Park Manager Tim Ritter

Park Manager Tim Ritter was born and raised in South Carolina- Surfside Beach to be exact. After graduating from Furman University in 2008 with a degree in Biology, Ritter returned to the coast and started his career with the South Carolina State Park Service as an assistant ranger at Huntington Beach State Park. Ritter said he knew he wanted to be a park ranger when he realized his assigned vehicle as an assistant ranger at Huntington Beach was a four wheeler!

From Huntington Beach, Ritter moved on to work at Woods Bay, Lee, Poinsett, Santee and Edisto Beach state parks. He returned to Santee State Park as Assistant Manager, then moved on to become the manager at Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site. Most recently, Ritter was promoted to manager of Croft State Park. In his job, Ritter does a little bit of everything. He said: “I perform any activity that you can think of that would need to be done on a state park, including plumbing, electrical work, construction, law enforcement, resource management, customer service, retail management and more.” Duties vary park to park, and position to position, but in his career Ritter has covered almost ever task a park ranger could be asked to do.

When we asked Ritter what he finds most satisfying about his job he said: “The most satisfying thing about being a park ranger to me is having the opportunity to do so many different things at work and to get with work in beautiful places with great people!” Ritter goes on to say: “I would definitely encourage others to become a park ranger. Having the opportunity to work in such beautiful places and to help to protect them is so rewarding, and the staff who work at our state parks throughout the state really feel like family.” Thank you, Ranger Tim, for all you do!