “At Workshop, we’re all about staying connected in our remote/hybrid world, finding creative ways to build relationships from virtual coffee dates to in-person pickleball meetups and company-wide retreats. We celebrate each other’s lives through active Slack channels, sharing everything from travel stories to pet pics. We’re passionate about our work, and we’re just as passionate about getting outside—hiking, running, cycling, or training for marathons and triathlons.”

3. Landmark Consultants, Inc.

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 18
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 30 days of PTO

Perks: Full coverage of health insurance costs for employees and their dependents, a physical health benefit equivalent to a full Ikon ski pass, flexible, hybrid work schedules to encourage outdoor activities, team sponsorship for the STARS Mountain Challenge fundraiser, an annual summer camping trip, and a company ski day

What makes it great: “Landmark offers professional careers with excellent benefits in the heart of Ski Town U.S.A. Our office is just 1,000 feet from Howelsen Hill Ski Area and its summer trail network, half a mile from the Spring Creek Trailhead, which connects to the Continental Divide, and only three miles from the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort. We believe that a flexible schedule to enjoy powder days, sunshine, and fresh air are vital for a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle, which in turn allows us to consistently deliver high-quality work for our clients.”

4. Tilting Futures

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 20
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A $750 annual stipend for professional and personal development courses, an international trip to one of the company’s program countries after two years, and a month-long paid sabbatical after three years

What makes it great: “Ours is a culture where authenticity triumphs and self-care prevails. We invest in our people personally and professionally with the tools, flexibility, and support to thrive. As a team, we bring our full human selves to the work and have a lot of fun in the process.”

5. GFM|CenterTable

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 35
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO after one year

Perks: Flexible schedules, an on-site meditation room, quarterly mental health days to unplug, a monthly “Happiness Allowance” to pursue personal passions, paid volunteer time, a vacation day for the Colorado Rockies home opener, an annual Groundhog Day party, and a paid sabbatical every five years

What makes it great: “We don’t just talk about work-life blend—we live it with flexible schedules, meaningful benefits, and a deep commitment to community impact. From sabbaticals every five years to volunteer days, Beverage Club celebrations, and onsite yoga, we create space for growth, connection and laughter. Our shared passion for making a positive impact fuels not only our work but the meaningful relationships we build with each other and our clients.”

6. WorkBright

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 45
Average Salary: $100,000
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Work from anywhere, health benefits, an annual professional development plan supported by a company stipend, an annual personal development grant for one employee, monthly wellness challenges, two offsite company trips per year, rewards like AirPod Pros or $100 to take your family out to eat for important revenue milestones

What makes it great: “As a B-Corp, we consider people and culture part of our bottom line and invest time and dollars accordingly. We incorporate our core values into hiring, recognition, and performance management. We invest in the heart, head, and briefcase of our managers with annual upskilling trainings to ensure that managers have the tools to support their teams both as people and as coworkers.”

7. Gunpowder Inc.

Location: Delafield, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of Employees: 24
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Remote work opportunities and flexible schedules, comprehensive health benefits and 401(k) match, an annual team summit, professional development opportunities, company-paid cell phone and internet, paid parental leave, a dog-friendly office, holiday and anniversary gifts, winter break between Christmas and New Years Day, and annual performance bonuses

What makes it great: “Gunpowder encourages and enables its team to enjoy their interests, whether those be fishing, hunting, camping, or other activities, while working on meaningful projects for leading outdoor brands in the categories they’re passionate about. With a focus on authentic storytelling and impactful media strategies, Gunpowder empowers its employees to thrive in a creative, purpose-driven environment, helping brands connect with people on a deeper level.”

8. Global Glimpse

Location: Fully Remote/Oakland, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 19
Average Salary: $94,000
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: An annual international team retreat, bi-weekly half-day “Wellness Fridays,” 100-percent employer-paid healthcare, fully remote work, 12 weeks parental leave for all employees, a “Workiversary” Milestone Program that includes flight vouchers, swag, and sabbaticals, plus a week off for winter holiday and another for summer holiday

What makes it great: “At Global Glimpse, we combine passion with joy, hard work with play, and growth with gratitude. We are redefining what it means to be a great place to work through a deep commitment to both our mission and the people who make that mission possible. Global Glimpse is a culture-centered organization that seeks to foster an inclusive workplace that enables our diverse team to be connected, feel supported, and thrive.”

9. TDA_Boulder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 28
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: An annual fitness stipend for sports-related expenses, year-round half-day Fridays, 100-percent health care coverage, employee milestone anniversaries with a travel stipend, $1,000 donation to an employee-chosen charity for every fourteener ascent, and an annual outdoor company adventure

What makes it great: “We feel incredibly lucky to be building a vibrant work culture that makes it possible for our people to enjoy what they do. Our Boulder location and proximity to the outdoors has always contributed to a happy workplace, but as more of our people work remote, this recognition means that much more.”

10. C1S Group, Inc.

Location: Dallas, Texas
Focus:
Number of Employees: 53
Average Salary: $119,460
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO, plus one day for each year with the company

Perks: Flexible work-from-home policy, catered lunch one day a week, breakfast tacos every Friday, regular happy hours, kickball, Top-Golf, and running teams, and a stocked beer fridge

What makes it great: “C1S understands that rewarding work is just one part of a rewarding life. We fiercely protect personal time spent doing all the other things that make life great, like travel, coaching a soccer team, volunteering, or checking things off your bucket list. You shouldn’t wait for retirement to start living life to the fullest.”

11. Western Environmental Law Center

Location: Eugene, Oregon
Focus:
Number of Employees: 28
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 20 days PTO and a three-month sabbatical after five years

Perks: Flex Fridays, 100-percent employer-paid health care, $100 monthly office stipend for remote workers, dog-friendly offices, a three-month sabbatical after five years, and two annual retreats—one on Oregon’s coast, and one near Yellowstone in Montana

What makes it great: “WELC is a powerhouse of environmental advocacy, and each staff member is a high-performing luminary in their own way. We challenge one another, help one another, and camaraderie is through the roof in part because we’re all rowing hard in the same direction—to protect the places, communities, and creatures we love in the Western U.S.”

12. GetUWired

Location: Dahlonega, Georgia
Focus:
Number of Employees: 37
Average Salary: $58,000
Vacation Time: 10 days of PTO to start, 15 days of PTO after two years, and unlimited PTO after three years

Perks: A variety of personal and professional growth training opportunities, weekly guided meditations, anniversary and additional appreciation gifts, paid parental leave, flexible scheduling, 401(k) matching, and quarterly team building events that regularly take place outdoors (lake days, tubing, low ropes courses)

What makes it great: “We’re 100-percent remote, but we still try to make sure to create those watercooler-type moments in a virtual setting so that we don’t lose that personal touch with one another. Our company’s mission, purpose, and core values are key to who we are, how we make decisions every day, and how we grow as a company. We’re passionate about helping small businesses succeed.”

13. Cheley Colorado Camps

Location: Estes Park and Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 15 year-round/210 seasonal
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO for year-round staff

Perks: Employer-paid healthcare, a generous retirement plan and profit sharing, flexible work hours during the off season, paid training for industry conferences, pro-deal access to many outdoor companies, paid volunteer hours, and company-supplied housing for some staff

What makes it great: “Working for a youth-development organization that is committed to building character and resiliency in a challenging and nurturing natural environment makes it rewarding to show up every day. Spending your days in the Colorado Rockies around amazing people is also a plus. It is also amazing to work for a fourth-generation family business where our average year-round employee has worked here for over 13 years.”

14. Cocona Labs

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 19
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 10 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Flexible work schedule, support of volunteer work, and great benefits

What makes it great: “Cocona Labs supports a dynamic, engaging, and exciting culture with team members across the world. We foster an atmosphere of trust and collaboration, where employees feel valued and heard. The company prioritizes professional growth, offers flexibility, and promotes a healthy work-life balance, creating an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to shared goals.”

15. Tenacious Holdings, Inc. (Ergodyne)

Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Focus:
Number of Employees: 85
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Flexible PTO

Perks: Half-day Fridays in the summer, team 5K runs, a fully equipped gym with a Peloton machine, weekly workout classes, two work-from-home days per week, and an employee wellness program

What makes it great: “We are a high-performing, passionate bunch who take the work we do and our results seriously. We like to say: Come for the cause; stay for the people. Most folks who dig our vibe are passionate about helping workers and making a difference.”

16. Inntopia

Location: Stowe, Vermont
Focus:
Number of Employees: 72
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Flexible work arrangements, random days off throughout the year, professional development program, employee service awards, lodging and activity comps at North American resorts, company-sponsored events and competitions, paid volunteer hours, medical, dental, vision and pet insurance, employee assistance program, and wellness reimbursements

What makes it great: “Somehow Inntopia always finds good people. And when you have passionate, innovative, and hard-working people, it’s a recipe for success. When a company knows the work gets done, and it gets done well, it’s easy to offer flexible schedules, encourage community involvement, and support life outside of the office.”

17. Creative Alignments

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 18
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Flexible work schedule, an annual retreat, virtual and in-person events throughout the year, versatile health coverage options that are 75 percent employer-paid, reproductive healthcare, employer-sponsored long-term disability, employer 401(k) match, and access to a free financial advisor

What makes it great: “We believe that work should be additive in people’s lives and that happiness created through work makes the world a better place. Our reason for being is to create a great workplace and to help scaling companies that have a similar commitment hire great employees, creating a cycle of good that inspires a sense of purpose, belonging and positivity in people’s lives.”

18. CampMinder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus: Number of Employees: 83
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: On-site retreats with yoga, cooking classes, escape rooms, and a hike with goats, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, employer-funded wellness savings accounts, employee resource groups, and flexible work-from-anywhere options

What makes it great: “If you were to ask any Minder what makes this company great, their answer would include some variation of ‘the smart, caring, authentic, fun people I get to work with.’ Many of our team members are former camp counselors or directors. Their camp experience enables them to empathize with our clients and bring the spirit of camp into the workplace. Employee engagement is the company’s top priority, and we regularly review employee feedback and implement changes based on team members’ input.”

19. Turner

Location: Denver, Colorado, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Miami
Focus:
Number of Employees: 55
Average Salary: $114,200
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Paid volunteer days, a free ClassPass membership for all full-time associates, flexible and hybrid work schedules, early Fridays for weekend adventures, discounts on client apparel, gear, and hotels, dog-friendly offices, mental health speakers, zen rooms, and Calm App subscriptions paid for by the company, stocked wine fridges and a local brew kegerator, a “recess” committee that organizes games, happy hours, and outings, a professional development program, and a committee that leads engaging activities

What makes it great: “We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to make lifelong memories on an epic scale and call it work—sunrise hot balloon rides over Albuquerque, New Mexico, wear-testing experiences for our brands that take us to summit views in Colorado, rock climbing gyms in Midtown Manhattan, New York, being on-set for Top Chef in Wisconsin, taking over an entire Texas resort to disconnect with Airstream. And that’s just the last six months.”

20. șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűSmith Explorations

Location: Truckee, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 16
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Up to 26 days of PTO

Perks: Remote/hybrid/flexible work environment, near-annual, all-expenses-paid trips on company expedition cruises and wilderness adventures, 100-percent employer-paid healthcare, 401(k) matching, discounted personal travel, a powder day clause, gear discounts, team events, and a dog-friendly office located in the heart of an outdoor adventure mecca

What makes it great: “Passport stamps to far-flung destinations—check! A team that feels like family—check! How lucky we are to transform our shared love for outdoor adventure into such an inspiring workplace. It’s thrilling to craft (and experience) trips of a lifetime, and we revel in the excitement of our clients’ and colleagues’ travel stories and new experiences—whether it’s hiking near glaciers in Alaska, kayaking among icebergs in Antarctica, or snorkeling with penguins in the Galápagos. I couldn’t imagine a better group of passionate and knowledgeable individuals to surround myself with—both at work and beyond.”

21. Evotek

Location: Solana Beach, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 202
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flexible work location, premium employee medical, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) with employer match, and an annual company overnight retreat to destinations like Napa Valley, Austin, or a private yacht in Miami

What makes it great: “The Evotek team is comprised of people with unique backgrounds and experiences who are always happy to give a helping hand. We are not only given the opportunity to learn but are encouraged to expand our knowledge and expertise through continual learning. Our many events allow us to make solid connections with each other as well as with our valued partners and customers.”

22. Obviouslee

Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Focus:
Number of Employees: 26
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO, with a minimum of 15 days per year

Perks: End-of-year weekly closure, paid volunteer days, an annual wellness day, flexible working arrangements, yearly anniversary gifts for team members, a yearly company retreat, year-round early Fridays to get a head start on the weekend, a dog-friendly office, and access to outdoor gear and discounts

What makes it great: “Obviouslee truly values its employees’ well-being and fosters a strong work-life balance, enabling them to pursue their passions, especially in the outdoors. As a certified B Corp, Obviouslee demonstrates its commitment to social and environmental responsibility, which resonates with employees who care about making a positive impact. The company offers great benefits, all while working with purpose-driven brands that value sustainability and protecting the environment. This creates a positive and fulfilling work experience for employees who love marketing and the outdoors.”

23. Geocaching HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington
Focus:
Number of Employees: 90
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 25 days of PTO

Perks: Comprehensive health benefits, 401(k) matching, free geocaching premium membership (including an extra buddy membership), time to geocache, free gear to rent on-site for adventures, unlimited free lift tickets anywhere in the world, reimbursements toward outdoor activities, a lunch subsidy, learning and development budgets, monthly social events, a sabbatical every seven years, and a special geocaching travel award every ten years

What makes it great: “At Geocaching HQ, kindness and community are at the heart of everything we do. Our leadership genuinely cares about the team, the exciting game of geocaching that brings people together, and the vibrant community who plays it. Whether we’re collaborating on projects or heading outside for a geocaching adventure, we thrive on connection and shared passion.”

24. Fortnight Collective

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus: Number of employees: 21
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Winter Fridays off, professional development stipend to attend training and/or professional conferences, wellness benefit stipend to use toward personal passion or travel, an annual mountain resort retreat, and 14 weeks of paid family leave

What makes it great: “Fortnight Collective intentionally ensures all employees enjoy the perks of living in Colorado, like getting outside. That is why, from day one, we implemented Winter Fridays. It is designed to get people out and about to take advantage of whatever passion suits them. In addition to our annual mountain resort retreat at resorts like Keystone or Steamboat, we also kicked off our Boulder Beach Day (at a lake). Our office is in the heart of downtown Boulder, with a bustling town to the north and the famous Flatirons to the west. Lunchtime hikes are not out of the question.”

25. Shine United

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of Employees: 45
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 10 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Full healthcare and dental benefits, summer Fridays, weekly company-wide gatherings, outdoor adventure stipend, flexible work environment, company-sponsored community activities, quarterly Re-Energize Days (days off), and unlimited family, personal, and sick leave

What makes it great: “We may be a business, but the ethos of Shine has always been simple: Work hard, play hard, do good work for good people, and try to change the world for the better. When you see that belief in action, when the work culture, hiring guidelines, as well as life-work balance echo and demonstrate this belief, it turns out to be a pretty great place to work.”

26. Charles Cunniffe Architects

Location: Aspen, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 20
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 25 days of PTO to start, up to 35 days of PTO after five years

Perks: An annual ski pass or equivalent wellness stipend, weekly flex hours for outdoor recreation or personal commitments, paid month-long sabbaticals after 10 and 20 years, 100-percent paid medical and dental, FSA, 401(k) matching, paid monthly volunteer hours, paid birthday off, free bus passes and company car, hybrid work schedules, free snacks, and a stocked fridge

What makes it great: “We believe in working hard and playing harder—whether that’s on a mountain trail or a project site! Our flexible schedules, paid sabbaticals, generous benefits package and perks like a free ski pass and outdoor group outings keep our team happy, healthy, and motivated. And with paid volunteer time and ongoing community service initiatives, we’re not just building great projects, we’re making a meaningful impact every day.”

27. Workstand

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 70
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 14 days of PTO to start, up to 24 days of PTO after 6 years

Perks: Fully remote work, flexible work hours, Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Friday, outdoor industry discounts, new parent leave, paid time off to volunteer, monthly game hour, and weekly coffee/snack chats with company president

What makes it great: “We are proud to have a shared purpose of helping local bike shops because we believe bicycles make the world a better place. Bike shops are an important part of enriching the cycling experience for people and communities. Workstand is a company that values each employee by embracing our individuality and leaning on a bottom-up decision-making philosophy. We love getting outside, supporting one another and our families, and sharing the best pics of our pets.”

28. BrainStorm, Inc.

Location: American Fork, Utah
Focus:
Number of Employees: 61
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 12 days of PTO to start

Perks: Outdoor equipment, three paid volunteer days, corporate ski passes, ping pong tables, organized out-of-office activities, paid volunteer days, and annual company trips

What makes it great: “BrainStorm is exceptional because of its culture, which starts at the top. We focus on people, continuous learning, community involvement, personal growth, and creating tangible value for our customers and partners. The company prioritizes hiring individuals who exemplify its character-building values and fosters an environment where employees are encouraged and inspired to live life in bold.”

29. Duft Watterson

Location: Boise, Idaho
Focus:
Number of Employees: 23
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO after five years

Perks: Work-from-home Wednesdays, half-day Fridays, a Linus commuter bike for each new employee, employee contributions for self-directed charity donations, a dog-friendly office, and an annual all-agency (plus families) mountain weekend getaway

What makes it great: “We believe that an outdoor lifestyle leads to happier employees and better ideas, design, and motivation. Our team works together and plays together, given single track trails, a Sawtooth Mountain-fed river, fly fishing, a surf park, skiing, and an alive downtown are all a few steps or a short ride away. Every year, we take the entire team and their families for a weekend at places like Sun Valley and Tamarack, either for summer fun or skiing.”

30. Toad&Co

Location: Santa Barbara, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 53
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 20 days of PTO to start, 25 days of PTO after 5 years

Perks: Every other Friday off, a hybrid work-from-home schedule, a dog-friendly office, outdoor wifi, lunchtime yoga classes, birthday donations to a non-profit of employee’s choice, company adventure days for time outside, a paid sabbatical after 10 years, and an annual employee campout on the Channel Islands

What makes it great: “We’re a mission-driven company full of people who truly believe in doing good (and having a good time while we’re at it). We’re super involved in our community, taking advantage of paid days off to volunteer and hosting events with other local businesses. We make a point to celebrate our wins – big or small – and keep things light hearted and fun, from our annual ‘Grilled Cheese Smackdown’ to a costume party at the holidays to our Channel Islands campout, where our CEO dusts off his secret margarita recipe each year.”

31. The Brand Leader

Location: Greenville, South Carolina (HQ); New York City; and Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 32
Average Salary: $74,500
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Bagel Thursdays, spot bonuses, summer picnics, subsidized mental health care, annual retreats, a pet-friendly office, summer hours, extensive parental leave, and adoption subsidies

What makes it great: “By fostering a culture of work-life balance where each person feels valued and supported, we’ve built a company where people are passionate about serving one another and our clients. From helping employees qualify for homes to offering generous parental leave and unlimited PTO, our goal is to create men and women of character who push the limits of what’s possible in and out of the workplace.”

32. Wild Montana

Location: Helena, Montana
Focus:
Number of Employees: 27
Average Salary: $72,571
Vacation Time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: Four-day work week, fully paid health and dental insurance, a three-month paid sabbatical after five years, retirement plan, 15 paid holidays including the last week of the year, flexible work schedules, an office accessible to trail systems, a dog-friendly office, and an annual health stipend

What makes it great: “With a trusting team culture and a strong commitment to work-life balance, Wild Montana empowers employees to drive impactful conservation efforts while staying connected to the landscapes we work to protect. Time off is essential, as we believe personal connection to the outdoors is what inspires and sustains our mission.”

33. Buzz Franchise Brands

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Focus:
Number of Employees: 69
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 10 days of PTO to start

Perks: Happy hour Fridays, half day Fridays in the summer, a pool table and ping pong table in the office, monthly company outings, and an annual company trip

What makes us great: “Whether it’s taking a walk to a nearby coffee shop, borrowing an office bike for lunch, or joining our outdoor sports teams, we believe in recharging to fuel high-energy work. Located just minutes from the beach and a couple of hours from the mountains, we take our love of the outdoors even further at our annual company offsite with activities like beachside wild horse tours, hiking, and s’mores around the campfire.”

