Hosted by two friends who share a passion for public lands and a fascination with what can go wrong there, each week hosts Danielle and Cassie explore the darker side of our National Parks. But it isn’t always chills and thrills. By utilizing storytelling as a form of environmental stewardship, they hope listeners will be inspired to take a walk into the wild to create meaningful adventures of their own.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Trail Tales 104: Illegal Collections, Haunted Dreams & Men in Windows
Today’s stories include ghost brothers, illegal collections, haunted dreams, men in windows, dissipating apparitions, and Cassie almost killing a listener. Outsiders Only
Oct 22 50 min
The Vampire Clan Murders: Land Between the Lake National Recreation Area
In 1996, a troubled 16-year-old boy named Rod Ferrell believed he was a 500-year old-vampire. He formed a small group of local teens in Murray, Kentucky obsessed with vam
Oct 19 1 h 16 min
Best Friend Killer: Angeles National Forest
In October 1985, 17-year-old Missy Avila left her home in California's San Fernando Valley to spend the afternoon with friends and never came home. Three days later, two
Today’s stories include Grand Canyon Ghosts, RV bats, emergency poops, paranormal wedding crashers, local lore, and lovestruck teenage protectors. Outsiders Only bonus st
Oct 8 1 h 03 min
Making a Monster: Werewolf Hiking Trail
Before America had witch trials, Europe had werewolf trials - and they were as dark as they sound. One of the most infamous cases of time was that of Peter Stumpp, a man
Oct 5 1 h 01 min
The Nearly Forgotten Murder of Susan Poupart: Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
In May 1990, 29-year-old Susan “Suzy” Poupart disappeared after a night out with friends on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in northern Wisconsin. For decades, her family
Sep 28 54 min
Trail Tales 102: Wedding Day Emergencies, Near Death Brides & Bigfoot Anniversaries
Today’s stories include wedding day emergencies, near death brides, cave ceremonies, Bigfoot anniversaries, wedding ghosts, dragon approvals and phantom runners. Outsider
Sep 24 49 min
The Schoolhouse Blizzard: Homestead National Historical Park
On January 12th, 1888 during an unusually mild winter day, a sudden and deadly storm descended onto the American Midwest. Hurricane force winds, blinding snow and plummet
Sep 21 1 h 03 min
Wildfire or a DEA Cover-up? Yosemite National Park
In the summer of 2013, one of the largest wildfires in California history tore through the Sierra Nevada, burning more than 257,000 acres and leaving homes, ranches and b
Sep 14 1 h 19 min
Trail Tales 101: Arm Funerals, Scottish Fairies & Coins from the Beyond
Today’s stories include being stalked on the Highway of Tears, lights over the lake, ghost grammies, arm funerals, Scottish fairies & coins from the beyond. Outsiders Onl
Sep 10 55 min
The Most Hated Man in Yellowstone: Yellowstone National Park
It’s hard to get an entire National Park to hate you … unless your name is EC Waters. Considered one of the most despised men to have ever stepped foot in Yellowstone, Wa
Sep 7 1 h 15 min
The U.S. Forest Service’s Deadliest Aviation Disaster: Nez Perce National Forest
In June 1979, a group of U.S. Forest Service employees and volunteers
boarded a routine flight into the remote Idaho backcountry to begin
another summer season at the M
Aug 31 1 h 12 min
National Park After Dark X Red Handed: Louisiana Style
This week we are teaming up with the UK Queens of True Crime - Hannah and Suruthi of Red Handed! Today’s theme is Louisiana, and we all come with stories from the Bayou S
Aug 27 1 h 03 min
Real People. Real Crimes. | Introducing CRIMES OF REDDIT
Reddit is an endless archive of humanity’s most disturbing, bizarre, and deeply human stories. If you love going down internet rabbit holes, you are going to love CRIMES
Aug 25 6 min
The Family Annihilator: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
On March 1st, 1976 William Bradford Bishop Jr. bludgeoned his mother, wife, and three young sons to death in their Bethesda, Maryland home. He drove their bodies to North
Aug 24 1 h 10 min
Leaving Earth to Join the Aliens: North Cowichan Municipal Forest Reserve
In November 1980, Granger Taylor vanished after leaving a note claiming he was departing on a 42-month journey aboard an alien spacecraft and was never seen again. What f
Aug 17 57 min
