Combining the popularity of ghost stories with the traditional aspects of a park trail guide, these creepy hikes lead courageous climbers and armchair adventurers through some of the scariest, most mysterious places in North America. Thoroughly investigated, yet often tongue-in-cheek, these tales behind the trails include the chupacabra that roams the swamps inside the Big Thicket National Preserve, the execution-style shooting of two General Motors executives at Crater Lake, and the pair of disembodied legs that have been seen running around inside the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center. A fright factor rating is listed for each hike, along with information on trailhead access, maps, and hike difficulty levels. From the wheelchair accessible to multi-day treks into the wilderness, the included trails cover a wide range of hiking abilities and even feature a haunted Louisiana bayou best reached by canoe or kayak.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Spell-binding" Newsday
"The ultimate guide to spooky hikes and blood-curdling trails." Backpacker
"This park ranger digs up a wealth of spooky lore about National Parks...particularly rewarding for history lovers." People Magazine Travel Pick 2006
"The ultimate guide to spooky hikes and blood-curdling trails." Backpacker
"This park ranger digs up a wealth of spooky lore about National Parks...particularly rewarding for history lovers." People Magazine Travel Pick 2006
"Andrea Lankford raises the hair on your neck in this book of spooky spots and ghostly grottoes." —National Geographic Traveler
"Lifts up Smokey the Bear's hat and introduces us to the bats in his belfry." —Deanne Stillman, author, Twentynine Palms
"The X-Files meets National Geographic. It's the ideal book for anyone who believes that 'the truth' is out there.'" —Tom DeSanto, producer and writer, X-Men
"I'll never look at the Grand Canyon the same way again. From now on, I'm sleeping with the lights on!" —Chuck Sypher, Grand Canyon park ranger
About the Author
Andrea Lankford is the author of Biking the Arizona Trail and Biking the Grand Canyon Area, and she has written for Adventure Cyclist, Backpacker, Canoe & Kayak, EcoFlorida, and Paddler. She is a former National Park Service ranger, where she won several awards for her work as a criminal investigator and implemented the "Heat Kills. Hike Smart" public education program that is credited with preventing heat-related deaths at the Grand Canyon. She lives in Oxnard, California.
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More About the Author
Andrea Lankford, a former National Park Ranger, has performed firefighting, law enforcement, and life-saving wilderness medicine in Cape Hatteras, Zion, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. Her masochistic adevntures include thru-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, kayaking from Miami to Key West, cycling from Fairbanks to the Artic Ocean, and being the first to mountain bike the 800-mile Arizon Trail.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been waiting a long time for this book to come out. As soon as it was released I bought it right away.
I LOVE THIS BOOK! It is absolutely fascinating!!!
This book includes: Ghosts, mysteries, Bigfoot, the unexplained, the hangman's noose in an old cabin at Skidoo Ghost Town (California), Haunted Old Faithfull Inn (Yellowstone), the haunted Stanley Hotel (in Estes Park- right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park), Mt. Rainier, Grand Canyon Lodge, Mesa Verde NP in Colorado, Crater Lake (Oregon), Smoky Mountains, Oregon Caves Chalet ghost, Channel Islands, Everglades, Cape Hatteras, missing persons, mysterious deaths, murders, curses, and much more!
This book was extremely well-researched. The author (a former national park ranger)- has so much knowledge and is an expert in her field.
A really neat addition is the "fright factor" skeleton icons next to each haunted hike around these bizarre, mysterious and haunted locations:
4 icons = "Gave me nightmares, and I'd rather not discuss them."
3 icons = "I get chills just thinking about it."
2 icons = "Very disturbing, but clowns are scarier."
1 icon = "Makes 7-year-olds giggle."
I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once you open it up and start reading --- you won't be able to put it down!
I LOVE THIS BOOK! It is absolutely fascinating!!!
This book includes: Ghosts, mysteries, Bigfoot, the unexplained, the hangman's noose in an old cabin at Skidoo Ghost Town (California), Haunted Old Faithfull Inn (Yellowstone), the haunted Stanley Hotel (in Estes Park- right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park), Mt. Rainier, Grand Canyon Lodge, Mesa Verde NP in Colorado, Crater Lake (Oregon), Smoky Mountains, Oregon Caves Chalet ghost, Channel Islands, Everglades, Cape Hatteras, missing persons, mysterious deaths, murders, curses, and much more!
This book was extremely well-researched. The author (a former national park ranger)- has so much knowledge and is an expert in her field.
A really neat addition is the "fright factor" skeleton icons next to each haunted hike around these bizarre, mysterious and haunted locations:
4 icons = "Gave me nightmares, and I'd rather not discuss them."
3 icons = "I get chills just thinking about it."
2 icons = "Very disturbing, but clowns are scarier."
1 icon = "Makes 7-year-olds giggle."
I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once you open it up and start reading --- you won't be able to put it down!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When you read Ms. Lankford's book, be prepared to get goosebumps or the chills, have the hair on your neck stand up, face one of your childhood fears or just plain get creeped out. She creeped me out with her very first story. It reminded me of two rules I have about bodies of water. One, if I can't see the bottom then I probably don't belong there and shouldn't go in. And two, if I don't heed my own advice and still go in then it's only to waist deep. No dangling legs for this boy.