34. The Pinnacle Companies

Location: Frisco, Colorado
Focus: Number of Employees: 109
Average Salary: $111,724
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 25 days of PTO after six years

Perks: A family weekend in Denver, monthly social gatherings, a summer picnic, employee interest groups for activities like hiking and biking, outdoor gear access, employer-paid healthcare, paid volunteer hours, work anniversaries with special perks, shareholding opportunities, an annual all-inclusive retreat in Mexico, and an annual ski day at Arapahoe Basin

What makes it great: “Our culture is built on strong friendships, both inside and outside the office, with meaningful connections that extend beyond work. We foster personal and professional success through employer-paid medical plans, opportunities for every team member to become a shareholder, and development programs centered on coaching and feedback. This combination of camaraderie and thoughtful benefits creates a workplace where we grow and succeed together.”

35. Polar Field Services

Location: Littleton, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 68 full-time/ 100+ seasonal
Average Salary: $102,000 (full-time)
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: An employee stock ownership plan, 401(k) matching, 100-percent employer-paid healthcare, a $1,000 annual personal development stipend, a dog friendly office, paid cell phone plan, paid Costco or Sams Club membership, annual schwag gifts, wellness challenges, anniversary gifts, and employee recognition programs with rewards like cash or Amazon gift cards

What makes it great: “From planning snowmobile expeditions to collect ice cores on the Greenland ice sheet to supporting the launch of high-altitude balloons that bring connectivity to remote regions, the work at PFS is what draws employees to the company. As an employee-owned organization, everyone has a personal stake in the company’s success, fostering a close-knit, family-like atmosphere and promoting a shared commitment to work ethic and values.”

36. Eagle County Paramedic Services

Location: Edwards, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 100
Average Salary: $96,500
Vacation Time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 40 days of PTO

Perks: Flexible work schedules, a $1,200 annual stipend for ski passes or other recreational pursuits, a housing assistance program with 10-percent annual loan forgiveness, and employee gifts like Osprey backpacks and Melanzana hoodies

What makes it great: “The people who work here are really fantastic. You get to work with some of your best friends and then get outside and recreate with them when you’re off duty. The schedule really contributes to being able to enjoy the incredible outdoor opportunities where we live—hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, and rafting. Plus, it’s really rewarding to know that we’re helping our community every day.”

37. Stio

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:
Number of Employees: 185
Average Salary: $87,000
Vacation Time: Accrued vacation time or flexible PTO

Perks: Flexible remote work policy, 401(k) matching, fully paid health insurance, expanded medical coverage for reproductive care, 10 paid holidays, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, paid medical leave, a work-from-home allowance, an annual gear testing stipend, and an annual team summit

What makes it great: “Stio was founded in a mountain town by people who are passionate about mountain life. This perspective serves as the foundation for our company culture. It’s a place where living our values is important. We want balance, we want to do the right thing, we want superior products to get us out into the mountains, and we want to be a part of a community that shares in that vision. When you can start there, good things will come.”

38. Optera

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus: Number of Employees: 51
Average Salary: $138,000
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Every other Friday off, 13 paid holidays, fully paid-healthcare, a 401(k) match up to 4 percent with ESG options, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, a sabbatical program, and generous stipends for wellness and professional development

What makes Optera great: “At Optera, we dedicate our skills, talents, time, and passion toward meaningful solutions that will help stop climate change and make the world a sustainable place for future generations. Not only do we work for the planet, but our perks also enable us to get out and enjoy the planet we all love so much. You’ll often find employees using their Recharge Fridays to ski, hike, bike, or relax in nature.”

39. Wilderness Travel

Location: Berkeley, California
Focus: Number of Employees: 50
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Up to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Annual travel opportunities on a Wilderness Travel trip (with a plus one), a $4,000 annual travel stipend, 10 Fridays off annually, a dog-friendly office, birthday celebrations, and fun team outings like kayaking, escape rooms, an Alcatraz tour, or curling

What makes it great: “Wilderness Travel is a family-owned business with a passionate team of adventurous, globally minded travelers. We encourage employees to explore the world with a generous annual travel stipend and access to unique, once-in-a-lifetime trips, from trekking in the Himalayas to snorkeling in Indonesia and tracking pumas in Patagonia. Our home office is a dynamic hub where we collaborate with global partners, bond over happy hours and team outings, and support each other’s personal and professional growth in a welcoming and vibrant environment.”

40. Aspenware

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 40
Average Salary: $140,000
Vacation Time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: A paid volunteer day, $1,000 annual reimbursement for health and well-being, an annual National Parks Pass, an Ikon Pass, $1,500 annual training reimbursement for professional development, and an annual team summit in Denver with employee ski day at local resort

What makes it great: “At Aspenware, our collaborative culture goes beyond the office through engaging activities like virtual coffee chats, company-wide challenges, and an annual team summit. While we’re focused on developing cutting-edge e-commerce solutions for mountain resorts, our team also enjoys top-notch perks like health stipends, free ski passes, and national parks access. We prioritize innovation and connection, making Aspenware a place where great ideas—and great experiences—thrive.”

41. GoPro

Location: San Mateo and Carlsbad, California
Focus:
Number of Employees: 476
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Hybrid remote work options, offices close to beaches, trails, and world-class cycling, skating, and water sports, monthly reimbursement toward wellness expenses, access to free coaching and therapy sessions and a digital health platform that supports all paths to parenthood, organized hikes and days out for product testing, fireside chats with world-class GoPro athletes and ambassadors, and the latest camera and accessories (along with company challenges) with each product launch

What makes it great: “GoPro empowers employees to live their desired lifestyle while being able to show up to work as the best versions of themselves—whether in a GoPro office, their remote workspace of choice, or a bit of both. We believe that there is strength in numbers and that people do their best work when they can form lasting bonds with their colleagues, associates, and members of the GoPro community.”

42. East West Partners

Location: Avon and Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 60
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A $1,200 annual wellness bonus, 14 weeks of paid parental leave, a paid month-long sabbatical after 7 years and again every 5 years, outdoor-inspired team outings from trail repair and floating the Yampa river to crawfish boils and pickleball tournaments, dog-friendly offices, ski-in/ski-out locations, exclusive access to Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games, and a company “Snow Days” holiday

What makes it great: “One of our core values is ‘Live Where We Work,’ so our team members have the rare opportunity to grow thriving careers in stunning mountain locations like Vail, Park City, Steamboat, and Snowmass, or in dynamic urban locations like Denver and Charleston. Our work enables us to make a lasting, positive impact through sustainable, net-zero carbon projects and meaningful civic contributions. And we do it all with a team of creative, hard-working people who know how to have fun along the way!”

43. Superfeet

Location: Ferndale, Washington
Focus:
Number of Employees: 152
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 10 days of PTO to start, up to 25 days of PTO

Perks: Time off to volunteer in the community, $1,000 annual contribution per employee to the non-profit organization of their choice, gym and national park pass reimbursements, 100-percent employer-paid premiums for medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability, long term care, and an employee assistance program, 401(k) matching flexible hybrid work schedules, and a dog-friendly office

What makes it great: “People are at the heart of everything Superfeet does, and that very much includes a commitment to creating an empowering and inclusive workplace culture for our team members. Superfeet team members are empowered to participate in cross-departmental committees, engaging all-company meetings and annual strategic planning that involves employees at every level. Superfeet prioritizes flexible work arrangements, from remote employees to state-of-the-art facilities, ensuring every team member has the resources and space to excel.”

44. Cactus

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of Employees: 75
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Ski passes, an annual all-agency ski day at Arapahoe Basin, discounted ski equipment rentals, an employee group that enjoys outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and indoor rock climbing, a paid monthly fitness benefit, agency-funded group registrations for run/walk events around Denver, an annual agency kickball tournament, monthly team happy hour events, free Calm premium membership and access to YOU@Cactus, a customized mental well-being portal

What makes it great: “Cactus is a special place to collaborate with truly amazing people who do meaningful work for clients they believe in and have fun doing it. We share a belief in the power of small agency creativity and innovation to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. We have a workplace culture driven by values like respect, belonging, passion, courage, tenacity, collaboration, well-being, and critical thought.”

45. 85Sixty

Location: Solana Beach, California
Focus: Number of Employees: 88
Average Salary:ÌęUnspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Subsidized Ikon Passes, dog-friendly offices, locations by ocean and mountains, travel experiences around the U.S., gift cards for the company swag store, discounts for travel and outdoor products, and paid industry conference opportunities

What makes it great: “At 85Sixty, we believe in putting our people first! Our fun-loving culture is all about teamwork, flexibility, and empowering everyone to shine, whether they’re hitting the trails or shredding the slopes. We encourage our crew to connect with brands they’re passionate about, making work feel like play. With the right tools and supportive leadership, we ensure our team has everything they need to do their best work while enjoying the journey together!”

46. Pathlabs

Location: Missoula, Montana
Focus:
Number of Employees: 108
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Hybrid/remote flexibility; paid civic engagement days, weekly catered lunches, Friday yoga, a casual work environment welcoming shorts, hats, dogs, and long weekend excursions, company-sponsored events like river tubing, pickleball, golf, axe-throwing, and river cleanups, events in Missoula for outdoor activities and team bonding, and charitable donation matching up to $250 annually to qualified 501(c)3 organizations

What makes it great: “We are committed to our core values, with ‘people first’ at the forefront. A laid-back, adventure-driven culture balances our fast-paced, award-winning growth. Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, we are steps away from access to world-class outdoor activities. We foster an atmosphere where we work hard, celebrate wins, and enjoy time together as humans, not just as coworkers.”

47. Arts & Letters Creative Co.

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of Employees: 150
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 25 days of PTO

Perks: 25 holidays, including one week off to recharge during July 4th week and the holidays in December/January; 401(k) and a 4-percent company match that is 100-percent vested from day one; a suite of wellbeing resources, including an annual wellness reimbursement, two employee assistance programs, access to OneVillage one-on-one coaching, and all-agency in-person events

What makes it great: “Arts & Letters is reimagining what it means to be a creative company by doubling down on a belief that building teams is the best force multiplier for creativity. Keeping people and how they connect at the center of everything, A&L incubates more inclusive talent development programs for both managers and contributors, increases support of employees through concierge services, and launches new programs to connect employees in their local communities. A&L believes firmly that a place should work for its people, and not the other way around.”

48. Young & Laramore, Inc.

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus: Number of employees: 70
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 10 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Unlimited paid sick leave, company bikes for riding around downtown, showers and lockers for workday runs and rides, an annual Field Day event, office closed for the last week of the year, a two-day fall retreat at a state park or college campus, and a room for meditation or quiet time

What Makes it Great: “Every day we walk into a 120-year-old schoolhouse with a gymnasium where we can all hang out. We run together. Sometimes it’s a five-miler at lunch, other times it’s a full marathon. We compete against each other every year at our annual Field Day event as well. We love spending time together, and being active is a big part of that. We love having dogs in the office and hitting the Cultural Trail or the canal in downtown Indy for walks at lunch. We also have an annual pumpkin-carving contest and a pretty competitive chili cook off.”

49. Alianza

Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah
Focus:
Number of Employees: 286 (136 U.S. employees)
Average Salary: Unspecified
Vacation Time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: Flexible work schedules and fully remote options, a $500 annual fitness reimbursement for a gym membership or outdoor gear and apparel, in-office yoga, corporate passes for skiing, rock climbing, and golf, a fleet of e-bikes for employee use, a fully stocked kitchen with vegan and paleo options, and 100-percent employer-paid healthcare premiums

What makes it great: “Alianza encourages everyone to be their best self at work, which includes taking advantage of our Utah headquarters location and exploring new outdoor activities and wellness habits. Between the perks and flexible work options—including a collaborative, welcoming, and fully-equipped office space with stunning mountain views and a wellness room, aptly named Zen—it’s easy to balance hard work with fun, growth, and outdoor exploration.”

50. Falling Creek Camp, Inc.

Location: Tuxedo, North Carolina
Focus: Number of Employees: 18
Average Salary:ÌęUnspecified
Vacation Time: 10 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Access to miles of multi-use trails on 900 private acres, use of camp activity equipment, free meals during summer operations, free on-site housing for seasonal employees (available year-round for some full-time staff), paid-for certifications like Wilderness First Responder and Waterfront Lifeguard, health insurance for full-time employees, 100-percent paid vision insurance and cell phone, and half-day Fridays from September through April

What makes it great: “We exist to shepherd the journey of personal growth through love and adventure. Camp is not just for the camper: the leadership cares about each staff member’s growth and wellbeing. Employees are empowered to get out in camp, join in the activities, and make a positive impact through interacting with the camp community. They develop lifelong relationships with staff and campers and learn ever-important soft skills through managing teams, navigating interpersonal dynamics, and problem-solving day to day situations.”

Honorable Mentions

Backbone

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:

commonFont

Location: Bozeman, Montana, and Providence, Rhode Island
Focus:

First Descents

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Geographic Expeditions

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:

Idea Ranch

Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; Durango, Colorado
Focus:

Moving Mountains

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus:

Putney Student Travel

Location: Putney, Vermont
Focus:

Yakima Products, Inc.

Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon
Focus:

The post The 50 Best Places to Work in 2024 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The U.S. Forest Service is a federal agency that manages 193 million acres of land, an area about the size of Texas. Next year, the agency will have to manage that land without its seasonal workforce. In September, that it would be suspending all seasonal hiring for the 2025 season, a decision that will cut about 2,400 jobs. Nearly all of those positions are field-based jobs, ranging from biologists and timber workers to trail technicians and recreation staff. In addition, the agency is freezing all external hiring for permanent positions. The only exception to the hiring freeze are the roughly 11,300 firefighters hired by the agency every year.

According to the agency and its partners, the effects of these staffing cuts will be far-ranging and severe. In the September 17 all-employee call where he announced the hiring freeze, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said “We just can’t get the same work done with fewer employees.” Though the Forest Service has been shedding jobs for decades—about 8,000 jobs in the last 20 years, Moore said—this will be the largest single-year staff cut in recent memory.

Seasonal employees perform vital fieldwork and research that extends beyond what many Americans consider the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. Rangers patrol whitewater rivers, rock climbing crags, and dangerous alpine summits. Biologists staff critical salmon fisheries. and clean camp latrines. Employees of all types chip in as emergency firefighters when required. According to the American Avalanche Association, the staff cuts could leave some avalanche centers, which rely on the Forest Service for funding, understaffed this winter.

And then there are trails. According to the Government Accountability Office, the Forest Service has had a maintenance backlog for more than a decade, and oversees more miles of trail than it can maintain. Cutting the majority of its field-going trail staff will only make the issue worse.

“This policy will result in a burgeoning of the , both through lack of Forest Service staff attention to trail maintenance, but also through the loss of connection and relationships with partner organizations,” Mike Passo, the executive director of American Trails, a non-profit Forest Service partner, said in an email.

Backpacker spoke to , most on condition of anonymity, about their experiences with the staffing cuts. Several expressed concern that trail crews would simply be unable to operate. They described crews of six seasonal employees disappearing, leaving one or two permanent crew leaders left trying to make things work. One intern in the National Pathways program, designed to automatically place successful interns into a full-time position with the agency, said she’s been told her job offer will likely be revoked. Other trail workers at conservation corps and non-profits who saw Forest Service positions as a step up the career ladder are rethinking their priorities.

Danica Mooney-Jones, a trail crew leader who’s been with the Forest Service since 2021, is among those out of a job next year. Where she works, the trail crew staff will go from five to two, and the broader recreation program is being cut from 13 employees to just four.

“I moved across the country to work here, for a seasonal job,” she says. “We have people who have worked here for 10 years as seasonals, and made a career out of these positions. They trusted that the jobs wouldn’t go away.”

Now, she and her former co-workers have a tough choice to make: leave their communities to find a job in trails somewhere else, or stay put and find a new career. Mooney Jones considers herself lucky; armed with , she found a local winter job as a ski patroller. Still, the idea of leaving the Forest Service behind for good is sobering.

“I’d be really sad if this was the end of my trail career,” says Mooney-Jones. “I really love doing the work, I love seeing the product, and I’m very proud of the work that we do.”

Trail maintenance is important every season, but 2025 may prove an especially difficult year to cut down on the workers who make it happen. After Hurricane Helene, southern portions of the Appalachian Trail are closed due to blowdowns, landslides, and washed out bridges. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, there are more than 2,000 trees to clear from the AT in Tennessee alone, and many Forest Service access roads from Georgia to Virginia are closed due to erosion and rockfall.

That’s just on the AT—a popular long-distance trail supported by a non-profit organization and hundreds of trained volunteers. Elsewhere in the southern US, lesser-known trails face similar conditions but rely solely on Forest Service staff in order to re-open.

The cuts also left employees and partners wondering how the budget shortfall became so dire after several promising years of funding increases.

In 2021, the Biden administration mandated a $15 per hour minimum wage for all federal employees, which raised wages for some entry-level Forest Service jobs. Over the past several years, the agency also converted about 1,300 seasonal non-fire positions into permanent jobs. , who now make up about half of the Forest Service’s workforce, received bonuses of up to $20,000 per year, which were temporarily funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Several Forest Service employees said there was hope that pay raises for firefighters would eventually translate into raises for other field-going employees, as well.

But those short-term gains have all but disappeared, replaced by a sudden budget shortfall.

In March, the Forest Service requested $8.9 billion in funding, a $500 million jump from 2024’s $8.37 billion. By the summer, it was clear the agency was unlikely to receive it. In August, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore released a statement preparing the USFS for a reduced budget. With little evidence that Congress would pass a bill funding the government by the end of the year, Moore said in the September 17 all-employee call that “[the Forest Service] has an obligation to plan for the most conservative funding possibility.” A week later, Congress passed a continuing resolution that extended the 2024 funding levels through December 20.

The lowest number Moore referred to comes from the proposal from the House Interior Appropriations Committee, which sets spending limits for all federal land management agencies, including the Forest Service and National Park Service. This year’s proposal includes $8.43 billion for the Forest Service—technically a modest increase compared to 2024. But last year’s budget was boosted by an additional $945 million through pandemic-era stimulus bills, a funding source that has since dried up. And while the House proposal fully funds the firefighter pay raises, the proposed budget would still necessitate cuts elsewhere at the agency. All of these details muddy the financial picture, but compared to total funding in 2024, the agency could face a budget hole of nearly a billion dollars next year.

Because the Forest Service’s budget for next year is still not finalized, there is a chance the agency will fill some seasonal positions in the near future. “We are working closely with individual partners to explore creative solutions to fill gaps where we can. And we hope to have more hiring options in the coming year if additional funding becomes available,” Scott Owen, national press officer for the Forest Service, wrote in an email.

Even with these sobering financial details, it’s clear that the agency’s decision to balance the books by cutting seasonal jobs came as a shock to many employees.

“My trust has definitely taken a hit,” says Mooney-Jones. “I’d consider coming back to the Forest Service, but I’m not sure I could. It’s a balancing act between how I feel about how we’ve been treated and how much I love the forest.”

The post The Forest Service Is Losing 2,400 Jobs—Including Most of Its Trail Workers appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

There are a lot of reasons I wish I were 25 again, and now I can add President Biden’s newly launched American Climate Corps (ACC) to the list. For anyone interested in climate action, climate science, or even outdoor recreation, it’s the ultimate post-grad gap year experience.

“You’ll get paid to fight climate change, learning how to install those solar panels, fight wildfires, rebuild wetlands, weatherize homes, and so much more,” the president said at an Earth Day press conference. “It’s going to protect the environment to build a clean energy economy.”

What Is the American Climate Corps?

The ACC is the modern day version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), which is widely considered one of the most successful aspects of the New Deal.

Roosevelt launched the CCC launched Ìęin 1933 to help pull the country out of the Great Depression by putting three million young men to work improving and protecting our public lands. CCC efforts shaped our state and national park system, planting more than 3 billion trees and of the modern outdoor recreation system.

Biden has called climate change the “existential threat of our time.” He created the ACC to face that challenge head on, by putting tens of thousands of young Americans to work while training a new generation of workers in the clean energy and climate resilience sectors. One key difference between the ACC and its predecessor is the fact that the ACC prioritizes equity and environmental justice. One of the big criticisms of FDR’s program was that it lacked diversity. Almost no women served in the CCC and Black people were largely segregated into separate work groups. By contrast, Biden’s ACC will prioritize communities traditionally left behind and projects that help meet the administration’s , which mandates that 40 percent of the benefits of certain federal investments must flow to disadvantaged communities.

