National Park After Dark

National Park After Dark

Hosted by two friends who share a passion for the wilderness and a fascination with what can go wrong there, each week hosts Danielle and Cassie explore the darker side of our National Parks and explore these treasured places in a whole new way - because behind the iconic arches and towering trees lie layered histories, grisly encounters, extraordinary stories of survival, tragic ends and so much more. But it isn’t always chills and thrills. By sharing inspiring tales and their desire for protecting our planet’s wild places, they hope the show will inspire listeners to lace up their own hiking boots and take a walk into the wild to create meaningful adventures of their own.

Episodes

September 29, 2025 83 mins
When a small Cessna went down in the San Gabriel Mountains in February 1979, eleven-year-old Norman Ollestad was thrust into a fight for his life. Stranded in a blizzard on alpine terrain more than 8,500 feet up, he drew on the skills and grit he’d learned from his father to make his way out.

Sources:
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival, by Norman Ollestad (2009).

For a full list of our sources, visit n...
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Today’s stories include being locked in taxidermy museums, meeting legends, lightning escapes, ghostly hikes and trolling blue butterflies. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @nationalparkafterdark
TikTok: @nationalparkafterdark

Supp...
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When Jefferey Lendrum was a boy, he loved birds. What began as a childhood passion volunteering for an ornithology program transformed into a life of wildlife crime - scaling cliffs to steal and then smuggle falcon eggs around the world. Despite multiple arrests, steep fines and various investigations - he just couldn’t quit. What motivated him? How did his dedication to birds turn to destruction? This is the story of the “Pab...
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September 15, 2025 7 mins
Crime doesn’t take a day off. And neither does Crime House Daily. Hosted by self-defense instructor and advocate for victims, Katie Ring, Crime House Daily is
coming to you twice every weekday, covering the biggest crime stories as they unfold. Morning episodes give you the need-to-know. The latest headlines, breaking developments, and where things are going next. Evening episodes go deeper. Into the people, the evidence, ...
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In today’s long awaited collaboration, we team up with Kaelyn Moore of the podcast Heart Starts Pounding. Kaelyn covers all sorts of creepy, strange and unexplainable topics from around the world on her show, but today we all dive into the Reddit world (which is scary in and of itself) to bring you some tales of scary and strange happenings from where we know best ... the forest.

For a full list of our sources, visit ...
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In 1925, famed British explorer Percy Fawcett set out on his most ambitious journey yet — to find a legendary city hidden deep in the Amazon. At his side were his 21-year-old son Jack and Jack’s best friend, Raleigh Rimell. All three vanished without a trace. What began as a quest for discovery became one of the most enduring mysteries in the history of exploration.

Sources:
The Lost City of Z, film (2016).
Th...
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August 28, 2025 53 mins
Today’s stories include lightning drama, peeing with friends, and choosing the bear. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials...
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Today marks the NPS’s 109th birthday! In celebration (?) we pulled a few less than enthusiastic 1 star reviews of some of our favorite places. A few are straight up silly, some are maddening and others prove that just because National Parks are for everyone, not everyone are for National Parks.

Sources:
All reviews found on Yelp, NPS History

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes
<...
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On May 8th, 2006 to celebrate her 34th birthday, Tomomi Hanamure laced up her hiking boots, as she had done so many times before, for an adventure. Her return journey to the Grand Canyon was a way to mark another year around the sun, to a place she felt so personally drawn to. Tragically, the date that marked her entrance into this world would also be the day someone violently ripped her out of it.

More info on WFA cl...
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August 14, 2025 42 mins
Today’s stories include traumatizing children, urns in odd places and a day of the grizzlies. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and ou...
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She’s been called the wildest woman in America—and with good reason. Carol Ruckdeschel has wrestled alligators, dissected roadkill in the name of science, and lived off the grid in the wilderness she vowed to defend. But behind the sensational headlines is a sharp, fearless conservationist whose tireless efforts helped protect one of the last truly wild places in the Southeast: Cumberland Island National Seashore. Taking on po...
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Today’s episode is a collaboration a long time coming! Our friends Josh and Austin of the Lights Out podcast hosted us in their studio during a recent trip to Denver to discuss the extremely disturbing case of Robert Hansen aka The Butcher Baker.

Listen to Lights Out wherever you listen to your favorite shows!

For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

For the latest NPAD updates...
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July 31, 2025 44 mins
Today’s stories include getting schmacked, stinky ghosts, victorian asylums, salty situations and rescues from beyond the grave. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:

Instagram: @na...
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Val Plumwood was an Australian philosopher, environmental activist and crocodile attack survivor. During a 1985 trip to Kakadu National park, Val was attacked repeatedly by a crocodile but miraculously survived. The experience completely reshaped her life and her perspective of her role within it.

Sources:


Book: The Eye of the Crocodile 

Documentaries: Kakadu: Land of the Crocodile 

Articles...
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This week NPAD is on vacation, but as a special treat, we wanted to share an episode of our other podcast, Watch Her Cook, with you. This episode has a few surprising NPAD tie ins, and we are so excited to share it with you all. We will be back to our regularly scheduled National Parks programing next week! - Cassie and Danielle

What began as a vivid dream on a stormy night during the “Year Without a Summer,” after a ...
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July 17, 2025 51 mins
In today’s exciting crossover episode we are joined by Aaron Habel from the Generation Why Podcast. We recap four of our most memorable NPAD true crime and mysterious disappearance cases, provide some updates and discuss what makes them so intriguing.  Aaron also brings us a story we have never covered that remains one of the most puzzling cases to ever come out of Yosemite.

Listen and follow Generation Why wherever y...
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Editors Note and Content Warning: This episode was recorded in June before the devastating floods that took place in Texas on July 4th. Listeners should be aware that this episode includes descriptions of mass death, including children. Please take care while listening. Our hearts are with the families and communities affected by the floods. For more information about how to help the survivors and families impacted by the Tex...
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    Come for the animal stories, stay for the giggles. T&C and NPAD are reunited for another collab episode!

    Listen to Tooth & Claw: True Stories of Animal Attacks here, snag some fun merch here, and keep an eye on their upcoming trips here!

    For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

    For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.co...
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    July 3, 2025 71 mins
    Today’s stories include small town legends, embarrassing young canoodling, haunted cheese factories, Hidebehinds and visits from the great beyond. Outsiders Only bonus stories available for Patreon and Apple Subscribers!

    Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram

    For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodes

    For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details...
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    George and Joy Adamson lived for lions. After raising a cub they named Elsa and telling the world about it, they were catapulted into the center of conservation and controversy. Their methods were questioned, but their love for the wild was not. While they were both murdered, their legacy remains alive in Africa and beyond.

    Grab some Merch!

    Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Instagram...
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