Trail Tales 100: Popping P***y in Glacier, Trails of Horror, & Night Vision Ghosts
Today’s stories include p***y popping in Glacier, trails of horror, night vision ghosts, life saving shadow people & a horse named Miracle. Outsiders Only bonus stories a
Aug 13 1 h 01 min
Pups in the Parks: Man’s Best Friend in America’s Best Idea
From conservation assistants, celebrities, protectors, and public educators - dogs have done it all in National Parks. Today we honor the stories of incredible canines wh
Aug 10 1 h 18 min
Die or Amputate Your Arm: Canyonlands National Park
In 2003, Aron Ralston became trapped beneath an 800-pound boulder in Utah's Blue John Canyon after setting out alone without telling anyone where he was going. After 127
Aug 3 1 h 22 min
Trail Tales 99: Bike Heists, Scubavangelists & Camping Gone Wong
Today’s stories include scubavangelists, cave proposals, bike heists, and camping gone wrong. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!
C
Jul 30 1 h 13 min
Chart trend
Position in the True Crime chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#43#84JulAugSepOct
#15
all-time peak
119
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where National Park After Dark ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 22, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
I’ve been listening to this podcast for a little while now and have mostly enjoyed it. The unsolved murder mysteries are the best and the latest one about the Pilgrim family in Wrangell-St Elias had me on the edge of my seat! Even a little of the paranormal can be a fun diversion at times. I don’t like that there are so many subscriber-only episodes, but I also understand they’re trying to make money. However, I was shocked when I pulled up the latest episode that I had been waiting for — the second part about the Pilgrim family only to find out it’s subscriber-only. I get you’d like people to have the paid subscription to your podcast, but any leanings I had in that direction are now gone.
NP Tim · Dec 2024
I’ve listened to at least 40-50 episodes, and a lot of the older ones are great. The past year or so, the episodes are far too saturated with ads and plugs for their merch/patreon/events. I understand that is part of building a brand and business, but it’s over the top at this point. The hosts also get off topic consistently and take about 10 minutes to actually start talking about the story they are telling.
ShadyPines89 · Dec 2024
My girlfriend actually told me about this podcast because we are the type that are into paranormal/mystery podcasts. I have to say you two do an awesome job at mixing in history, folklore, mystery, and tragedy. I will admit some times the episode can hit harder than others but I still enjoy every minute.
Darkone88123 · Dec 2024
I love this show and these ladies so much. I have listened from the very beginning and have enjoyed every episode so much. I love the outdoors but don’t do much adventuring, however, you don’t need to, to enjoy this podcast. I love learning about the history of national parks and so much more. Thank you for all that you do and share with us all!
kacienc · Dec 2024
I’ve been listening to this pod for a few years now. If I were reviewing them 1-2 years ago, I probably would have given them a 4 star rating. The topics they used to cover were fascinating and I am in love with our Nation Parks so this was naturally a good fit for me. However, in recent months/the past year, I feel as though their focus has drifted to more spiritual nonsense and other topics that I could not care less about. Essentially, if you are enamored by the personalities of the hosts, I think you will enjoy this pod. I cannot say I ever really loved their personas. Their utter lack of historical knowledge coupled with their often times unnatural scripted delivery has really sullied this pod for me. I know pods are scripted but I don’t like when it feels like they’re reading their notes to me. In between the scripted readings, they genuinely connect and share anecdotes that can be enjoyable. So, if you identify or truly enjoy their personalities, I think you’ll still love this pod. But it you aren’t fully on board, it can feel tedious at times.
Thobbs3 · Nov 2024
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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of National Park After Dark, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