Six American Climate Corps Jobs We Covet

The White House expects to employ 20,000 people in year one, and 200,000 within five years. As of today, there are 270 jobs currently listed on the and they vary widely. You could get paid $15 per hour to learn how to install solar panels in Philadelphia, $16.92 per hour to build and maintain trails and restore wildlife habitat in Yosemite, or $26.74 an hour as a innovator fellow in the U.S. Department of Energy working to electrify transportation and decarbonize the power system. You could find a gig deep in the backcountry or one that allows you to from home. Some last for a few months, others for a year or more.

My fellow editors and I channeled our 25-year-old selves, combed through the listings, and picked our favorites.

For the Diehard Backpacker

If you hike a lot in the mountains of New England, especially along the Appalachian Trail, you’ve almost certainly interacted with Ridgerunners. You see them charging up or down the trails ferrying pack boards loaded with 80 pounds of supplies. They work on trails and monitor campsites. And they’re the hosts at the mountain huts, where they give spirited safety talks (often laced with goofy skits and songs) and serve up massive vats of carb0-heavy meals to hungry hikers.

Every time I meet a Ridgerunner—all tanned, smiling, and mountain fit—I find myself fantasizing about the gig. That’s why the American Climate Corps jobÌę I’d apply for is the Ridgerunner, where I’d spend a summer living on the trail and get paid to hike every day. Ridgerunners are kind of like park rangers: they talk to people aboutÌę about Leave No Trace principles, safety and regulations, flora, fauna, weather, and so much more. Essentially, they’re professional backpackers. Count me in. —K.H.

For the Alpine Treehugger

No point hemming and hawing about this one: The whitebark pine is the best tree. The scraggly, stubborn old brutes exist, against all odds, in some of the harshest environs in the American West. In another life, I’d love to devote a career to these magnificent survivalists, and thanks to the American Climate Corps, a few lucky folks will have that opportunity. For climbers in the Sierra and the Great Basin, whitebarks are typically the last trees you’ll see before scree and snow take over the landscape. (The Mono Pass and Summit Lake route, shown below, is a great whitebark hike.) Wind-ravaged krummholz (stunted, wind-blown trees) growing out of a crack in the rock is a testament to whitebarks’ years spent in the mountains, a life well-lived.

This position will send technicians across California’s beautiful and expansive Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, the largest in the country, monitoring whitebarks for threats from climate change and pine beetles. And besides, trees are measured by their diameter at breast-height. Sounds like professional tree-hugging to me. —Jake Stern, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű digital editor

For the Urban Forest Lover

As a proud AmeriCorps alum—I paid for grad school with an assignment working with the American Red Cross—I heartily endorse any program that combines community service and real-world job skills. It’s not just about the job you do, but who you do it with. Anthropologist : “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Working with passionate, motivated people who want to change the world for the better will restore your faith in humanity more than any feel-good TikTok clip, and you get paid to boot (can’t say that about watching TikTok, can you?).

Now add in time playing in the dirt—one of my favorite things in life—and you’ve got it made. What I love about the American Climate Corps Planting Specialist job in San Jose, California, is that it’s not just about being a hole-digging grunt; there’s a community education aspect to it, too. I’d be working on projects that increase tree canopy and promote soil and water conservation and also recruiting and training community volunteers.ÌęThat was one of the best, most rewarding parts of my AmeriCorps experience. Equipping others with the knowledge and skills to fight climate change is an important part of this program. After all, many hands make light work, especially if that work is planting millions of trees. —Susan Lacke, Triathlete senior editor

For the Fan of Laser Light Shows

Have you checked out the trippy three-dimensional maps created by Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology? It’s like staring at a psychedelic black-light poster of your neighborhood. For those unfamiliar with LiDAR, here’s how it works. A pulsing laser flashes light beams on an area, and the rebounding light creates precise three-dimensional images of terrain, houses, and even vegetation, all in cool shades of pink, yellow, red, and orange. Scientists use the tech to chart a wide range of ecological studies, from wildfire prevention to erosion management.

I love looking at LiDAR maps—it’s like you’re magically transported to a Sound Tribe Sector 9 laser light show. I don’t know whether the Climate Corps allows you to crank the Bassnectar while you work, but if you do, the below jobs could be of interest.

If I were seeking a Climate Corps job, I’d choose one of the five LiDAR Monitoring Program positions open for 2024. According to the site, you can grab one of these positions in Portland, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Hadley, Massachusetts; or Sacramento, California. My pick: Sacramento, due to the important work around wildfire prevention. —Fred Dreier, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű articles editor

For the Fisherwoman Who Dreams of Salmon, Old Growth, and Big Mountains

The world is full of mind-blowing ecosystems and marvelous creatures. But the temperate rainforest may be one of the most incredible places of all. The city of Sitka, on Baranof Island in southeast Alaska, faces the Pacific Ocean to the west and is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest to the east. There, Sitka spruce and Western hemlock shelter dense, damp green forests, which give way to the dramatic peaks of the Coast Range. But as dreamy as Alaska may be, this isn’t just about location: the job, a fisheries internship focused on waterway restoration and natural resource preservation and conservation, is very cool. The salmon population, like all ocean fish populations, is under immense pressure thanks to climate change, commercial fishing, and more.

As a fisheries intern, you get to be up close and personal with these remarkable animals, studying their habitat and monitoring their populations. But you also get to connect with the local community—you’d be specializing in subsistence fishing, which in Alaska refers to the “noncommercial customary and traditional uses” of salmon. Any Alaska resident can qualify for subsistence fishing permits, which allow the harvest of fish to eat and share within their community, among other personal uses. The Tlingit people, who are indigenous to the Sitka area, have long harvested salmon for subsistence and ceremonial purposes, and this job will involve connecting with the organization’s tribal partners and Indigenous youth. It’s a win-win: working someplace beautiful for the sake of wild fish, healthy coastal waterways, and the locals. —Abigail Barronian, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű senior editor

For the Budding Bug, Bat, Butterfly and Botany Buff

I spent the first year after college on a conservation corps crew doing trail maintenance in Washington state, and while it was great (twist my arm, I’ll spend every day on beautiful trails in Olympic National Park), I’m honestly not sure I’d pick it over some of these Climate Corps postings.

If I were to dust off the ol’ work boots and head out into the field, I’d want to be the Rocky Mountains Youth Corps’ Rare Plant and Pollinator Intern. I’d be based in Taos, New Mexico, which is absurdly gorgeous and has great access to hiking, skiing, mountain biking, camping, and all sorts of other outdoor activities on your weekends.

For the actual job part, I’d be assisting the local BLM ecologist and botanist with their work: surveying rare plants; monitoring monarch butterflies, bat acoustics, and pollinators; leading groups of volunteers; and learning to use different data collection technology. I’d get to learn all about the local ecology, plus gain actual on-the-job skills that would prepare you for future conservation research and fieldwork, and work and play in a beautiful place while I did it. It’s everything you could ask for from a year of outdoorsy professional development.Ìę —Miyo McGinn, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű assistant editor

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, and—yes—wealthier. șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s head of sustainability, Kristin Hostetter,Ìęexplores small lifestyle tweaks that can make a big impact. for her twice monthly newsletter or write to her at climateneutral-ish@outsideinc.com.

The post The Ultimate Outdoor Gap Year appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

1. Rule4

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 17
Average salary: $154,000
Vacation time: 21 days + 1 day for each year with the company, up to 31 days

Perks: Outdoor adventure retreats (two or three a year), 100 percent employer-paid healthcare, $1,000 annual outdoor pass stipend, four-day work weeks, five-week sabbatical every five years, dog-friendly office, free pet adoptions and “pet-ternity” leave

What makes it great: “Everyone here has tried at least one new hobby or outdoor activity because our benefits support that, and because the whole team is happy to share knowledge and expertise. There’s no way I would have gone fly-fishing or off-roading or rafting or ski touring on my own, or have had the confidence to try waxing my own skis or running a half marathon. It’s a culture of growth and adventure, and we have a lot of fun while doing some pretty intense but rewarding work for our clients.”

2. Global Citizen Year

Location: Oakland, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 26
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTOÌę

Perks: A $750 annual stipend for professional and personal development courses, an international trip to one of our program countries after two years, one month paid sabbatical after three years

What makes it great: “Ours is a culture where authenticity triumphs and self-care prevails. We invest in our people personally and professionally with the tools, flexibility, and support to thrive. As a team, we bring our full selves to the work and have a lot of fun in the process.”

3. GFM|CenterTable

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 35
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year

Perks: Paid sabbaticals after 10 years and every five thereafter; PTO to volunteer for our favorite organizations, plus $10 donated for each hour volunteered; dogs in the office; mandatory quarterly mental health days to unplug; agency holiday for Colorado Rockies home opener, and kombucha and beer on tap

What makes it great: “Culture and community are core to our foundation, and the leadership makes it easy to do good for others. With PTO to volunteer for our passion programs, and through cash contributions to those groups, matching the time we volunteer, the company ensures we have time and resources to be good citizens in our community. But what makes GFM|CenterTable truly special is knowing that in times of personal or professional need, the team acts more like family than ‘just a job’ and supports one another above and beyond expectations.”

Ìę4. Forum Phi Architecture

Location: Aspen and Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 39
Average salary: $111,500
Vacation time: 23 days of PTO to start

Perks: Quarterly paid “Forum Phriday” events like skiing, lake day, river rafting, park events, and hut trips; monthly cultural events such as the meatball competition or chili cook off; eight hours of volunteer time off per year of employment up to 40 hours of paid time to volunteer in the community for a non-profit of choice

What makes it great: “The people at Forum Phi are what makes this firm exceptional. We have an amazing, hard-working, super-talented team of diverse individuals who bring incredible energy and culture to the company. Our team is passionate about the outdoors and all the beauty that Colorado has to offer.”

5. Turner

Location: Denver, Colorado, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Miami
Focus:
Number of employees: 50
Average salary: $109,350
Vacation time: 25 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after ten years

Perks: Paid volunteer days; client apparel, gear, and hotel discounts; flexible and hybrid work schedules; early Fridays to kick off weekend adventures; Monday meditations, Zen rooms, and Calm App paid by company; dog-friendly offices; stocked wine fridges and local-brew kegerator; 12 weeks of parental leave; a “recess committee” that organizes games, contests, outings, and happy hours; a professional development program; home office stipend; and individual stipends for additional development goals

What makes it great: “It’s easy to get excited and to speak authentically about the brands and destinations that we represent because each one of our team members lives that life—even off the clock. We are lucky to have a front-row seat for camping under dark skies in Wisconsin and New Hampshire, or waking up to sandhill cranes during the world’s largest migration in Nebraska. Our team has hiked through national and state parks, and climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, and clung to rock faces on a via ferrata in Estes Park. We’ve celebrated milestones with brands we’ve admired for years and experienced the R&D for the gear that takes us further and keeps us outside longer.”

6. BridgeView

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 26
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after five yearsÌę

Perks: Flexible work schedules and fully remote work options; Fridays end at 2 P.M. with a “no-meetings” policy; inclusive paid parental leave; birthdays plus spontaneous time off to enjoy the great outdoors; paid volunteer days and quarterly team Karma Days (community outreach events); luxury anniversary gift at five years; recognition platform with cash rewards; annual Colorado Rockies opening-day celebration event; team building on trails and ropes courses; annual company trips and retreats; mediation and relaxation app; steps challenges; and self-care bonuses

What makes it great: “Colorado’s famed natural abundance and adventurous culture have not only shaped BridgeView’s identity but also influenced the way we empower our employees to live their lives. Our modern and cozy headquarters is strategically located near Denver’s picturesque 60-mile bike path connecting the city with the suburbs to provide our team with healthy multimodal commuting options.”

7. TDA_Boulder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Annual fitness stipend toward ski passes, athletic wear, or gym equipment; year-round half-day Fridays; monthly data stipend; $200 for birthday dinners; $1,000 contribution to a charity of employee’s choice for every fourteener climbed; annual outdoor company adventure, a three-day weekend and $1,000 toward travel for five-year anniversary; 100 percent health care coverage

What makes it great: “If you prioritize your people, they will want to prioritize the company. Your people should value their lives over labor so they are happier humans, and they will likely contribute more at work.”

8. Fortnight Collective

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: $139,500
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Winter Fridays off; recognition program that provides wellness/fitness stipends, financial rewards towards client goods, ski passes, travel stipends, paid sabbaticals and custom swag; annual mountain retreat; and 14 weeks of paid family leave

What makes it great: “Fortnight Collective puts the ‘life’ back in work-life balance. We pride ourselves on our award-winning work, but we seek to provide many great benefits outside of work for our employees because we believe that balance lives create a better agency. The office closes at 1 P.M. on winter Fridays to allow employees to get a jumpstart on ski weekends. Plus we have mandatory mental health days and an annual ski retreat to Keystone Resort for the whole agency. And to cap it off, the whole agency flew to Mexico for a three-day trip for the five-year anniversary.”

9. Crestone Capital

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 56
Average salary: $146,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Health and wellness stipend, arts and culture reimbursement, donation match opportunities, fully stocked kitchen, adventure experiences and employee appreciation gatherings throughout the year, custom-branded gear including branded bikes to check out, and four weeks each year to work from anywhere

What makes it great: “We have a culture of work-hard, play-hard(er), which is driven by our core values and creates a dynamic, inclusive environment. The firm prioritizes work-life integration, offering opportunities from getting outside to hike, bike with one of Crestone’s branded bikes, or to go backcountry skiing in Steamboat, or to volunteer in the community or get a donation match up to $500. There’s a fully stocked kitchen, a ‘Get Creative’ reimbursement, employee appreciation gatherings, and career and personal development.”

10. CampMinder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 80
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Twelve weeks of paid parental leave, an annual wellness allowance, dog-friendly office, three gatherings each year in Boulder, flexibility to work from anywhere in the U.S., Friday barbecues, weekly catered lunches, and in-house wine tastings

What makes it great: “If you were to ask any employee what they like about the company, their answer would include some variation of ‘the smart/caring/authentic/fun people I get to work with.’ Many of our team members are former camp counselors or directors, and their experience enables them to empathize with our clients and to bring the spirit of camp into the workplace. Employee engagement is the company’s top priority, and we regularly review employee feedback and implement changes based on team members’ input.”

11. GetUWired, Inc.

Location: Dahlonega, Georgia
Focus:
Number of employees: 43
Average salary: $57,000
Vacation time: 10 days of PTO to start, 15 days of PTO after 2 years, and Unlimited PTO after 3 years

Perks: Personal and professional growth training opportunities, weekly guided meditations, anniversary and additional appreciation gifts, paid parental leave, flexible scheduling, 401(k) matching, and quarterly team building events that regularly take place outdoors (lake days, tubing, low ropes courses)

What makes it great: “We’re 100 percent remote, but we still try to make sure to create those watercooler-type moments in a virtual setting, so that we don’t lose that personal touch with one another. Our company’s mission, purpose, and core values are key to who we are and how we make decisions every day.”

12. Ergodyne

Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Focus:
Number of employees: 77
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTOÌę

Perks: Half-day Fridays in the summer, team 5K runs, a fully equipped gym with a Peloton machine, weekly workout classes including HIIT and Yoga classes, flex PTO, two work-from-home days per week, and an employee wellness program

What makes it great: “We are a high-performing, passionate bunch who take the work we do and our results seriously. We like to say: Come for the cause; stay for the people. Most folks who dig our vibe are passionate about helping workers and making a difference.”

13. Optera

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 54
Average salary: $133,500
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Every other Friday off to recharge; robust 401(k) plan with ESG options and up to a 4 percent match; annual $200 wellness budget to spend towards gym memberships, athletic gear, or massages; annual $300 home-office stipend; annual $500 professional development budget towards earning certifications and acquiring and refining desired skills.

What makes it great: “Optera is a place where thoughtful and brilliant minds get to solve one of the world’s biggest problems. We are a small-yet-mighty team that is driving a big impact for the planet and future generations, while staying true to building a collaborative environment, fun professionalism, and open and respectful communication. We’re not just about work; it’s about the entire experience. We revel in a work environment that embraces flexibility, and we cherish the equilibrium between professional and personal life.”

14. GoPro

Location: San Mateo and Carlsbad, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 483
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Hybrid remote work options; offices close to beaches, trails, and world-class cycling, skating, and water sports; office gym, showers, and lockers; access to nearby college athletic facility with a track and aquatic center; onsite and remote fitness classes like bootcamp, yoga, and meditation; monthly reimbursement toward wellness expenses; access to coaching and therapy sessions; outdoor experience awards that can include new equipment or experiences; Fireside Chats with world-class GoPro athletes and ambassadors; the latest camera and accessories (along with company challenges) with each launch

What makes it great: “GoPro attracts some very special people who are zealous about life. This ethos is echoed by GoPro’s vision of being a force for positivity, celebrating all things awesome while inspiring people to pursue their passions. And GoPro’s work philosophy carries that same message, enabling and encouraging employees to live their desired lifestyle while being able to show up to work as the best versions of themselves—whether in a GoPro office, their remote workspace of choice, or a bit of both.”

15. Inntopia

Location: Stowe, Vermont
Focus:
Number of employees: 71
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Flexible work schedule; paid volunteer time; breaks for ski, bike, hike, run, yoga, meditation; ski pass and gym reimbursements; nutrition plan and personal trainer reimbursement; travel credits at partner resorts; work from home hybrid options; dog-friendly office; pet insurance plans; employee engagement committee; company BBQs including competitive sports; group trips to sporting events; and random days off for powder days, end-of-summer enjoyment, or mental health awareness

What makes it great: “If you mashed together your local coffee shop and a software company, you’d have something close to Inntopia. Tech companies are infamous for working their teams to the bone and asking them to sacrifice personal time for profits, but we do the opposite. Whether it’s young children, aging parents, beloved pets, or community involvement, we embrace the joys (and challenges) of life outside of work.”

16. BSW Wealth Partners

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 27
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 27 days PTO after 10 years

Perks: Paid volunteer days, work from home and hybrid work schedules, stipends for home office and work stations, early Fridays for weekend adventures, annual cat-skiing trips, paid sabbatical after a decade, summer and winter fun days, custom-branded gear, dinner and babysitter stipend to celebrate work anniversary, matching 401(k), paid parental leave, a fully stocked break room, Thursday catered lunches, craft beer and unlimited seltzer, and an office located near a local mountain with easy access to trails

What makes it great: “We prioritize work-life balance and flexibility, allowing our team members the freedom to work independently while fostering trust and accountability. Meaningful work is at the heart of what we do; we solve impactful problems, genuinely help people, and continuously evolve to make life better for our clients. Additionally, our vibrant culture of fun and connectivity sets us apart. We believe that a workplace should inspire, support, and uplift its employees, and at BSW Wealth Partners, we do just that.”

17. Creative Alignments

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start

Perks: Flexible work schedule, supportive and collaborative team and leadership, an annual retreat, virtual and in-person events throughout the year, versatile health coverage options that are 75 percent employer-paid, reproductive healthcare, employer-sponsored long-term disability, employer 401(k) match, and access to a free financial advisor available

What makes it great: “We are a B Corp-certified, women-founded and led company that believes work should be additive to people’s lives, and that happiness created through work makes the world a better place. This is core to everything we do, including our recruiting work for companies that also put their people first. Our purpose is to perpetuate a cycle of good, starting with work that inspires a sense of purpose, belonging and positivity. The result is an outstanding company culture and work we are proud of.”

18. Duft Watterson

Location: Boise, Idaho
Focus:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: $65,000
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, 20 days after five years

Perks: Work-from-home Wednesdays and half-day Fridays, annual funds to environmental and social equity charities of employees’ choice, annual weekend mountain retreats for entire team and families, and a commuter bike for new employees

What makes it great: “As an agency that celebrates being 180 degrees from Madison Avenue, our entire team embraces excellence, agility and empowerment, without the layers typically found at publicly held agencies. While clients range from CPG, outdoor recreation, tech, healthcare, banking and non profits, all of them support social and gender equity and limiting outsized negative environmental impacts. And we’ve done this while being one of the most awarded agencies in the region.”

19. Western Environmental Law Center

Location: Eugene, Oregon
Focus:
Number of employees: 28
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: Annual retreats with “play days” in the outdoors in places like Mount Hood, Bandelier National Monument, and Cannon Beach; “Flex Fridays” in the summer to head outside; and three months of paid sabbatical plus a $1,000 stipend every five years

What makes it great: “WELC is a powerhouse of environmental advocacy, and each staff member is a high-performing luminary in their own way. We challenge one another, help one another, and camaraderie is through the roof in part because we’re all rowing hard in the same direction—helping protect the places, communities, and creatures we love in the West. Management embraces that we are all human beings, and provides us the autonomy, trust, and flexibility to do our jobs in the way that works best for us.”