With her exhaustive research and brash writing style, there is something enjoyable for everyone in this book. Even if you never plan to go to one of these park areas and walk the trails, it's still good to give yourself a good scare every now and again. And with tales of ghosts, grisly murders, strange creatures and unexplained phenomena, it's almost guranteed that something in her book will provide that good scare. If you're a fan of The X-Files or The Night Stalker or if you love a good short story by Ambrose Bierce, you'll enjoy this book.
Ms. Lankford, with her tales of the afterlife and death, has brought more life to these park areas and trails than any stodgy, NPS lifer could ever dream of doing.
With her exhaustive research and brash writing style, there is something enjoyable for everyone in this book. Even if you never plan to go to one of these park areas and walk the trails, it's still good to give yourself a good scare every now and again. And with tales of ghosts, grisly murders, strange creatures and unexplained phenomena, it's almost guranteed that something in her book will provide that good scare. If you're a fan of The X-Files or The Night Stalker or if you love a good short story by Ambrose Bierce, you'll enjoy this book.
Ms. Lankford, with her tales of the afterlife and death, has brought more life to these park areas and trails than any stodgy, NPS lifer could ever dream of doing.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By beamis
Format:Paperback
This is a unique book because it combines the utility of a trail guide with the fun and entertainment of a well written history book. The quirky offbeat stories of ghosts, spooky legends, disasters and untimely deaths is followed up with concise directions on how to go out and actually experience the areas where these otherworldly phenomenons occurred.
The writer has spiced this book with her acerbic wit and keen insights into being a park ranger (which she was for many years). She has portrayed the rangers and park service in a realistic light, instead of the hagiographic view of selfless sainthood so often seen in other books dealing with the NPS. They are real people working in a large and impersonal bureaucracy. The story dealing with the last Miwok Indian to leave Yosemite due to government regulations and the resulting castrophe was a real scream to read.
This is a great trail guide that covers a lot of interesting historical material that you won't find anywhere else. It kept me, the reader, intrigued and excited about going out to see many of these places for myself. I can't wait to visit to Yosemite later this summer so I can go explore some of the places I read about in this book.
The writer has spiced this book with her acerbic wit and keen insights into being a park ranger (which she was for many years). She has portrayed the rangers and park service in a realistic light, instead of the hagiographic view of selfless sainthood so often seen in other books dealing with the NPS. They are real people working in a large and impersonal bureaucracy. The story dealing with the last Miwok Indian to leave Yosemite due to government regulations and the resulting castrophe was a real scream to read.
This is a great trail guide that covers a lot of interesting historical material that you won't find anywhere else. It kept me, the reader, intrigued and excited about going out to see many of these places for myself. I can't wait to visit to Yosemite later this summer so I can go explore some of the places I read about in this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Shari Brown
Format:Paperback
Truly enjoyed the book by Lankford! This author knows how to wrap a good story around an awesome trail. It was a quick read and full of little tidbits of knowledge. I never knew there was such a thing as the Pupfish, or murderers on the lamb like William Bishop, Jr. The history behind some of this nations greatest hikes is fascinating. Hats off to Lankford for adding mystery, humor, and a sense of wonder to hiking trails everywhere.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By R. McRae
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not just a book of haunted tales, but a history lesson in some of the most unusual occurences in our most popular wilderness areas. What I like about Andrea Lankford's style of writing is her leaving it to the reader to draw their own conclusions. An informative guide to National Parks we may have never considered visiting before. Awakens curiosities never imagined about many places.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By tracy
Format:Paperback
This has a variety of scary stories in it. My 8 year old is fascinated by them! Would recommend if your kids don't scare easily.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By M. Rush
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderful book if you like the unexplained. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have this book its cool it gives you an insight on places that you would love to explore and take pictures of as you go.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different take on the National Park experience
The book is an easy read.
It gives a different take on National Parks and will give you directions to go see the areas discussed in the book.
It gives a different take on National Parks and will give you directions to go see the areas discussed in the book.
Published on January 15, 2011 by Karen R. Hogenboom
3.0 out of 5 stars
WHERE'S PENNSYLVANIA???? Disappointed.
Had I known Pennsylvania (the 5th largest state in the union) would not have one listing in this book, I certainly would not have not wasted my money on buying it since--more than... Read more
Published on February 15, 2008 by Chloe Valentine
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Big Disappointment
The author's insipid attempt to sell her hiking trail guide as a book of haunting tales is insulting to the educated mind. Read more
Published on February 10, 2008 by R. von Schmalz
4.0 out of 5 stars
I have seen you have references to Po-ho-no being Miwok myth, sorry it...
I a Yosemite Indian and I heard your book has Po-ho-no as a Miwok myth. Sorry, but Po-ho-no or Pohono is Paiute. The original Native people of Yosemite were primarily Mono Paiutes. Read more
Published on August 6, 2006 by California Indian Baskets
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