20. Obviouslee

Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO (15 days mandatory)

Perks: Early Fridays to get a head start on weekend adventures, an annual wellness day, end-of-year office closure, volunteer days, office SUPs so team members can hit the water, client gear on hand and gear discounts, a dog-friendly office, fully stocked snacks, a sustainability committee, and a “no asshole” policy

What makes it great: “With a solid commitment to putting people first, leading with values, and the environment, Obviouslee has created a space where employees feel valued, motivated, fulfilled, and eager to to do good. Obviouslee understands how important well-being, happiness, and growth are and we live the values of ‘Team First,’ ‘Always Evolving,’ ‘You’re Not Just Your Job,’ and ‘Enjoy the Ride,’ which are central to every decision being made.”

21. Geographic Expeditions

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Annual stipend for international familiarization trips; work abroad program allowing you to live, work, and immerse yourself in a specific location for up to three weeks; virtual yoga classes with one of the most sought-after instructors in San Francisco; access to online fitness classes; flexible schedules; support for full-time remote work; company outings including beach picnics, baseball games, and happy hours; in-person gatherings twice a year to connect, strategize, and share ideas

What makes it great: “At GeoEx, the opportunity to work is an opportunity to explore, with our dedicated team of travel experts continually embarking on adventures to far-flung destinations. With a rich history, we have cultivated a culture that celebrates exploration, fosters camaraderie, and values the collective pursuit of discovering the world’s most remarkable corners. Our Culture Committee is consistently innovating to ensure we remain connected by actively organizing events and initiatives that bring us together and reinforce our sense of community while dispersed across the globe.”

22. Koru Ltd

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 60
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after five years

Perks: Flexible work days to get outside (especially on powder days); a movement benefit option; Aspen Snowmass ski pass; pet-friendly workplace; company vehicles for work and personal use; comprehensive 401(k) and health insurance packages; cell phone expense coverage; fully stocked kitchen with snacks, drinks, and espresso; office located near hiking and biking trails; paid parental leave; routine team-building activities such as rafting, skiing, camping, kickball tournaments, and scavenger hunts; access to unlimited ping pong; Koru Hockey Team (2021 + 2022 Rec League champions); quarterly company gatherings; standing desks; and ample professional growth opportunities.

What makes it great: “At Koru, our people-first philosophy guides our mission to redefine the building experience by consistently providing unparalleled service, uncompromising quality, and an extraordinary journey for all those involved. We emphasize the importance of prioritizing the needs, desires, and well-being of clients, employees, and partners in every aspect of the home building process.”

23. Workstand (formally SmartEtailing)

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 70
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO to startÌę

Perks: Flexible hours, the ability to work anywhere in the U.S. for up to six months, outdoor industry discounts, silly contests, and a monthly game dayÌę

What makes it great: “Each of us at Workstand is dedicated to supporting and uplifting one another. Our leadership team listens to and respects all team members and believes in the benefits of bottom-up decision making. We’re proud to foster an environment that empowers employees to share their opinions and push for what they believe.”

24. Evotek

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 192
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A benefits package including medical, dental, vision coverage; 401(k) with employer matching; a remote-first workplace; quarterly company-wide team-building meetings at various locations; annual community service day for a cause of choice; company events like taco trucks, happy hours, and Padres games; and an annual private company retreat (spouses included) to destinations like Napa Valley, Austin, or a private yacht in Miami

What makes it great: “Evotek has built a diverse culture that values doing our best and building valuable connections, both internally and externally. As an example of this, all Evotek employees are invited to attend an annual, offsite sales summit with the express purpose of team building and celebrating our successes. Evotek employees value being challenged, working hard, and having fun!”

25. Swarovski Optik North America

Location: Cranston, Rhode Island
Focus:
Number of employees: 110
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after 90 days

Perks: Outdoor products via a company loaner program; an annual training day including team contests on product use; educational reimbursement benefit; business trainings and seminars; a wellness program with walking challenges and healthy eating incentives; an Activities Committee that holds a monthly cake day to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries; and an onsite employee game room with team tournaments

What makes it great: “What truly sets Swarovski Optik North America apart is the company’s commitment to inclusion and our desire to engage employees on multiple levels with celebrations and recognition activities. The company holds many events and development opportunities throughout the year, the favorite being “training day” where all employees come together to learn about our new products while exploring different locations in Rhode Island, followed by a company outing with games and a lobster bake.”

26. rygr

Location: Carbondale and Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 22
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Liberal flex time policy and an open hybrid/remote format; $120/month wellness stipend; generous healthcare stipend; 401(k) match; free parking and public transit use for commuters; funding and time off for professional development; a month-long sabbatical program for long-term employees; $500 gear shopping spree after 3 years of service; beer and kombucha on tap and a stocked snack drawer; loaner bikes; rooftop happy hours and regular group mountain bike rides, sunrise uphill skiing, and fitness classes; discounts on yoga classes; twice-annual offsite cultural gatherings; and screen-free days

What makes it great: “Rygr is a special place to work, one that offers challenging and rewarding careers, places supreme value on work/life harmony, and seeks to retain long-term team members who grow and learn every day. We practice the growth mindset and reward risk-taking and results. Our team cares deeply for one other and forms a tight-knit community, despite our hybrid format spread across the U.S. with offices in Denver and Carbondale, Colorado.”

27. Polar Field Services

Location: Littleton, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 66
Average salary: $96,800
Vacation time: 27 days of PTO to start

Perks: Employee-owned; dog-friendly offices; annual employee surveys that motivate company change; employees vote on charitable giving; each employee is granted $1000 annually for personal development (on top of professional development budget) for a gym membership, massages, horseback riding classes, or sommelier training

What makes it great: “Our work is intrinsically exciting as we support logistics in some of the world’s most remote and beautiful locations, such as Alaska and Greenland. The employee ownership mentality and family feel of a small company make everyone similarly motivated.’”

28. Wild Montana

Location: Helena, Montana
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: $67,000
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: 32-hour workweeks with Fridays off; 15 paid holidays and 12 paid sick days a year; fully paid three-month sabbatical after five years; remote, in-person, and combo work opportunities; fully paid health and dental insurance; and an annual three-day paid staff trip to hike, camp, float, fish, and hang at one of Montana’s coolest locations

What makes it great: “Since 1958, Wild Montana has protected millions of acres of public lands, and our people are the reason for every one of our wins. Non-profit work can be tough, and attracting and keeping rock stars—which we’d say we have, but we’re biased—means taking care of them. We’re built around balancing work and play and making sure we’re always able to enjoy the places we’re working to protect.”

29. Shine United

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of employees: 46
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start, 15 days PTO after five years

Perks: Full healthcare and dental benefits, summer Fridays, weekly company-wide gatherings, outdoor adventure stipend, flexible work environment, company sponsored community activities, quarterly Re-Energize Days (days off), and unlimited family/personal/sick PTO

What makes it great: “Spending each day with collaborative coworkers who rely on each other, who are passionate about the outdoors, conservationism and creating a creative environment means both working and playing hard. Every workday is a fun challenge and the play—sponsored outdoor activities, a company triathlon team, weekly beer-30, book club, catered lunches, company picnics, concerts and golf outings—can’t be beat.”

30. First Descents

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 24
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 25 days of PTO

Perks: A paid weeklong First Descents program each year, a healthcare plan with 100 percent employer-paid coverage, one floating holiday and one personal day for last-minute adventures, dog-friendly office, and a flexible work-remote policy

What makes it great: “First Descents is a tight-knit community of individuals who have been brought together by the opportunity to help others experiencing hardships, along with a shared devotion to service, gratitude and living life to the fullest. Creating opportunities for healing through community and the outdoors is at the heart of what we do, and at the heart of every staff member involved. The many perks are only a small part of what makes our organization special. It’s the ‘Out Living It’ mantra that makes First Descents feel like more than just a job, but a well-balanced and inspiring way of life.”

31. C1S Group, Inc.

Location: Dallas, Texas
Focus:
Number of employees: 39
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: A pond behind the office with a walking trail, a company running team, summer hours with three-day weekends, a flexible work-from-home policy, a pet-friendly office, catered Monday lunches, and an annual charity golf tournament

What makes it great: “Designing and building great projects is hard work, so we balance it out with a regular dose of fun. Golf, kickball, sporting clays, fantasy football, washers, billiards—you name it, we’ll play it. We thrive on friendly competition and trash talk.”

32. TeamSnap

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 196
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A monthly wellness stipend, flex time to be active, sponsorship of sports teams, in-person meetings for the remote workforce, sponsored wellness breaks and activities, parental leave with a phase-back program to support return to work, paid volunteer time, and a $1,500 annual education and training allowance

What makes it great: “We live our values inside and outside the virtual walls of TeamSnap. We are wildly committed to ensuring everyone (and we mean everyone) has access to sports. We have a dedicated community impact team, provide on-site volunteering days with community sports organizations, and even spend dedicated time connecting our employees to customers in underrepresented groups to ensure we are doing our part to expand the transformative power of sports to all.”

33. The Brand Leader, Inc.

Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Focus:
Number of employees: 38
Average salary: $60,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Bagel Thursdays, spot bonuses, summer picnics, subsidized mental health care, office bikes, and an office book club

What makes it great: “Since the beginning, we’ve prided ourselves on a balance of work-hard, play-hard mentality. We provide air cover for one another when we need time away, and we honor family and at-home time by urging staff to leave at 5:30 P.M. to take ample time with family. We often hang out together for happy hours, tailgating, and Clemson games, and work with our outdoor brands to continue to push the boundaries outside.”

34. Workshop Digital

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: No-meeting Fridays to focus on deep work and professional development, remote and hybrid work options, twice-annual company-wide get-togethers, and paid time off for volunteering

What makes it great: “Workshop finds creative ways to keep team members connected in our remote/hybrid-first work environment. This includes team fun budgets, ‘friend times,’ virtual (and in-person) coffee chats, fun fact Fridays, Worksgiving (for the in-town team) a pickleball meetup, multiple social Slack threads celebrating everything from travel to team pets to dishes we’ve cooked, and two all-company offsites every year.”

35. WhippleWood CPAs

Location: Littleton, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: $85,000
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after five years

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, monthly professional massages during tax season, Zen room for meditation and napping, employee-led lunchtime yoga, outdoor conference space, board meetings (skateboarding around parking lots in business park), onsite shower and locker facilities, a basketball hoop and customized cornhole sets, annual stay interviews to give all employees the opportunity to share feedback anonymously with the executive team, and a mental health supplementation package

What makes it great: “We take mental and physical health seriously, which is unique in our industry. We play, work, and grow as a team, improving the lives of our employees as well as our clients. Every employee’s voice matters, and we’ve grown our firm leaps and bounds because of all the creativity and efforts of our entire team.”

36. Buzz Franchise Brands

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 70
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start

Perks: Gym membership discount; standing desks, ping pong, and pool table in the office for breaks; half-day summer Fridays; weekly happy hours; monthly social events; annual trip to Mexico for a convention; annual company off-site for team building in various locations in Virginia; annual credit to spend in company shop; an employee volunteer and charity matching program; professional development opportunities; 401(k) matching, and FSA

What makes it great: “Buzz Franchise Brands empowers employees to make decisions as subject-matter experts in their roles. Just as importantly, there’s a strong emphasis on work-life balance, exemplified by half-day summer Fridays and a designated Sanity Control Committee that plans monthly social events. Based in Virginia Beach, employees are rewarded for their contributions with time away from the office to recharge, connect with colleagues, and enjoy the perks of living in a coastal area.”

37. StoneAge Tools

Location: Durango, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 188
Average salary: $86,000
Vacation time: 10 to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Paid volunteer time off; quarterly local charity donations decided on by employees; onsite gym; wellness opportunities like yoga classes, onsite massage, and onsite health fair; leadership coaching; hybrid work from home options; sponsored recreation events like mountain biking, golf tournaments, paintball, and softball; extra earned days off when teams meet goals; team building events like sheep herding, rafting, horseback riding, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and snow sports; and sponsored learning opportunities

What makes it great: “The employee-owned structure of our company creates an unparalleled synergy and unique work environment. It ensures that every individual within our organization holds a stake in our collective success, which nurtures a sense of ownership, commitment, and dedication to our shared objectives. Our pride lies in the tenure of our team members, with many boasting over two decades of invaluable experience and dedication.”

38. Stio

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:
Number of employees: 182
Average salary: $87,220
Vacation time: Accrued vacation time or flexible PTO

Perks: Flexible remote work policy; best-in-class medical, dental, and vision plans (with zero premiums for employee coverage); expanded medical coverage for reproductive care; ten paid holidays; paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave up to 12 weeks; paid medical leave; annual gear testing stipend; annual Stio Summit; and 401(k) match

What makes it great: “Stio was founded in a mountain town by people who are passionate about the mountain life. This perspective serves as the foundation for our company culture. It’s a place where living our values is important. We want balance, we want to do the right thing, we want superior products to get us out into the mountains, and we want to be a part of a community that shares in that vision. When you can start there, good things will come.”

39. Geocaching HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington
Focus:
Number of employees: 94
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO after four years

Perks: Free unlimited ski/snowboard tickets to anywhere in the world; up to $300 a year towards outdoor activities; onsite gear closet; paid sabbatical every seven years; individual budget tailored to learning and growth; catered in-office lunches; and company geocaching adventures

What makes it great: “Here at Geocaching HQ, we are lucky to work for a game that inspires outdoor adventure, exploration, and community. In many ways, we embody the spirit of our game within HQ. Whether it’s going on monthly geocaching outings with your team, giving recognition awards to colleagues who went the extra mile, or just sitting down in our cafe and knowing you’re welcome there.”

40. WorkBright

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 41
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Work from anywhere policy; monthly wellness challenges with cash prizes; fitness reimbursement program; home office stipend; employer sponsored health insurance with generous dental and vision benefits; employer FSA contribution; sabbatical that includes two airfare tickets; team building budget for monthly virtual connections; meal perk system and paid company lunch at least once per month; annual professional development stipend for all employees; personal development grant awarded to one employee per year; annual company-wide retreat every October; and annual department offsite retreats to anywhere in the world

What makes it great: “Employees have a deep appreciation for our ingrained rituals that foster a sense of camaraderie and belonging. Company meetings open with positive focus and conclude with expressions of gratitude. We have a flexible culture where employees can work from anywhere but still really try and cultivate the closeness of an in-office environment. We lead in the remote workforce with creative ways to connect on a monthly basis. For example, every other week our all-company meeting devotes half the time to strengthening bonds among colleagues.”

41. Toad&Co

Location: Santa Barbara, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO to start

Perks: Every other Friday off and flexible hours; hybrid work-from home; paid parental leave; $1,000 in Toad&Co clothes annually; free healthcare; monthly team lunches; disabilities awareness training; quarterly DEI training and volunteering; birthday donations to a non-profit of employee’s choice; dog-friendly office with music, beer in a company fridge, and outdoor wifi; team events such as an annual campout on the Channel Islands and volunteering in Yosemite; adventure days for time outside; a themed holiday costume party at historical Cold Springs Tavern; and community events like the Grilled Cheese Smackdown

What makes it great: “Our culture is rooted in doing good for people and the environment, and we strive to spread joy to our customers, partners, and extended community every day. We’re committed to making the outdoors more accessible to everyone and make it a priority to give back to—and volunteer with—organizations that align with our values. We love any excuse for big and small moments of fun, from our annual campout to celebrating our team’s contributions to a happy hour or BBQ to toast a recent win, wedding, or baby (aka Tadpole) on the way.”

42. Gunpowder, Inc

Location: Delafield, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of employees: 28
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Work from home and flexible schedules, comprehensive health benefits and 401(k) match, an annual team summit, professional development opportunities, company paid cell phone and internet, paid parental leave, a dog-friendly office, holiday and anniversary gifts, winter break between Christmas and New Years Day, and annual performance bonuses

What makes it great: “Gunpowder is built on the passions of its people. From anglers and hunters to runners, horseback riders and everything in between, everyone gets to work on businesses they love while doing what they love. The agency not only allows, but encourages, its team members to pursue their passions, chase their dreams, and raise their families to embrace the activities and places that make them happy.”

43. East West Partners, LLC

Location: Avon and Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 60
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A four-week sabbatical after ten years, and every seven years thereafter; a four-day ski weekend in February; a four-day company weekend in autumn; ski markets with free ski passes, ski-in/ski-out offices, lunchtime ski/bike laps, and fitness center access; access to a private boat for Charleston employees; and tickets to Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games

What makes it great: “We not only enjoy the outdoors, we actually develop to enjoy the outdoor world. And we strive to be known as trusted partners and one of the best places in which to build a career. Our founder, Harry Frampton, instilled entrepreneurial spirit into our company that empowers our team to make decisions and have ownership and pride in our work. Our CEO, Chris Frampton, has carried that legacy on and has created a fun and rewarding work environment where everyone learns from one another making our work and time at East West Partners fulfilling.”

44. H/L

Location: Oakland, California + satellite offices in Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, and St. Louis
Focus:
Number of employees: 170
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 10 to 20 days of PTO

Perks: Half-days ahead of any company holiday for longer adventures; complimentary Palisades Tahoe lift tickets; an agency-hosted monthly speaker series that’s featured FIFA’s head of women refereeing and two Olympic champions; access to great urban outdoor areas like Atlanta’s BeltLine, Miami’s Key Biscayne, St. Louis’ Greenway, and Oakland’s Jack London Square; an annual day of giving that empowers every employee to choose the effort they’d like to support

What makes it great: “H/L is committed to making momentum for our client partners, for each other, and in the communities we call home. Our Productivity Work Model allows people to work wherever in the country they’ll produce their best output. We bring people into our five dog-friendly offices with monthly lunches and gatherings. And outdoor enthusiasts regularly share their adventures, tips, GPX tracks, and even campsites via a #camping_and_outdoors Slack channel.”

45. Cactus

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 60
Average salary: $115,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTOÌę

Perks: Ski passes, lift tickets, and an all-agency ski day at Arapahoe Basin, as well as a 40 percent season-long ski equipment rental discounts from Christy Sports; “Cactus șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Club,” an employee group that enjoys outdoor activities like camping, hiking and indoor rock climbing; a monthly fitness benefit, plus funding for group registrations to run in timed events around Denver; two outdoor environmental team cleanups; monthly team happy hours; a Calm premium membership, plus a customized well-being portal the agency built for employees to help them set priorities and take personal assessments

What makes it great: “We’re an agency filled with people who want to do the best creative work of their careers, people who believe in the power of small agency creativity and innovation to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Together we’ve created a workplace driven by a set of bedrock values like respect, belonging, passion, courage, tenacity, collaboration, well-being, and critical thought. When you get to come into a mission-driven place like that every day, with dedicated advertising pros who care so much it hurts, who truly have each other’s backs, and who work shoulder to shoulder to create meaningful work that makes an impact in the world—that’s when work stops feeling like ‘work.’”

46. Karsh Hagan

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 62
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: 401(k) match and health insurance, annual wellness days, hybrid work schedule, free coffee, snacks, dog-friendly office, sponsored community service initiatives, and voluntary puppy yogaÌę

What makes it great: “We know that if you want to do smart, dynamic, interesting work, it’s best to work with smart, dynamic, interesting people. Any company can have a great office, a foosball table, and unlimited PTO, but those benefits don’t matter when you haven’t created a culture that fosters creativity. Creativity comes from spending time outside of the office. And culture comes from employees supporting and celebrating each other taking time for themselves.”

47. PeopleForBikes

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 35
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 22 days of PTO

Perks: Financial rewards for riding bikes for recreation, transportation, or leisure; a six-week sabbatical every five years; pet-friendly office locations in Boulder, CO, and Bentonville, AR; remote work options; birthdays off; eight weeks of paid family leave; team bike rides; weekly yoga classes; and all-staff weeks for the team to work together and play outdoors

What makes it great: “Our team is passionate about our goal to make America the best place in the world to ride a bike! To support our team’s efforts, we have an internal #PeopleForParties committee focused on making 100 percent of the staff know they belong, and celebrating and recognizing team members for living out our core values and advancing our mission. We also have DEI and sustainability committees working to progress corporate social responsibility goals for our staff as well as for the bicycle industry.”

48. Aspenware

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 44
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO to start

Perks: $1,000 annual reimbursement for goods and services that contribute to health and well-being; annual National Parks Pass; Ikon Pass; paid volunteer day; and a $1,500 annual training reimbursement for professional development

What makes it great: “Our collaborative culture thrives on a range of engaging activities. From our regular online coffee chats to virtual walks with colleagues, company-wide activity challenges, and an annual in-person gathering in Denver, we create an environment where everyone feels connected. When our dedicated employees aren’t busy crafting the next groundbreaking e-commerce products to entice visitors to mountain resorts, they’re seizing the opportunity to make the most of Aspenware’s perks, such as the health activity stipend, complimentary ski passes, and free National Parks access available to all team members.”

49. Arts & Letters Creative Co.

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 150
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 25 days of PTO

Perks: 24 paid holidays; a collective weeklong break in summer; 401(k) and a 4 percent company match that is 100 percent vested from day one; suite of wellbeing resources, including an annual wellness reimbursement, two EAPs, and a concierge approach to helping employees find therapists (as needed)

What makes it great: “A&L has always been known for radical support and care along the way—not just for the opportunity to make things that change things. In a sea of agencies that are calling employees back to the office, we’re doubling down on our ‘Work Together Anywhere’ philosophy, so that ‘Letterheads’ have the freedom to work from anywhere that works for them, at any given time (including their favorite outdoor spaces!) Our wide network of talent comes together several times a year for tentpole events that surprise and delight, ensuring connection and community for those based in and outside of Richmond, VA.”

50. Backbone

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 145
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Annual company campouts and ski days, $500 in Backbone Bucks to spend with client brands after three years, $120 per month wellness benefit; hybrid work environment, flexible hours, a powder day clause, gear discounts, paid volunteer hours, continuing education, home office stipend, and a monthlong sabbatical after ten years

What makes it great: “In annual surveys, ‘the people’ is always the primary answer for what employees like best about Backbone (followed closely by ‘dogs.’) Backbone represents more than 100 of the best brands and non-profits in the outdoor industry, and it gives employees the opportunity to work with companies and causes that they are truly passionate about.”

Honorable Mentions

85Sixty

Location: Solana Beach, California
Focus:

Avid4 șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Backpacker’s Pantry

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Big Agnes, Inc

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus: Ìę

Charles Cunniffe Architects

Location: Aspen, Colorado
Focus:

commonFont

Location: Bozeman, Montana, and Providence, Rhode Island
Focus:

Decked

Location: Ketchum, Idaho
Focus:

Falling Creek Camp

Location: Tuxedo, North Carolina
Focus: Ìę

Go Ape USA

Location: Frederick, Maryland
Focus:

HydraPak

Location: Oakland, California
Focus:

Idea Ranch

Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; Durango, Colorado
Focus:

Merrell

Location: Rockford, Michigan
Focus:

Mountain Hardwear

Location: Richmond, California
Focus:

Moving Mountains

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus:

Oboz Footwear

Location: Bozeman, Montana
Focus:

Outrider Technologies, Inc.

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűPR

Location: Sausalito, California
Focus:

People Productions Media Services, Inc.

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Putney Student Travel

Location: Putney, Vermont
Focus:

Roanoke Parks and Recreation

Location: Roanoke, Virginia
Focus:

Skratch Labs

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Small Giants

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus: Ìę

The Garrett Companies

Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Focus:

The Pinnacle Companies

Location: Frisco, Colorado
Focus:

ThrivePass

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Trihydro Corporation

Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Focus: Ìę

USA Triathlon

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Focus: Ìę

Watauga Group

Location: Orlando, Florida
Focus:

Wilderness Travel

Location: Berkeley, California
Focus:

Young & Laramore, Inc.

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus:

The post The 50 Best Places to Work in 2023 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

1. Shine United

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, free lunches, a full bar for “beer-30s,” flexible work hours and hybrid work-from home schedule, annual all-expenses-paid company gatherings, 100 percent of health insurance covered, an outdoor adventure incentive program, unlimited sick time, and a paid weeklong-plus sabbatical after 10 years that covers up to $10,000

What makes it great: “We live what we work. Anything that feeds that passion is encouraged, celebrated, revered. Need a coffee shop hangout to change up the scenery? Done. Need an afternoon hike in the big outdoors to get those creative juices flowing? See you later. Need an offsite collaborative get-together with your team? Make it happen. Shiners not only get paid to work on awesome outdoor brands but get paid to go be in the outdoors! You truly can’t beat that.”

2. GFM|CenterTable

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO after one year

Perks: Colorado Rockies home opener day off; flexible hours; access to a logotherapist; agency art challenges for creative expression; kombucha and beer on tap; dogs in the office; PTO for volunteering, plus $10 donated for each hour volunteered, up to $400 annually per employee; paid sabbaticals after 10 years

What makes it great: “As if unlimited time off isn’t enough of a benefit, our company requires us to take one day every quarter to fully unplug in a way that fuels our mental wellbeing. We also get a monthly “Happiness Stipend” to use on things that bring us joy. It can be used for a bike rental or a paddleboard, to go skiing, or maybe to purchase some flowers to plant in a garden. But the very best part is that our leadership pushes and enables us to do good for others. We have a private foundation, the Get Grounded Foundation, that has given away nearly $400,000.”Ìę

3. Turner

Location: Denver, Colorado, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Miami
Focus:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: $102,000
Vacation time: 25 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after ten years

Perks: Paid volunteer days; client apparel, gear, and hotel discounts; flexible and hybrid work schedules; early Fridays to kick off weekend adventures; Monday meditations, Zen rooms and Calm App paid by company; dog-friendly offices; stocked wine fridges and local-brew kegerator; 12 weeks of parental leave; a “recess committee” that organizes games, contests, outings, and happy hours; a professional development program, plus an individual stipend for additional development goals

What makes it great: “Authenticity with the brands we represent is vital to our jobs, so it’s pretty awesome that part of our ‘work’ includes testing or getting free gear and apparel, discounted hotel rooms, and immersion time in our destinations. And our teams engage in avid adventures as part of their regular workload, i.e. backcountry ski hut trips in Colorado; backpacking in Big Bend National Park in Texas; wellness tours of New York City practicing yoga, sound baths and cryotherapy; exploring the Civil Rights Trail in Tennessee; uncovering artisan makers in Wisconsin; or eating our way through Top Chef in Houston.”Ìę

4. SmartEtailing

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 69
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 14 days of PTO to start

Perks: Half-day “Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays,” compressed workweek options, commuter-bike credits, a dog-friendly office, hybrid work and WFH options, paid volunteering, deals on bikes and gear, virtual morning coffee breaks, group bike rides and park get-togethers, and a new office with a bike-tool room and bike storage

What makes it great: “There isn’t much hierarchy here, it’s just a good group of people getting $#%t done. We’re encouraged to take care of ourselves and our families with flexible work schedules and WFH options. We try to keep things fun with ‘Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays,’ organized volunteer events, and regular social events or contests. Plus, dogs are always a staple of our office.”

5. Toad&Co

Location: Santa Barbara, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 35
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO to start

Perks: Access to a nearby trail system; office bikes, SUPs and surfboards; outdoor wi-fi for meetings under a tree; flexible hours for surf sessions or sunset hikes; volunteer opportunities to clean up national parks, local beaches and trail systems

What makes it great: “We work hard, and play harder, and all come together with an aligned mission to do good, support one another, be kind to the planet, and have a lot of fun along the way. We operate like a family, which shines through in events like our annual camping retreat; the ‘Grilled Cheese Smackdown,’ which we host for our local community; yoga and meditation practice; and our themed holiday parties (costumes are a must).”Ìę

6. Workshop Digital

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Paid volunteer time during the workday; flexible schedules and remote work options; a health and wellness committee and a culture committee that organize quarterly challenges to encourage employees to read, exercise, and nurture hobbies; team budgets for hosting cooking classes, paddling the James River, or taking walking tours of Richmond’s haunted history

What makes it great: “Our employee-lead health and wellness committee organized ‘No Meeting Fridays’ during Mental Health Awareness Month, and the idea was so popular we made it permanent. We offer flexible schedules and a hybrid/remote work environment so all of our team members can structure their days in the most productive ways for them. As we add team members all over the country, we fly everybody to our hometown of Richmond, Virginia, twice each year to connect and get to know each other in real life.”Ìę

7. Rule4

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 15
Average salary: $147,000
Vacation time: 21 days of PTO to start, plus an additional day each year up to 31 days

Perks: Every other Friday off; $1,000 annual ski pass/outdoors stipend; custom branded gear for anniversaries and microbonus rewards; five-week sabbatical every five years; small fleet of electric bikes and scooters; annual mountain retreat and camping trip; extra holiday specifically for adventures

What makes it great: “Every day in cybersecurity brings a new, exciting, and sometimes crazy challenge. So we work hard, but we do a lot of fun stuff to stay grounded and connected: skiing, camping, hiking, fly-fishing, paddleboarding, rafting, tailgating, lawn bowling, ski waxing workshops, book club, ax-throwing, and more. There’s never a day we’re not planning the next outdoor adventure.”

8. Swarovski Optik North America

Location: Cranston, Rhode Island
Focus:
Number of employees: 102
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO after 90 days

Perks: Outdoor gear via a company loaner program, an annual training day including lawn games and a New England lobster and clam bake, a wellness program with walking challenges and healthy eating incentives, and an onsite employee game room

What makes it great: “What truly sets Swarovski Optik North America apart is the company’s commitment to diversity and their desire to engage employees on multiple levels. The company holds many events and development opportunities throughout the year, the favorite being “training day” where all employees come together to learn about the new products while exploring different locations in Rhode Island, followed by a company outing with games and a lobster bake.”

9. BridgeView

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 24
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after five years

Perks: Quarterly in-office massages; new adoption of the Nectar app, which enables employees to earn money and win prizes for spending time with family, taking care of their health, and walking 12,000 steps; annual outing for the Colorado Rockies baseball team opening day; year-round 2 P.M. Friday sign-offs; full paid access to the Calm app; an annual all-expenses-paid team trip to places like Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Aspen, Colorado

What makes it great: “At BridgeView, work-life balance is an actionable conversation. BridgeView invests in their people and invites everyone to the table to create a rich culture that fosters both personal and professional development. The leadership team is open to new ideas and change for the greater good. From hybrid work schedules, community volunteer days, and encouraging participation in Denver’s remarkable outdoors, BridgeView is an awesome place to work.”Ìę

10. WorkBright

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 22
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly wellness challenges (like daily outings with pics or daily meditation) with prizes; annual fitness reimbursement program; home office stipend; matching 401k and health benefits; sabbatical programs after five years (two weeks with two domestic flights paid) and ten years (one month with two international flights paid); annual department gatherings to a destination of their choosing; an annual company-wide retreat in October (Estes Park this year) with morning yoga, guided meditations, swag bags, and a Halloween costume and karaoke party

What makes it great: “The thing employees love most is the culmination of rituals that are ingrained in our everyday culture. Meetings open with positive focus and close with props and gratitudes. We have a flexible culture where employees can work from anywhere but still really try and cultivate the closeness of an in-office environment. We lead in the remote workforce with creative ways to connect on a monthly basis; for example every other week our all company meeting devotes half the time to co-worker connection.”

11. The Brand Leader

Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: $66,900
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Office bikes, showers for lunch rides or runs, flextime plus Fridays are optional work-from-home days, “Bagel Thursdays,” a monthly coffee truck, local IPAs in a stocked fridge, summer lunchtime barbeques, quarterly book club for the whole company, annual company appreciation day in the outdoors, and subsidies for gym memberships starting in 2023

What makes it great: “We believe in creating men and women of character and to do so we try to lead by exemplifying our core values and creating a culture rich in motivation and ambition-building. We have helped employees qualify for homes, find a car, have a place to spend holidays, and more. Most importantly, we emphasize the importance of mental health, encouraging employees to take mental health days and offering subsidized therapy for any employee.”Ìę

12. TDA_Boulder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 25
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: An annual fitness stipend toward ski passes, athletic wear, or gym equipment; year-round half-day Fridays; monthly data stipend; $200 for birthday dinners; $1,000 contribution to a charity of employee’s choice for every 14er ascent; annual outdoor company adventure, such as this year’s rafting trip on the Cache La Poudre River; a three-day weekend and $500 toward travel for five-year anniversary; 100 percent health care coverage

What makes it great: “We try not to be douchey. We try not to hire douchey people. And that really helps our workplace culture. This is our 8th year being recognized by șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, and we could not be happier that our people are happy.”

13. Fortnight Collective

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 30
Average salary: $130,000
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO

Perks: Winter Fridays for skiing, flexible schedules and hybrid work options, mindfulness training, wellness events including free massages, online and outdoor yoga, a one-year subscription to the Peloton app, free tickets to Warren Miller films, surprise bonuses, and an annual ski trip to Keystone

What makes it great: “This September we went to a hybrid model, which means that employees come in at least two days a week for intentional, in-person collaboration. We trust our employees to make that determination for themselves with their teams. Wandering the halls of Fortnight Collective, you’ll feel the energy from our clients who may be participating in a hack, our office pups, and our employees popping out for a walk along Pearl Street or heading to our owner Andy Nathan’s famous University of Colorado, Boulder, Tailgates.”Ìę

14. TeamSnap

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 151
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A holistic total rewards package that encourages folks to be well, including a monthly wellness stipend, flex time to be active, sponsorship of sports teams, in-person meetings for the remote workforce, and sponsored wellness breaks and activities; two months paid parental leave; $1,500 annual education and training allowance; annual team summits at various destinations

What makes it great: “We are wildly committed to ensuring everyone (and we mean everyone) has access to sports. In fact, 96 percent of our TeamSnappers cite one of the major reasons they stay at TeamSnap is our commitment to creating accessibility to sports. We have a dedicated community impact team, provide on-site volunteering days with community sports organizations, and even spend dedicated time connecting our employees to customers in underrepresented groups to ensure we are doing our part to expand the transformative power of sports to all.”Ìę

15. BSW Wealth Partners

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 29
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO prorated from start, up to 27 days of PTO by year 11

Perks: Offices close early on Fridays; breakroom and kitchen fully stocked with snacks, drinks, craft beer, and espresso; Thursday catered lunches; in-office corkscrew slide and putt putt course; office showers; company baseball games; office located at the base of a mountain with nearby trails; annual fully-paid cat-skiing trip

What makes it great: “BSW deeply respects the importance of balance and believes it’s equally important to have fun. There is a remarkable focus on giving back to the community. Furthermore, BSW conducts amazing work for a great clientele—work that employees go home feeling really good about.”Ìę

16. Booyah Advertising

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 133
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flex hours for skiing and other outdoor adventures; option for full-time work from home; paid parental leave; 401k with 10 percent match; no-cost-to-employee medical insurance option; dog-friendly office and pet insurance; subsidized recycling service; quarterly bonus program; beer and kombucha on tap with in-office espresso machine; quarterly volunteering opportunities; a sponsored vacation for five-year anniversaries; annual all-agency events like ski days, Colorado Rockies baseball outings, a kickball tournament, and holiday parties; quarterly team events like laser tag, brewery tours, ax throwing, and pottery painting

What makes it great: “Hands down, it’s our people. Booyah is not your typical agency with tons of office politics and competition. People genuinely want to see each other succeed, and they go out of their way to help one another grow. When someone finds a great new insight, they don’t keep it to themselves for personal gain. Rather, they shout it from the rooftops through our many internal info-sharing channels or at a monthly roundtable.”

17. GetUWired, Inc

Location: Dahlonega, Georgia
Focus:
Number of employees: 44
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start, 15 days of PTO after two years

Perks: Quarterly team-building events like hikes, gold panning, or river tubing; “Mindset” training for mental wellbeing; weekly guided meditations; matching 401k; paid parental leave; flexible scheduling; leadership training; weekly team-based games; a dog-friendly office; a newly established fall festival with pumpkin carving, costume contests, and a chili cook-off

What makes it great: “Our people make us awesome. We have a thorough hiring process because we want to make sure that people who come on board are not only a cultural fit but add something to the mix as well. Everyone, from your office mate to leadership, is supportive and easily accessible.”Ìę

18. Geocaching HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington
Focus:
Number of employees: 93
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, up to 20 days of PTO after four years

Perks: Comprehensive health benefits and 401k matching; a free geocaching premium membership with extra buddy membership; paid time off for geocaching; on-site free gear rentals; unlimited free lift tickets anywhere in the world; reimbursements for mind and body wellness activities; subsidized lunches; stipend for caretakers of children, pets, or elderly parents; reimbursement toward adoption-related costs; four-week paid sabbatical every seven years; a geocaching travel award every ten years

What makes it great: “Everyone is here because we believe we can make the world a better place through geocaching. There’s a magic that happens when you’re surrounded by people like that day in and day out—people who share a zest for replenishing the world with wonder, adventure, positivity, and community. Because exploration is at the core of what we do, it naturally creates a workplace environment that allows you to let your guard down and do your most creative work.”Ìę

19. Fringe

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 64
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly points to use on the Fringe marketplace; DoorDash DashPasses for meals; MasterClass subscription; “Clubhouse” with collaboration spaces, plus cold brew, kombucha, beer and cider on tap; a nearby apartment for out-of-town employees to stay while visiting headquarters; team and company-wide retreats; a “Fringe for Life” wellbeing program with team challenges to get outside; a half day off each week

What makes it great: “Virtual and in-person events every month include brewery, distillery, and winery tours throughout the mountains of Virginia, whitewater rafting through the James River in Richmond, a custom created art heist experience in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (with clues, hired actors, and team competition aspect), gnocchi making with an Italian grandma from her kitchen in Italy and many more. Each first Friday of the month via Zoom we play Flinko on our custom-made full-sized game board (basically Plinko from The Price is Right) and Fringers can win prizes directly from the Fringe marketplace.”

20. C1S Group, Inc.

Location: Dallas, Texas
Focus:
Number of employees: 36
Average salary: $102,125
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: A pond behind the office with a walking trail, a company running team, summer hours with three-day weekends, a flexible work-from-home policy, a pet-friendly office, catered Monday lunches, and an annual charity golf tournament

What makes it great: “Each quarter, we recognize a teammate who exemplified our core value of ‘work hard, play hard’ by taking a bucket list vacation or challenging themselves in some physical endeavor (marathon, triathlon, rock climbing contest, surfing, etc.). We also love to celebrate that person who makes the ordinary workday more fun by creating laughter in the kitchen, trash talking about fantasy football on our scrabble board, and randomly inviting his or her colleagues to lunch.”

21. Western Environmental Law Center

Location: Eugene, Oregon (headquarters)
Focus:
Number of employees: 25
Average salary: $91,000
Vacation time: 22 days of PTO, plus unlimited paid sick leave

Perks: 100 percent of employee benefits premiums covered; annual retreats with “play days” in the outdoors in places like Colorado Springs, Denver, Santa Fe, Eugene, and Cannon Beach, Oregon; employees earn three months of paid sabbatical, plus a $1,000 stipend, every five years

What makes it great: “Our paid vacation and holiday package is pretty great. Working from home is A-OK, and that includes an exceptionally flexible schedule. We often close the office around the end-of-year holidays so employees don’t have to use their vacation time to be with their families. We often receive end-of-year bonuses when our finances allow, and we recently instituted transparent salary bands which came with salary raises. And get this: We actually like hanging out with one another!”

22. Fuse LLC

Location: Burlington, Vermont
Focus:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays and half-day winter Wednesdays; an annual fitness stipend; lunch-hour yoga; a gear room with paddleboards, snowshoes, kayaks, and bikes; rec room with indoor skate ramp, weights, spin bike, and basketball hoop; free ski pass to a resort of choice; summer kickball league; company trail building days; a company-hosted annual ski day

What makes it great: “In addition to company perks that support an active outdoor lifestyle, Fuse also provides a pet-friendly office, weekly happy hours, and a flexible hybrid office schedule with work from home options. Annually, Fuse celebrates staff appreciation week, which includes an extra day off in addition to surprise gifts and perks that are announced each day during the staff appreciation week. Fuse also recognizes staff for five, ten, 15, and 20-year anniversaries with bonuses, additional time-off, and special trips.”

23. Young & Laramore

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus:
Number of employees: 69
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start, plus unlimited paid sick leave

Perks: Company bikes for riding around downtown; offices in a historic schoolhouse; showers and lockers for workday runs and rides; an annual pumpkin carving party; a room for meditation, prayer, or quiet time; beer Thursdays; and a two-day retreat each spring in the hills of southern Indiana

What makes it great: “We’re a building full of people who like to get out—and hang out—together, and Young&Laramore gives us plenty of chances to do that. There are agency bikes for anyone to use, which make it easy to explore Indy’s famous Cultural Trail on our lunch break. Also, in no particular order: regular happy hours where we get together and show new work we’ve made, an annual agency retreat, and events ranging from a pumpkin carving competition to a chili cookoff. Oh, and dogs are always welcome at the office.”

24. WhippleWood CPAs

Location: Littleton, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 32
Average salary: $85,200
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO to start, flexible PTO after five years

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, monthly professional massages during tax season, zen room for meditation and napping, employee-led lunchtime yoga, outdoor conference space, board meetings (skateboarding around parking lots in business park), onsite shower and locker facilities, a basketball goal and customized cornhole sets

What makes it great: “Each of us are empowered to improve firm culture with the opportunity to lead or serve on one of five committees that set policies in different aspects of firm operations and culture. This way all employees have a voice as no one on the executive team is allowed to champion one of these groups. Additionally, our management team recognizes our people’s strengths and passions and finds the role best suited for them within the company. There are no square pegs in round holes here.”

25. Optera

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: $120,000
Vacation time: Unlimited flexible time off

Perks: Office closed every other Friday for outdoor pursuits or personal time; a $200 annual wellness budget for things like workout classes, camping equipment, or massages; $500 annual professional development budget (plus a team-wide bonus if everyone uses it); 401k match with ESG-focused fund options

What makes it great: “I love that everyone working here is dedicated to making the world a more inhabitable place, for ourselves and future generations. But even with that urgent mission, there’s a top-down focus on how that work is done—which means a flexible work environment, amazing work-life balance, transparent communication, office dogs, group hikes, virtual game nights, monthly lunch and learns, jam sessions for those of us who are musically inclined
the list goes on!”Ìę

26. Ergodyne

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Focus:
Number of employees: 70
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, team 5Ks followed by healthy lunches, fully equipped 24/7 gym with Peloton, weekly workout classes including HIIT and yoga, two weekly flex days to work from anywhere, and team days to float the St. Croix River

What makes it great: “We are a high-performing, passionate bunch who take the work we do and our results seriously. We like to say: come for the cause; stay for the people. Most folks who dig our vibe are passionate about helping workers and making a difference. Having flex days allows our people to skip the commute or find an inspiring space to work outside our office walls. That said, it’s also amazing to see the good that those three in-office days do for the human spirit and our culture! That’s some soul food right there.”

27. CampMinder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 69
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Paid parental leave, $600 annual wellness allowance through partnership with ThrivePass, flexible hybrid work options, Tuesday on-site catered lunches, dog-friendly office, and an annual two-day retreat in Boulder

What makes it great: “The spirit of summer camp is strong at CampMinder, which means we’ve turned every interest into a group activity. We’ve got coworkers making hot sauce together, a team perfecting the art of Frisbee golf, some committed trash talkers in a fantasy football league, a robust recipe-sharing Slack channel, and of course, a serious competition to bake the most beloved dog treats. Catered Tuesday lunches are always popular and the best place to generate deep questions that are featured in the staff advice column in our quarterly staff newsletter.”

28. Inntopia

Location: Stowe, Vermont
Focus:
Number of employees: 67
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 19 days of PTO

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, paid volunteer time, flexible hours for ski/bike/hike/run breaks, ski pass and gym reimbursements, nutrition plan and personal trainer reimbursement, travel credits at partner resorts, work-from-home/hybrid options, dog-friendly office, pet insurance plans, company BBQs, group trips to sporting events, and a competitive corn hole tournament

What makes it great: “If you mashed together your local coffee shop and a software company, you’d have something close to Inntopia. Tech companies are infamous for working their teams to the bone and asking them to sacrifice personal time for profits, but we do the opposite. Whether it’s young children, aging parents, beloved pets, or community involvement, we embrace the joys (and challenges) of life outside of work.”

29. Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx)

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 40
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Annual stipend for international familiarization trips; virtual yoga classes with one of the most sought-after instructors in San Francisco; access to online fitness classes; flexible schedules; support for full-time remote work; company outings including beach picnics, baseball games, and happy hours; access to endless walking/running/biking trails right outside the office in San Francisco’s Presidio park

What makes it great: “Someone is always headed to an exotic locale—whether that’s to the Everest foothills in Nepal, to an off-the-radar fishing village in Japan, to ancient sites in Algeria, to sustainability-minded safari camps in southern Africa, or to pristine hiking trails in Patagonia. When we’re not out exploring on familiarization trips, we’re swapping travel tales and enjoying the camaraderie and collaborative spirit that’s been nurtured at GeoEx over the last 40 years. The views of the Golden Gate Bridge from our conference room are a nice perk too.”

30. Spawn Ideas

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Focus:
Number of employees: 28
Average salary: $93,900
Vacation time: 13 days of PTO to start

Perks: Work up to 30 days from anywhere once annually, a $200 “stay active” bonus for ski passes or race entry fees, gold-level gym memberships, two-day “pawternity leave” to bond with new pets or grieve when one passes away, employee stock ownership program, an office therapy dog, hybrid work model, and half-day summer Fridays

What makes it great: “We are a team of intellectually curious, getter-done people co-creating the agency we want to be. People plug in and check out as they need to (and should). Newcomers feel immediately engaged and at home because we all respect and like one another. We appreciate new energy and ideas and do our best, always. Friendships are formed, cherished, and last beyond Spawn, like weekend moms’ hike-in camping adventures—with kids!”Ìę

31. Choozle

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 76
Average salary: $112,500
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly $100 stipend toward pass, membership, or health and wellness service; an open-concept office with outdoor spaces, ping pong, shuffleboard, and kombucha and cold brew on tap; an annual company-wide gathering in the mountains

What makes it great: “Choozle has been great in the post-Covid work climate and allowing employees to work with a hybrid approach. Building relationships and instilling balance is also at the core of Choozle’s values, whether it is Weekly Slack Trivia, happy hours, company-wide Summits in the mountains, or Unlimited PTO, they do an amazing job of making everyone feel like they are supported in and out of the office.”

32. LifeOmic

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus:
Number of employees: 114
Average salary: $172, 900
Vacation time: 16 days of PTO to start; 26 days of PTO after five years

Perks: Up to $1,950 in annual incentives for completing health and wellness milestones; $1,000 bonus for smokers who quit for six months, plus paid-for smoking cessation program; weekly team lunches; annual, all-expenses-paid wilderness retreat in Utah’s Uinta Mountains that includes multiple nights camping, hiking, bonfires, rock climbing, paddleboarding, sunrise yoga, fishing, and expert-led lessons in activities like foraging and nature photography

What makes it great: “Our flexibility is awesome. You can work anywhere in the world with a good internet connection. We have multiple employees who have family members in Europe, and at least once a year, they go visit family for a couple weeks while still being able to balance workload and not burn through vacation time. We even have an employee who doesn’t have a permanent residence. He globetrots, spending a few weeks at a time in a new city.”

33. Evotek

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 173
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flexible hours; quarterly company-wide team-building meetings at various locations; annual community service day for a cause of choice; free healthcare; company events like taco trucks, happy hours, and Padres games; an an annual private company retreat (spouses included) to destinations like Napa Valley, Austin, or a private yacht in Miami

What makes it great: “Although we are a 100 percent remote organization with great WFH benefits, our events team puts on over 60 events a year, giving our teams fun and engaging ways to enjoy time together. We also have a new Experience team dedicated to elevating the overall experience for our customers, employees, and partners, which is unique and quite helpful in differentiating our company internally and externally.”

34. Avid4 șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 31
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: $500 reimbursement on recreational expenses like climbing gym memberships, camping reservations, race entries, river trip permits, or yoga and meditation classes; free outdoor gear use; paid company recreational outings to play outside; first Fridays of every month off; an annual, all-expenses paid multi-day camping trip

What makes it great: “Avid4 șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s work with campers strives to build confidence, skills, and a sense of empowerment in kids. Being an employee with Avid is just like being a camper! Avid supports me with professional development opportunities close to home and across the country. I’ve paddled in Minnesota, backpacked and rock climbed in Colorado, and mountain biked in California. I’ve laughed until crying with co-workers, both during on-screen meetings and around campfires. Avid has become an extension of my family.”

35. Forum Phi Architecture

Location: Aspen and Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 36
Average salary: $98,800
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Paid volunteer days, $1,049 annual wellness benefit, flexible schedule and work remote options, paid quarterly Forum Phriday events like hiking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, rafting, hut trips, and lake days

What makes it great: “We started a haiku club where we all put a subject in a bowl and choose what we will write for that week. It’s fun and creative. And Forum Phridays are always unreasonably fun. We laugh so much. It makes it feel like you’re coming to work with friends and family because of the jokes we have shared, and it makes us closer”.Ìę

36. commonFont

Location: Bozeman, Montana, and Providence, Rhode Island
Focus:
Number of employees: 48
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Profit sharing, 10 percent 401k match, office kegerator with local beer and kombucha, weekly catered lunches, stocked snack cabinet, group volunteer days for local organizations or outdoor trail maintenance, summer kickball team, group hiking, flexible and hybrid schedules, celebrations and themed parties and happy hours, and charitable giving matches

What makes it great: “CommonFont brings people and technology together—and our core value of service means we get to do work we love while helping others thrive. As commonFonters, we all strive to make a positive and lasting impact on our teammates, clients and communities.”

37. Bonusly

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 104
Average salary: $133,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: $500 annual wellness fund, paid-for employee get-togethers, flexible work schedule and work-from-home options, a one-time $300 home office stipend, and an annual $2,000 professional development budget

What makes it great: “Bonusly’s work-life balance is effective. We recognize our personal lives are important and so help each other out when we need to reset or take a break. After all, it’s pretty difficult to make meaningful connections if we’re feeling stretched thin. Bonusly also offers rest-from-home days to ensure there’s at least one three-day weekend every month. With all that’s going on, being able to take care of yourself is so important, and I appreciate that Bonusly helps with that.”Ìę

38. Creative Alignments

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 39
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Transparent Friday morning coffee chats with the CEO where employees can be heard; an active diversity, equality and inclusion team; options to take on projects of interest; regular in-person and virtual gatherings; commission for bringing in new clients; employee referral bonuses; an annual multi-day company gathering with hikes, treasure hunts, volunteering, happy hours, education, and ax throwing

What makes it great: “As a fully remote company, things like birthday cupcakes, get-well-soon soup, we-know-you’re-having-a-hard-day flowers, and recover-fast comfy PJs show up at people’s front door on a regular basis. Whenever someone needs help, personally or professionally, a whole team of kind-hearted people drop what they are doing and jump in to help. This same group speaks up with new ideas, diverse perspectives and differing opinions with the respect and openness needed for a whole company to learn and grow together.”

39. ThrivePass

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 63
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly deposits into a health and wellness account, company volunteer days, team building events to decompress during the day, a generous parental leave policy, a one-month sabbatical after five years with $1,000 of travel money and a one-month sabbatical after ten years with $2,000 of travel money

What makes it great: “We’re passionate about employee personal and professional growth. Want to learn a new language or become an outdoor survivalist? We encourage employees to use their annual stipend for learning and development initiatives that bring them joy. Our employees appreciate working remotely, which allows them the freedom to explore! Lastly, every month, they can enjoy their hobbies, whether it’s travel, skiing, mountain biking, yoga, arts and crafts, or nutrition, our health and wellness stipend helps them thrive.”

40. Koru Ltd

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, unlimited PTO after five years

Perks: Paid powder days, an annual “movement” stipend, Aspen Snowmass ski passes, company ski days, and company rafting trips

What makes it great: “We go on citywide scavenger hunts, lunch time bike rides, company ski days, and are supported through our big life events. Sometimes there are more dogs in the office than people, and you can always find the boss barefoot and in boardshorts. While it’s casual, we all work exceptionally hard to make an outstanding product and service—something that feeds right back into the ethos.”

41. Adaptive Sports Center

Location: Crested Butte, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 16
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 12 days of PTO to start, plus two additional days each year up to 28, with rollover

Perks: 401k, paid health insurance, certification reimbursement, professional development scholarship, office (with sundeck) and personal ski locker that’s a one-minute walk to the chair lift, ski/bike/hike breaks, season passes, happy-hours and staff parties, paid training clinics, health and wellness stipend, “Floral/Flannel Fridays,” and office dogs

What makes it great: “The service we provide our participants and the outcomes we witness are incredible—every day is amazing. The staff and volunteer crew are a motivated and fun group with the common thread of a love for outdoor adventure and helping improve the lives of many well-deserving people. Of course, being planted in the middle of Colorado’s Elk Mountain Range gives a spoonful of spice to the above.”

42. Buzz Franchise Brands

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 53
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start

Perks: Gym membership discount, standing desks, ping pong and pool tables in the office for breaks, half day summer Fridays, weekly happy hours, monthly social events, annual trip to Mexico for convention, annual company off-site gathering in various locations around Virginia, annual credit to spend in company shop, an employee volunteer and charity matching program, professional development opportunities, 401k matching, and FSA

What makes it great: “Buzz Franchise Brands empowers employees to make decisions as subject-matter experts in their roles. Just as importantly, there’s a strong emphasis on work-life balance, exemplified through half-day summer Fridays and a designated Sanity Control Committee that plans monthly social events. Based in Virginia Beach, employees are rewarded for their contributions with time away from the office to recharge, connect with colleagues, and enjoy the perks of living in a coastal area.”

43. GoPro

Location: San Mateo and Carlsbad, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 483
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Hybrid/remote work options; offices close to beaches, trails, and world-class cycling, skating and water sports; office gym, showers, and lockers; outdoor workspaces; free onsite bike rentals and storage space for surfboards and wetsuits; access to nearby college athletic facility with a track and aquatic center; onsite and remote fitness classes like bootcamp, yoga, and meditation; monthly reimbursement toward wellness expenses; access to coaching and therapy sessions; the latest camera and accessories (along with company challenges) with each launch

What makes it great: “GoPro attracts some very special people who are zealous about life. This ethos is echoed by GoPro’s vision of being a force for positivity, celebrating all things awesome while inspiring people to pursue their passions. And GoPro’s work philosophy carries that same message, enabling and encouraging employees to live their desired lifestyle while being able to show up to work as the best versions of themselves—whether in a GoPro office, their remote workspace of choice, or a bit of both.”

44. SmartBug Media

Location: Newport Beach, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 166
Average salary: $82,800
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start, 20 days of PTO after five years

Perks: Monthly remote work allowance for internet, phone, and office supplies; monthly budget for meetups with other employees for things like coffee, lunch, ax throwing, or concerts; quarterly professional development days; “SmartBugPallooza,” an annual five-star conference; affinity meetups like LGBTQ+, parents, or women’s groups; work from anywhere; month-long paid sabbaticals after five and ten years

What makes it great: “At SmartBug, you can do challenging work and grow your career without having to sacrifice the things in life that matter to you most. Whether it’s time with your family, carving out space for that midday Pilates class, or taking a walking meeting with your dog, we believe in hiring professionals who are exceptional at what they do and need not be limited to an 8-to-5 schedule at a single desk. We’ve had team members backpack across South America, rock climb in Portugal, and travel from mountain to mountain to ski and snowboard during winter months—all while balancing their workload.”

45. TOMIS Holdings, Inc.

Location: Missoula, Montana
Focus:
Number of employees: 25
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Powder day ski policy, dog-friendly office, flexible working hours and environment, company volunteer days, summer afternoon floats, monthly wellness stipend, beer Fridays, outdoor brand discounts, and bi-annual company retreats to places like Darby, Montana, and Yellowstone for rafting, skiing, and log cabin stays

What makes it great: “I love waking up and deciding if I feel like getting dressed or not. If I decide to work from home and am bored at noon, then I head in. The flexibility and trust is beyond refreshing. Truly the culture is incredible due to badass people. My best friends are my coworkers. They are who I choose to spend the evenings and weekends with, too! No matter what you feel like doing, there’s someone who wants to hike, bike, go skiing, float the river, fish—and has the gear to do it.”Ìę

46. Backbone Media

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 114
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days of PTO to start

Perks: Full remote and hybrid work options; flex-time; a wellness stipend for a ski pass, gym membership, or fitness classes; powder day clause; fully stocked gear closet in the offices; pro deals on gear and apparel; office kegerator and stocked snack drawers; dog-friendly offices; Friday pickleball games and regular lunch runs; mountain bike and ski gatherings; paid volunteer time to work with local non-profits; an annual company ski day in the winter and camping trip in the summer; one-month paid sabbatical after ten years

What makes it great: “This summer, I went camping in the desert with 100 of my friends and colleagues at Backbone’s annual ‘Charge’—our take on a company retreat aimed at connecting staff and stoking a love for the outdoors. I tried rock climbing for the first time, enjoyed fully catered meals, nearly won a bunch of money in a huge dice game, and then donned my best costume and danced at an all-night party under the stars. It was an awesome opportunity to try new things and bond with team members outside of the office.”

47. Aspenware Internet Solutions

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 28
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days of PTO to start

Perks: $1,000 annual reimbursement for gym memberships, ski passes, and gear; annual National Parks Pass; Ikon season ski pass; paid volunteer day; $1,500 training reimbursement for professional development

What makes it great: “Our collaborative culture is fostered through regular online coffee chats, virtual walks with our workmates, company activity challenges and other culture-building events. When our employees are not building the next great ecommerce products to encourage people to visit mountain resorts, they are taking advantage of the health activity stipend, free ski passes, or free National Parks passes that Aspenware offers to all employees.”

48. Cactus

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 70
Average salary: $100,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A “Cactus șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Club” with regular get-togethers for camping, hiking, and indoor rock climbing; monthly fitness stipend; paid-for running events; team environmental cleanup days; monthly happy hours; premium Calm app membership; discounted ski equipment rentals; all-agency ski days at Arapahoe Basin

What makes it great: “Together we’ve created a workplace driven by a set of bedrock values like respect, belonging, passion, courage, tenacity, collaboration, wellbeing and critical thought. When you get to come into a place like that every day, with amazingly dedicated professionals who care so much it hurts, who truly care about each other and have each others backs, working shoulder to shoulder to create brilliant yet meaningful work that makes the world a little brighter
well that’s when work stops feeling like work. And it’s what it feels like to work at Cactus.”

49. Global Citizen Year

Location: Oakland, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 29
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flexible work schedules; a $1,000 annual personal and professional development stipend for things like gardening classes, running stride evaluation, or guitar lessons; Thursday gatherings for coffee, lunch, or fitness; an annual weeklong team retreat; an annual weeklong office closure for rest and relaxation; a month-long paid sabbatical after three years

What makes it great: “After almost three years of being fully remote, we have been reimagining what it means to create a fun, lively, balanced culture. At our weekly staff meetings, we hear updates on projects and give shout-outs to acknowledge the outstanding work of our colleagues. At a recent in-person retreat, we sunk our teeth into imagining our ideal employee lifecycle, and we played four-square when we needed a break. We give our employees the tools and benefits they need to create their own flow between work and life. It looks different for everyone, and Global Citizen Year acknowledges this and embraces it.”

50. NEMO Equipment

Location: Dover, New Hampshire
Focus:
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Time off and reimbursement for adventure trips (supported by NEMO gear); a $150 annual stipend for registration, classes, or training fees; 16 hours paid volunteering time; hybrid work options; office with custom built desks, a gym, and dogs; expert-led DEI training and brainstorm sessions on issues like reversing climate change; 12 weeks of parental leave; company skiing and camping trips; all-expenses-paid sabbaticals after ten, 15, and 20 years;

What makes it great: “Cam Brensinger (our CEO/founder) has envisioned a workplace functioning similarly to an adventure you’d take with your partner—one that is built on trust, exploration, creativity, and hard work. But that doesn’t come easily, and it’s something that has evolved over the years. As the brand has grown and matured, we’ve been able to expand benefits while continuing to attract the type of folks who love an adventure, care deeply for the planet, and want a different kind of place to work.”

Honorable Mentions

Arts & Letters Creative Co.

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:

Ascent360

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

Best Version Media

Location: Brookfield, Wisconsin
Focus:

Carrot

Location: Roseburg, Oregon
Focus:

CE Broker (EverCheck)

Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Focus:

Charles Cunniffe Architects

Location: Aspen, Colorado
Focus:

Cheley Colorado Camps

Location: Estes Park and Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Cotopaxi

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Focus:

Crestone Capital

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Duft Watterson

Location: Boise, Idaho, and San Francisco, California
Focus:

Eagle County Paramedic Services

Location: Edwards, Colorado
Focus:

East West Partners, LLC

Location: Avon and Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Eighty Five Sixy, Inc.

Location: Del Mar, California, and Denver, Colorado
Focus:

First Descents

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Go Ape

Location: Plano, Texas
Focus:

Idea Ranch

Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; Durango, Colorado
Focus:

Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:

Keen Footwear

Location: Portland, Oregon
Focus:

McGarrah Jessee

Location: Austin, Texas
Focus:

Merrell

Location: Rockford, Michigan
Focus:

Mitchell + Palmer

Location: Boise, Idaho
Focus:

Moving Mountains

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus:

New West KnifeWorks

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:

Oberalp North America

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Oboz Footwear

Location: Bozeman, Montana
Focus:

Outrider

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűPR

Location: Sausalito, California
Focus:

Peek.com

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:

Planet Propaganda

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus:

POC North America

Location: Park City, Utah
Focus:

Powder7

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

Project Canary

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

RA Nelson

Location: Avon, Colorado
Focus:

Rumpl

Location: Portland, Oregon
Focus:

Skratch Labs

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Small Giants

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Sportiqe Apparel

Location: Tempe, Arizona
Focus:

SportRx

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:

Stio

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:

Studio Completiva

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Studio Shed

Location: Louisville, Colorado
Focus:

SummitCove Vacation Lodging

Location: Keystone, Colorado
Focus:

The Garrett Companies

Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Focus:

The Pinnacle Companies

Location: Frisco, Colorado
Focus:

Trihydro Corporation

Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Focus:

USA Triathlon

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Focus:

Wheels Manufacturing

Location: Louisville, Colorado
Focus:

Wilderness șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűs

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:

Research for this list was compiled by .

The post The 50 Best Places to Work in 2022 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

For Caitlin Giddings, leading cross-country bike tours was supposed to be the ultimate escape from the monotony of normal life. Instead it was a kind of torture. Giddings was in her twenties when she was seduced by the idea of turning her passion for cycling into a paycheck. She wanted freedom and adventure! What she got, however, was a lot of whining and grief from troublemaking clients, including a deranged madman and a guy who kept peeing on another rider’s tent. In this episode of our Summer Read series, she describesÌęhow her fantasy went so, so wrong.

This episode was brought to you by Costa Sunglasses, designed to help you make the most of your time on the water. Find the frame for your pursuit at .

The post Summer Read: My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dream Job appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

1. Global Citizen Year

Location: Oakland, California
Focus: A that offers cultural-immersion fellowships in Ecuador, Brazil, Senegal, and India
Number of employees: 26
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A remote-working option, a $500 annual stipend for professional-development courses, another $100 annually to learn something new, a monthlong paid sabbatical after three years, a book club, and periodic staff retreats in a host country

What makes it great: “We have created a culture that allows people to be their full selves, feel welcomed and celebrated, and continue to learn and grow throughout their journey in the organization. Once the pandemic hit, we knew it was costing people more to work at home so we provided a monthly stipend to help cover those extra costs. We knew it was important to stay close with their teammates, so we created the virtual together Thursday, in order for people to have those water-cooler and lunch conversations without leaving their living rooms. Having this supportive and values-based culture helped so many of our staff navigate these challenging times.”

2. Forum Phi Architecture

Location: Aspen and Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 37
Average salary: $98,103
Vacation time: 29 days PTO to start, increasing by a week every five years

Perks: A fully stocked office bar and kitchen; Monday-morning breakfasts; mountain-bike, uphill-skiing, and powder clubs; complimentary ski pass; and outdoor team-building events like overnight hut trips, river floats, and cross-country ski adventures

What makes it great: “It’s fun to work for Forum Phi. Creativity, collaboration, and camaraderie abound on a daily basis, and we promote everyone being themselves. We live in possibly the most beautiful place in the country and want our team to capitalize on the consistently perfect weather, gorgeous mountains, and streams around us, so our group is very outdoor-activity focused. I love to sit on our deck and work while staring out at Capitol Peak.”

3. Western Environmental Law Center

Location: Eugene, Oregon
Focus:
Number of employees: 22
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 22 days PTO

Perks: Annual retreats to explore places like Mount Hood, Santa Fe, and Colorado Springs; employees earn three months of paid sabbatical, plus a $1,000 stipend, every five years

What makes it great: “Working at WELC means you get a lot of flexibility from management on how you get your job done, and the space to try creative approaches to your work. If you need to shift your schedule to make space for something else in your life, it’s usually no problem. If you want to move to a new city, you can probably do that and keep your job. If you want to try out an unconventional approach to an issue, management has your back.”

4. Rule4

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 16
Average salary: $136,000
Vacation time: 21 days PTO to start, with an additional day each year up to 31 days

Perks: A $1,000 annual stipend toward a ski pass or other outdoor activities; branded gear for work anniversaries and as micro-bonus rewards; five-week sabbatical at five years; small fleet of electric bikes and scooters; pet insurance; and an annual ranch retreat and camping trip

What makes it great: “It’s been especially apparent these past 18 months that our team takes care of each other, on every level. Even outside the fox den, everyone is generous with their time and eager to lend a hand, whether it’s dogsitting, loaning a vehicle, helping move, giving advice, or sending meals. At the office we have catered meals, fully stocked beverage fridges, and a custom arcade, and we have full remote work setups at home.”

5. Fortnight Collective

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: $130,000
Vacation time: 20 days PTO

Perks: Winter Fridays for skiing, flexible schedules and hybrid work options, mindfulness training, online and outdoor yoga, a one-year subscription to the Peloton app, surprise bonuses, and an annual ski trip to Keystone

What makes it great: “Fortnight Collective, purposefully situated in the heart of downtown Boulder, has always embraced its surroundings. They say location is everything and we tend to agree. For an ad agency, creativity is our asset. We heed inspiration from the outdoors. Whether that is a stroll along Pearl Street, an early-morning hike on Sanitas, or catching an afternoon downhill blue at Eldora, we embrace the outside to help drive creativity. We do have showers, so bring on the sweat. Three-hundred-plus days of sunshine is not lost on us.”

Ìę6. SummitCove Vacation Lodging

Location: Keystone, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 69
Average salary: $79,500
Vacation time: Five days PTO to start

Perks: Ski-pass reimbursement, office bikes, a dog-friendly office, team fitness challenges like monthly step counting and group yoga, flexible schedules, discounted rec-center passes, and a work-from-home option

What makes it great: “We like to have fun and support our team members. As a team, we playÌęthe , which gets everyone involved in the financials and well-being of our company and gives employees the opportunity to earn bonuses throughout the year when we see company-wide performance. We celebrate wins and participate in a company-wide huddle each week that brings us together and all departments have the chance to interact. It brings a closeness and unity to our team like nothing else! At the end of our busy season (ski season!) we always celebrate with a company gathering, such as a theme party or fun group outing.”

7. Traina

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 28
Average salary: $104,000
Vacation time: Between 12 and 20 days PTO to start, depending on experience

Perks: A flexible work-from-home policy, 2 P.M. shut-down in summer, annual BBQ and Boat Day at a local lake, quarterly profit sharing, annual cost-of-living salary increases, six months partial-pay maternity leave, paid vacation between Christmas and New Years, office fridge stocked with local craft beer, an on-site gym, and walkable lunch spots

What makes it great: “We all work hard. But we also play hard—from Padres games to go-kart racing, midday movies to bowling, and spontaneous team lunches to happy hours. Occasionally we shut the office down and spend the day working on passion projects. For example, one time we each redesigned our favorite album cover and then let our followers decide whose was best.”

8. Workshop Digital

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 27
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Paid volunteering time; organized events like kickball games, softball leagues, whitewater rafting, and paddleboarding; company-sponsored kickball and bocce rec-league teams; profit sharing; and monthly health and wellness challenges

What makes it great: “Workshop Digital’s purpose is to ‘build a better agency.’ It transcends the work that we do for our clients and extends into creating a better way to work. That includes actively listening to our employees and incorporating their feedback, thoughts, and ideas into the work we do and the policies we make. We are hopeful that the model we are building for ourselves can be a useful model in the future for other companies that are striving to create healthy, happy, productive, environmentally friendly, and inclusive workplaces.”

9. CommonFont

Location: Bozeman, Montana, and Providence, Rhode Island
Focus:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Office kegerator, weekly happy hours and catered lunches, stocked snack cabinet, group volunteer service days for local organizations, a summer kickball team, group hikes, flexible schedules, and charitable giving matches

What makes it great: “CommonFont exists to serve our clients, communities, and teammates. Our decisions are made with consideration for all three and never oneÌęat the detriment of another. The work we do brings people and technology together. As data nerds and tech enthusiasts, we get to do what we love while serving others.”

10. Booyah Advertising

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 81
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flex hours; full-time work-from-home option; paid parental leave; 401(k) with 10 percent match; fully paid medical insurance; paid sabbatical after five years; a dog-friendly office; annual events like ski days, Rockies games, or kickball tournaments; quarterly team events like laser tag, hikes, brewery tours, and cheesemaking

What makes it great: “Booyah goes all out. We don’t do anything halfway. That of course applies to the work we do for our clients, but it’s also on full display at our company events. Halloween is a special favorite: each team arrives in a themed and meticulously executed group costume. They vie for prizes and—more importantly—the Best Team Costume title, a badge they wear proudly over the next year. We’ve seen everything from hyperaccurate Napoleon DynamiteÌęensembles to a fully painted, head-to-toe-green Statue of Liberty. It’s a silly thing, but it’s emblematic of the fun energy and collaborative approach that are the hallmarks of our agency.”

11. Retrium

Location: Silver Spring, Maryland
Focus:
Number of employees: 20
Average salary: $138,700
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Walking meetings and fitness breaks, paid parental leave, a monthly health and wellness stipend, an office-improvement stipend, and an annual personal development stipend

What makes it great: “I get up in the morning and I can spend time with my husband, little boys, and dog and work out without feeling like I have to be online when the clock strikes a certain time. I love that we’re encouraged to take a walking meeting or a meditation break on a regular basis because this really refreshes and energizes me. I’ve used my wellness stipend on yoga clothes and running shoes and every time I put on my gear it reminds me of how great I have it.”

12. C1S Group

Location: Dallas, Texas
Focus:
Number of employees: 26
Average salary: $106,300
Vacation time: 15 days PTO to start

Perks: Reduced-rate classes at a nearby yoga studio, an annual charity golf tournament, flexible work options, flex-time summer schedules, team trivia competitions, taco Fridays, a running team, and catered Monday lunches

What makes it great: “Our people don’t work for C1S; they work for themselves and the life they want to live. One of our project managers is an avid rock climber and snowboarder. Earlier this year he told us he wanted to move to Colorado. We totally support his passion for the outdoors, so we encouraged him to come up with a business plan that allows him to relocate to Colorado and continue to work for C1S. He pitched it to the leadership team in February, and he has been successfully managing projects from his new home in Denver since June.”

13. Geocaching HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington
Focus:Ìę
Number of employees: 86
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days PTO to start

Perks: Comprehensive health benefits, 401(k) matching, paid time off to geocache, loaner gear for adventures, free lift tickets anywhere in the world, reimbursement for mind and body activities, paid four-week sabbaticals every seven years, a professional-growth stipend, charitable donation matching, a home-office stipend

What makes it great: “This is a place where you make friends on your first day, high-five the office dogs on a weekly basis, share your unfiltered thoughts and ideas with the cofounder, get your fill of nostalgic childhood sweets from the magical snack drawers (#chocopie), play fantasy football with the CFO, and (perhaps most importantly) spend your weekends truly and unapologetically unplugged from work. Geocaching HQ is kind of like a geocache itself: truly a hidden gem amongst the tech giants and startups in Seattle, right under your nose.”

14. BSW Wealth Partners

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 27
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Prorated PTO in year one, 10 days PTO in year two

Perks: Flexible work options; new headquarters at the base of Mount Sanitas; an annual all-inclusive ski trip; summer fun days with whitewater rafting, kayaking, Iron Chef–style competitions, and go-kart racing; fully funded HSAs, with healthcare for employees and their families; and local B Corp craft beers in the office

What makes it great: “BSW deeply respects the importance of balance and believes it’s important to have fun. There is a remarkable focus on giving back to the community. Furthermore, BSW conducts amazing work for a great clientele—work that employees go home feeling really good about.”

15. Choozle

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 61
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly $100 stipend toward a ski or park pass or wellness service; a semiannual company summit in Colorado’s mountains with a free day for massages, skiing, or whitewater rafting; outdoor spaces, Ping-Pong, shuffleboard, and on-tap kombucha and cold brew at the office

What makes it great: “Choozle is great at supporting its employees when they get together outside of working hours. In the past, they have sponsored pizza and drinks for a fantasy-football draft and also covered the race fees for a 24-hour team relay race in the mountains. Camaraderie is very important, and it’s amazing that Choozle supports these efforts. Lifelong friendships have been formed.”Ìę

16. Evotek

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 145
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Mental-health days; annual health challenges with rewards like a Peloton bike; free health care; flexible hours; company events like taco trucks, happy hours, and Padres games; an an annual private company retreat (spouses included) to destinations like Napa Valley, Austin, or a private yacht in Miami

What makes it great: “The team is more important than anything else. A good example of this is how the leadership handled the pandemic. Under no circumstances did they ever plan to let anyone go because of COVID. Cesar Enciso, founder and CEO, communicated more than once that they’d run profitability down to zero dollars before affecting the lives of the employees—you don’t see that a lot! I’ve been presented with opportunities to grow more than once and I know that I’m the only one who can stop my own growth—Evotek will forever push me to the next level as long as that is what I want. That’s what makes this place like no other and cannot be measured against a gear cage, beer, office view, etc.”

17. GroundFloor Media

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 24
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: 11 A.M. Monday starts, flex time to work from anywhere or take Fridays off, Rockies Home Opener day off, an in-office resilience coach, Thursday afternoon Beer Club, $50 monthly active lifestyle allowance, office dogs, and a four-week paid sabbatical after ten years

What makes it great: “We learned during the pandemic that our team thrives when they have the chance to explore and enjoy their passions and hobbies. Some might tell you if you don’t take advantage of a powder day or afternoon rooftop patio weather in Denver, you’re doing it wrong. Others will share that seizing the perfect gardening weather keeps them focused and creative. What it boils down to is, the autonomy we are provided to get our jobs done means we can also take a day off to make sure our heirlooms are healthy, our skis and snowboards are well used, and our dream fourteener lists are not only growing, they are also being conquered.”

18. Creative Alignments

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 29
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days PTO to start

Perks: Flexible and remote work options; organized “play days” for things like hiking and snow sports; Bike-to-Work Day rides; company volunteer days; a company softball team and baseball games; and wine tasting and other creative virtual events during COVID

What makes it great: “I’ve worked at a lot of great companies, but Creative Alignments is the best place I’ve ever worked, hands down. Leadership fosters a transparent, inclusive, and collaborative environment where people can just be themselves and feel comfortable contributing. If someone needs help on a project, they know there’s a team of talented people at the ready with good ideas, honest feedback, commitment, and a positive attitude. It also feels good to work with clients that genuinely appreciate our partnership.”

19. Parallel Path

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 21
Average salary: $100,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Annual $1,000 healthy-living stipend for ski passes, fitness classes, or food delivery services; free personal health and wellness coaching sessions; half-day “Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays” in the summer; healthy snacks and beverages in the office; and monthly community lunches

What makes it great: “With our focus on health, wellness, and lifestyle brands, we get to work with companies that are generally doing good things in the world. It makes our work more fulfilling. And Parallel Path prioritizes our own personal health and well-being by paying for my ski passes or new fitness gear and making personal health and wellness coaches available to us. With unlimited PTO and Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays, I get to enjoy the outdoors whenever I want.”

20. SportRx

Location: San Diego, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 78
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: An office located on a bike path, with a SAG stop for bike commuters and easy access to other trails; profit sharing; an on-site gym; a social hall for office games like Ping-Pong, shuffleboard, and cornhole; Padres games; free or discounted bike and snow gear; product-testing trips to Southern California mountain-bike trails; annual ski trips to Mammoth and Big Bear

What makes it great: “To achieve growth as a company, we understand it requires happy and fulfilled people to drive us forward. Culture (and the customer!) is at the center of everything we do. It’s the north star that guides us when making tough decisions—and promotion decisions. SportRx invests in the people within it and promotes from within. We’re actively seeking opportunities where we can align personal goals of individuals with the company goals and create a work environment where individuals can flourish.”

21. WhippleWood CPAs

Location: Littleton, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 27
Average salary: $99,400
Vacation time: 16 days PTO to start, flexible PTO after five years

Perks: Skate “board” meetings; a Zen Room; half-day summer Fridays; stress-relief events like go-kart racing, ax throwing, and Topgolf after tax deadline

What makes it great: “One really big thing about our company in respect to the industry is that we only require 55 hours a week from tax staff, compared to the industry average of 80. We do quarterly themed happy hours (like Kentucky Derby, Halloween, Cinco De Mayo, wine and cheese tasting). We do a lunch and a fun event on the day after the deadline and offer a paid floating day to all staff to reward tax-season efforts. Just generally, executive leadership practices what they preach and gives everyone, at every level, respect and opportunity to grow. For an accounting firm, WhippleWood really is a fun place to work.”

22. Duft Watterson

Location: Boise, Idaho, and San Francisco, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: $66,000
Vacation time: 15 days PTO to start

Perks: A new Linus commuter bike after 30 days on the job, group rides to bars or along the river, agency-wide long ski weekends (families included) or rafting trips down the Payette or Boise River, and an office kegerator and cornhole

What makes it great: “The Rocky Mountains and Boise River are literally outside our front door. So we’ve instituted half-day Fridays in 2021: everyone is encouraged to head out and ski, swim, hike, or just be with family and friends. We love to wrap hard-charging workdays around our office kegerator (kombucha included) over a game of cornhole. We also offer generous flex time for personal growth, parenting, and well-being, and—damn right—Treefort Music Fest.”

23. Ergodyne

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Focus:
Number of employees: 63
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, workday 5Ks followed by healthy lunches, a fully equipped gym with Peloton, weekly yoga and cardio classes, flex days to float the St. Croix River

What makes it great: “We are a high-performing, passionate bunch who take the work we do and our results seriously. We like to say: come for the cause; stay for the people. Most folks who dig our vibe are passionate about helping workers and making a difference. Having flex days allows our people to skip the commute or find an inspiring space to work outside our office walls. That said, it’s also amazing to see the good that those three in-office days do for the human spirit and our culture.”

24. Adaptive Sports Center

Location: Crested Butte, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 17
Average salary: $75,000
Vacation time: 10 days PTO to start, plus two additional days each year up to 28, with rollover

Perks: Slopeside office, lunch laps, nearby trails,Ìęfree ski-season conditioning, certification-training reimbursement, and mental-health counseling

What makes it great: “People pay top dollar to vacation or live with views like we have in our office, including a rooftop deck. Our executive director regularly walks by my office and encourages me to take a ski break! Since the lifts are only a few minutes from our ski-in, ski-out office, it’s kind of expected of us to get out there!”

25. BridgeView IT

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 19
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 15 days PTO to start, unlimited after five years

Perks: Powder Days; year-round 2 P.M. Friday signoffs; on-site gym and professional massages; a luxury watch on your fifth anniversary; an annual all-expenses-paid team trip to places like Cabo San Lucas, Las Vegas, and Aspen

What makes it great: “We feel that the same adventurous spirit that motivates people to get outdoors and live fuller lives also drives innovation in the tech industry. At BridgeView, we’ve tapped into that feeling to create our company’s culture. We’re a tight-knit team with a discerning eye for technology and an eagerness to work and play hard, together.”

26. LifeOmic

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus:
Number of employees: 108
Average salary: $146,600
Vacation time: 16 days PTO to start

Perks: Annual pool parties and hackathons; free gym memberships and use of InBody machines; weekly catered lunches; flexible work schedules; a break room with beer, wine, and snacks; all-expenses-paid retreats in Salt Lake City (skiing in the winter, camping in the summer); paid parental leave; a company-wide wellness program with monthly and quarterly cash incentives; and 401(k) match

What makes it great: “Most people would ask, ‘Why have champagne and caviar at 10,500 feet in the Utah mountains?’ We ask, ‘Why wouldn’t we?’ And this year, we did. At LifeOmic we like to push the boundaries of what’s possible, including with our all-expenses-paid company retreats in Utah each year that include skiing, camping, painting classes, photography classes, rock climbing, live music, hiking, archery, and paddleboarding (and yes, champagne and caviar). The ability to unplug, relax, and truly be present with one another can’t be replicated on Slack or Zoom and allows us to perform at our best.”Ìę

27. The Garrett Companies

Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Focus:
Number of employees: 129
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 20 days PTO

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, 24-hour on-site fitness center, 40 hours of paid volunteer time, annual canoe trip, weekly yoga, monthly massages, haircuts on-site, all-expenses-paid ski retreat to Telluride

What makes it great: “Culture equals people. Every business is just a handful of people working together to make things, right? Our people matter most, and every single person at The Garrett Companies plays a part in shaping our culture. We continually find ways to support the growth of this talented team. Part of this support comes by creating a working environment where ideas can grow and where thinkers and doers can be rewarded.”

28. Devetry

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: $112,600
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Wellness reimbursement, work-from-home stipend, flexible schedules, professional-development hours, company outings (Topgolf, go-karting, live music, or happy hours), and an annual trip to Amsterdam

What makes it great: “We have a simple philosophy: you have a meaningful life outside of work, and we’re here to support that. While we specialize in software development, the team’s talents and interests span far beyond. We’ve got painters, builders, rock climbers, musicians, board-game aficionados, green thumbs. We often get together outside of work to enjoy shared interests, whether that be hitting the climbing gym or an evening of board-game rivalry. It’s pretty cool to work somewhere where connection and collaboration expand outside of the day-to-day work.”

29. Avid4 șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 24
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Monthly outings to crags, trails, and creeks; free use of Avid4 gear (mountain bikes, canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards); free bike tune-ups; an annual, paid-for, multi-day adventure to Moab, Utah, each spring; reimbursed climbing-gym memberships; an annual three-day mountain retreat; a $500 annual wellness reimbursement; pro deals on gear; and an anniversary program that rewards full-time staff annually with branded merchandise, money for outdoor equipment, andÌęone month of paid vacation after ten years on the job with a stipend for a flight to anywhere in the world

What makes it great: “When you jump on a bike, and you’re on two wheels, it brings you back to your eight-year-old self. Or if you’re climbing or paddling, it’s just this natural happiness. And when you add kids into the mix, it further enables you to bring in this sense of joy in your life.”

30. Buzz Franchise Brands

Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Focus:
Number of employees: 39
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 10 days PTO

Perks: Discounted YMCA gym membership, in-office gym, half-day summer Fridays, weekly Friday happy hours, matched 401(k), and an annual convention trip to Cancun

What makes it great: “Buzz Franchise Brands has a designated Sanity Control Committee that plans monthly fun team bonding outings. Events range from baseball games to adventure-park ropes courses to dolphin-watching cruises and ax throwing! One of the biggest perks, though, are the summer Fridays. With the corporate office being located in Virginia Beach, many of us head straight to the beach to soak up some sunshine and enjoy the fresh salty air.”

31. GetUWired

Location: Dahlonega, Georgia
Focus:
Number of employees: 44
Average salary: $62,000
Vacation time: 10 days PTO to start, 15 days after two years

Perks: Flexible scheduling, leadership training, a dog-friendly office, voluntary fitness challenges, weekly team games, weekly guided meditations, office showers, 401(k) matching, and paid parental leave

What makes it great: “We have quarterly team-building events that are outside as much as possible. For example, this year we’ve had a day at the lake where we had a variety of activities, like boating, tubing, volleyball, Yard Yahtzee, poker, or just chilling on the beach. We had another team-building event at a local park, where we played capture the flag and had a massive scavenger hunt. For another event this past year, we gave the entire company the day off, provided that they go do something outside and take pictures documenting their fun. We had many people go hiking, boating, or go-kart racing.”

32. Toad&Co

Location: Santa Barbara, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: $120,000
Vacation time: 20 days PTO to start

Perks: Every other Friday off, an office close to trails, brainstorms while hiking, office bikes and paddleboards, standing desks, lunchtime yoga classes, a beer fridge, an annual campout, and periodic paid sabbaticals

What makes it great: “We encourage our customers to shop with a purpose, and we share that same mission-driven spirit as employees: we’re involved in our community, hosting regular volunteer opportunities and events with other local businesses, we donate to , and all Toads get Election Day off to vote. We act more like a family than a group of colleagues—with plenty of dogs and kids as part of the fun-loving crew. At the office, it’s an atmosphere full of music, creativity, and camaraderie—and our annual Grilled Cheese Smackdown will go down in history as the most savory and delicious battle west of Mississippi.”

33. Ridgeline Insights

Location: Boise, Idaho
Focus: Ìęand
Number of employees: 23
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Easy access to outdoor recreation, bike-room entrance, two e-bikes for staff use, summer Fridays off, and a company-wide ski/snowshoe day and tailgating

What makes it great: “Our downtown office location is walking distance to the Boise Greenbelt and numerous foothills trails that staff can easily access anytime during the workday. We also do a handful of team-building activities and host company outings. This includes boat day at Lucky Peak, skiing at Bogus Basin, an Amazing Race–style game throughout Boise, and hosting our annual awards ceremony (think cheers and jeers), allowing us to reflect on successes and poke fun at our failures. Our company works incredibly hard together and we also prioritize having good times together.”

34. Young & Laramore

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Focus:
Number of employees: 67
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 10 days PTO to start

Perks: Company bikes for riding around downtown; offices in a historic schoolhouse; showers and lockers for workday runs and rides; subsidized YMCA memberships; a room for meditation, prayer, or quiet time; beer Thursdays; company events like pickleball, euchre nights, and citywide pedal-pub races; and a two-day retreat each spring in the hills of southern Indiana

What makes it great: “It’s pretty inspiring walking into a 100-year-old schoolhouse every morning. There’s just something about crossing the hardwood in our gym and staring at the two-story rocket in the middle of our building that just makes you feel hopeful. School No. 9 plays a big role in our culture. Every day you feel like a teacher and student—and staying curious helps keep us sharp. Our school even has a great set of locker rooms so you can get out at lunch for a run on the Monon Trail or a bike ride on the Cultural Trail and hit the showers before you get back to work.”

35. CampMinder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 59
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Annual $300 wellness allowance toward things like gym memberships, massages, wearable fitness devices, or ski passes; flexible work-from-home options; a dog-friendly office; summer catered lunches; regular team activities like an annual “field day” relay race at a local park

What makes it great: “Our focus on results [instead of] face time means team members can work from anywhere they have a reliable internet connection. In the past year, we’ve had employees take multi-month ski trips or explore the country in their RV, all while contributing as productive members of the team.”

36. GoPro

Location: San Mateo and Carlsbad, California
Focus:
Number of employees: 453
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Hybrid and remote work options; offices close to beaches and trails; on-site gym and wellness spaces; free on-site bike rentals and gear storage; on-site and remote fitness classes like yoga, morning mobility, and meditation; monthly reimbursement toward wellness expenses; a Modern Health program with coaching and therapy sessions; and the latest camera and accessories with each launch

What makes it great: “GoPro’s mission is to be a force for positivity, celebrating all things awesome in the world and inspiring people to live active lifestyles. Our work philosophy carries that same message—enabling and encouraging employees to live their desired lifestyle while being able to show up to work as the best versions of themselves, whether in a GoPro office, their remote workspace of choice, or a bit of both. There is an intentional focus at GoPro on building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization where folks really feel they belong, and more often than not, coworkers at GoPro establish friendships that go well beyond their time at work.”

37. Crestone Capital

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 53
Average salary: $167,600
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Half-day Fridays, fully stocked kitchen, patio, company cruiser bikes, health and wellness stipend, work from anywhere two days a week and up to four weeks per year, employee team-building and appreciation events, Yeti mugs awarded to employees each quarter, and community volunteer opportunities

What makes it great: “We prioritize our people and clients over everything we do and strongly reinforce our work-life integration and work-hard, play-hard mentality. When we hit our company goals, we celebrate the team’s hard work—whether that’s together under the misters on our one-of-a-kind office patio overlooking the iconic Boulder Flatirons or a special surprise event. The effect is a better work atmosphere for our team and helping clients pursue the goals that give their lives meaning.”Ìę

38. SmartEtailing

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 59
Average salary: Unspefied
Vacation time: 14 days PTO to start

Perks: Half-day “Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays,” compressed workweek options, commuter-bike credits, a dog-friendly office, hybrid work options, paid volunteering, deals on bikes and gear, virtual morning coffee breaks, group bike rides, park get-togethers, and a new (currently under construction) office with a bike-tool room and bike storage

What makes it great: “SmartEtailing is a purpose-driven company that makes working here meaningful. We passionately believe that local bike shops are an important part of every community. There isn’t much hierarchy here; it’s just a good group of people getting $#%tÌędone. We try to keep things fun with Get șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Fridays and regular social events or contests. We recently subjected our president to the Hot Ones Challenge, where he ate progressively spicier hot wings while answering embarrassing questions.”

39. TeamSnap

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 102
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A monthly $50 wellness fund; monthly $270 transit and parking reimbursement; two months of paid parental leave, up to two months of disability, plus a month of easing back in with full pay; flexible hours and location; TeamSnap App discounts; $1,500 annual education and training allowance; $150 TeamSnap swag credit on starting, plus $100 credit every anniversary; and annual team summits at various destinations

What makes it great: “One of the things I love about TeamSnap is the focus on building an environment where all TeamSnappers feel included. We have employee resource groups (Women@, Blended for our BIPOC community, and Pride for our LGBTQIA+ community) where allies and identifying members of these communities can connect and grow through shared experiences. I feel like my team accepts me for who I am and that I don’t need to bring my best self to work because my best self is just my authentic self at the end of the day.”

40. Pax8

Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 750
Average salary: $100,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Weekly yoga and meditation classes, office lawn concerts, employee stock, an on-site gym, weekly walking groups, and monthly happy hours

What makes it great: “The leadership team at Pax8 encourages employees to be their authentic selves and appreciates everyone’s individuality. Something unique at Pax8 is that we are constantly sharing interesting facts about ourselves. It is actually a requirement for all new hires and each time someone presents. Each month at our company-wide all-hands meeting, each new employee introduces themselves and shares a fact. It is a fun and engaging way to learn about each other and is also a great icebreaker.”

41. Mann Mortgage

Location: Kalispell, Montana
Focus:
Number of employees: 472
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 12 days PTO to start

Perks: Bonus incentives, flexible work schedules, personalizedÌęergonomic workspaces, company gatherings, happy hours, lifestyle reimbursement program, anniversary meal reimbursements, an on-site fitness center and classes, and a fully stocked break room with games and beer

What makes it great: “Twice a year we escape to fun destinations such as Hawaii, Scottsdale, Coeur d’Alene, or Whitefish to celebrate our wins. Everything is top-notch, from the hotel to the activities to the food and drinks. No drink tickets here!”

42. Turner

Location: Denver, Colorado, with offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles
Focus:
Number of employees: 45
Average salary: $90,000
Vacation time: 20 days PTO to start, unlimited PTO after 10 years

Perks: Access to online fitness platforms represented by the company; gear and equipment discounts; company-led meditation, yoga, and other recess activities; early Fridays to kick off outdoor fun; paid volunteer days and company-organized outdoor volunteer time; dog-friendly offices; Election Day off; wine fridge and local-brew kegerator; patio brainstorms; and added PTO for office closures between Christmas and the New Years

What makes it great: “We represent amazing destinations, and most team members have the opportunity to travel and engage in interesting adventures as part of their regular workload. We tend to be a group of explorers, and being able to tack on a long weekend to your business trip to Bermuda or Toronto or the Cayman Islands (your flight is already covered, after all) is an unparalleled perk. During the pandemic, when travel was limited, our wellness clients pivoted quickly to digital-platform delivery, and that also became a team perk that our active team used to stay sane while cooped up.”

43. Bonusly

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 76
Average salary: $114,000
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Annual $500 wellness stipend, annual $2,000 professional development budget, bonuses for Strava workouts, $40 weekly meal reimbursement, FSA, one-time $300 work-from-home office stipend, and 401(k) matching

What makes it great: “Our hiking channel in Slack is full of beautiful pictures and hiking tips and recommendations. It’s been an awesome way to stay connected while being remote and find new gems across the U.S. We have over 1,500 custom Slack emojis to choose from (team members, pets, activities, etc.). We like to have fun at work and this is one small way we do it.”

44. Spawn Ideas

Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Focus:
Number of employees: 34
Average salary: $88,500
Vacation time: 13 days PTO to start

Perks: Work up to 30 days from anywhere once annually, a $200 “stay active” bonus for ski passes or race entry fees, gold-level gym memberships, two-day “pawternity leave” to bond with new pets or grieve when one passes away, iceÌęfishing with families, employee stock ownership program, office kegerator, and half-day summer Fridays

What makes it great: “Perks don’t alone make for great culture or a best place to work. What makes Spawn an awesome company starts with our team and their ‘never settle’ commitment to being intellectually curious each and every day—and to be, as we like to say, comfortable with being uncomfortable with change, because it’s going to happen. It turns out that a year of work from home during the pandemic only deepened the well of respect our team has for one another and made clear how much we miss this work ‘family.’ We truly like and count on one another during good and challenging times.”

45. Skratch Labs

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 33
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Flexible schedules, daily recess knockout games, hybrid office and remote work, stocked kitchen, bike-repair station, on-site deluxe massage chair, free Skratch products for employees and their friends, dog- and kid-friendly office, on-site fitness area, cooking classes with free home-delivered supplies, educational opportunities on company time with Skratch Academy, free access to a registered dietician and an exercise physiologist, industry deals on outdoor gear, and employee profit sharing

What makes it great: “The impact of something this simple—clear vision, clear values, and clear process—is extraordinarily impactful on our sense of purpose and peace of mind. We know where we are going and that gives every position in our company real meaning and importance. While perhaps trite to say, that purpose and meaning are way more important than go-karting, free food, or recess. It’s this foundation that makes a simple fact about working at Skratch ring true and that is clearly evident when our teams are out in the field or when people come to visit us—it’s the fact that we out-fun everyone!”Ìę

46. Shine United

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus:
Number of employees: 46
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Two weeks PTO to start

Perks: Half-day Summer Fridays, a full bar for “beer-30s,” 100 percent of health benefits covered for employees and their families, paid sabbaticals, a rock-climbing club, a work-from-home plan, and “șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Corps—a semiannual, paid-for opportunity for employees have outdoor adventures

What makes it great: “The Culture Committee and the șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Corps are two initiatives Shine started during the pandemic not only to keep everyone connected in the company while working at a distance but also to give employees a way to remain active and keep their spirits up. The șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Corps means you could go cliff diving in Door County, camping at a state park, or hit a bike trail, and Shine would cover the expenditure of $150, twice a year. The Culture Committee was formed to not only give one-on-one time for all new hires while working from home, but also to find ways to engage with others via Zoom trivia nights, curbside spring planting kit pickups, whole agency-wide competitions while also giving back to a community in need, and more.”

47. ThrivePass

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 54
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: Annual stipends for learning and development, money each month in a health and wellness account, frequent happy hours and team events, company volunteer days, 401(k) match, health reimbursement account, a one-month sabbatical after five and ten years, remote work, and virtual events to decompress during the day

What makes it great: “​​We offer awesome office perks that our employees love—exciting team events (virtual and in-person), remote work, well-being stipends, sabbaticals, and more—but our real passion is around employee growth and empowerment. Here at ThrivePass, we support and empower our employees to be their best selves. Opinions and ideas are valued and encouraged at every level of our company. Driven by courage, authenticity, resourcefulness, and excellence, we pride ourselves on embodying these core values in every aspect of our business.”

48. Pairin

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 17
Average salary: $131,900
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: An annual team retreat in the mountains with families; Friday happy hours and monthly team gatherings; espresso machine, nitro coffee, and local craft beer; a dog-friendly office complete with dog food and poop bags; 100 percent coverage options for medical, dental, and vision insurance; a discount at a local climbing gym; and jam nights, when team members bring their musical talents to the office for guitar playing and singing

What makes it great: “One of our key company values is ‘value the whole person.’ That means we recognize that your work affects your whole life, including your family, friends, health, hobbies, etc. And those things affect your work. When they are all fulfilled and moving in the direction you want them to go, you are the best version of yourself, which in turn is best for the company and everyone in your life. That’s our number-one goal. As a company founded by coaches, the Pairin team really walks the walk of professional development. Each manager is trained as a coach and each employee is individually coached to grow professionally and personally.”

49. BrainStorm

Location: American Fork, Utah
Focus:
Number of employees: 118
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: 12 days PTO to start, plus three paid volunteer days

Perks: Access to four corporate ski passes; national-park pass reimbursement; hybrid work environment; monthly charity events; office snacks and beverages; Financial Peace University course reimbursement; standing desks, along with treadmill and cycling workstations; foosball, Ping-Pong, and spike ball; $50 monthly to buy a meal for uniformed service members; $100 to do good during the holidays; a ten-day sabbatical after ten years; and adventure-grant opportunities for things like climbing Kilimanjaro, mountain-biking Iceland, or fishing remote rivers in Chile

What makes it great: “While we have the fun perks like snacks and office games, our culture has deep roots. One of the most obvious manifestations of our culture is in the numerous giving-back events throughout the year. It’s easy to say that giving back is part of your culture, but we take six days every year for community service and outreach. These events tend to be among the most memorable and important for every member of the BrainStorm team.”

50. TrackVia

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:
Number of employees: 77
Average salary: $110,200
Vacation time: Unlimited PTO

Perks: A wellness room and on-site gym, paid sabbaticals, regular happy hours, and team outings like hikes and baseball games

What makes it great: “TrackVia isn’t the typical office. We spar intellectually over the office shuffleboard one moment and then grab a pizza together the next. We believe in rallying great people with diverse backgrounds and considerable skills to deliver the industry’s best products and experience for our customers. We work hard but also keep things fun, casual, and highly creative. We challenge ourselves, tackle problems in clever ways, and genuinely just like each other.”

Honorable Mentions

829 Studios

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Focus:

Arts & Letters Creative Co.

Location: Richmond, Virginia
Focus:

Axcient

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Backbone Media

Location: Carbondale, Colorado
Focus:

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

Location: Missoula, Montana
Focus:

Best Version Media

Location: Brookfield, Wisconsin
Focus:

Charles Cunniffe Architects

Location: Aspen, Colorado
Focus:

Cotopaxi

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Focus:

Eagle County Paramedic Services

Location: Edwards, Colorado
Focus:

Egg Strategy

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

EverCheck

Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Focus:

Evoke at Cascades

Location: Bend, Oregon
Focus:

Evoke Entrada

Location: Santa Clara, Utah
Focus:

First Descents

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

Fuse

Location: Burlington, Vermont
Focus:

G5

Location: Bend, Oregon
Focus:

Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx)

Location: San Francisco, California
Focus:

Global Rescue

Location: Lebanon, New Hampshire
Focus:

Go Ape

Location: Plano, Texas
Focus:

Hanson Dodge

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Focus:

Inntopia

Location: Stowe, Vermont
Focus:

Keen Footwear

Location: Portland, Oregon
Focus:

Moving Mountains

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Focus:

New Belgium Brewing

Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Focus:

Nuun Hydration

Location: Seattle, Washington
Focus:

Oboz Footwear

Location: Bozeman, Montana
Focus:

Outlaw Partners

Location: Big Sky, Montana
Focus:

Outrider

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

Pearl Izumi

Location: Louisville, Colorado
Focus:

POC Sports

Location: Park City, Utah
Focus:

Powder7

Location: Golden, Colorado
Focus:

Promotional Products Association International

Location: Irving, Texas
Focus:

Realeflow

Location: Parma Heights, Ohio
Focus:

Small Giants

Location: Denver, Colorado
Focus:

SRG (Sterling-Rice Group)

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Stio

Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Focus:

Stream

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

TDA_Boulder

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Technicians For Sustainability

Location: Tucson, Arizona
Focus:

The Brand Leader

Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Focus:

The Payroll Department

Location: Durango, Colorado
Focus:

Tony’s Coffee

Location: Bellingham, Washington
Focus:

USA Triathlon

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Focus:

Verde Brand Communications

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Wilderness Travel

Location: Oakland, California
Focus:

WorkBright

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

WorkInProgress

Location: Boulder, Colorado
Focus:

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a more recent number for Retrium’s average salary.

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