Exploring the National Parks

Ash and John from the Dirt In My Shoes blog turned their national parks obsession into a weekly podcast, and it's quickly become one of the most popular shows in the outdoor travel space. With 138 episodes and a 4.8 rating from 600 reviews, Exploring the National Parks covers everything from trip planning specifics to fun facts about the geology, wildlife, and history of America's park system. Episodes typically run 45 minutes to just over an hour and follow a few different formats. Some focus on a single park with detailed breakdowns of the best hikes, viewpoints, and campgrounds. Others are fun-fact episodes that cover park trivia and lesser-known stories. Trip report episodes share Ash and John's own experiences from recent visits, complete with honest assessments of crowd levels, trail conditions, and whether a park lived up to the hype. The hosts have an easy chemistry that makes the longer episodes fly by. Their banter is genuine -- they clearly enjoy both the parks and making the podcast, which comes through in every episode. The show also offers downloadable resources through their website, including reservation checklists and packing guides, which turns it from pure entertainment into a genuine trip-planning tool. Recent episodes have covered parks like Saguaro and included seasonal timing advice that can make the difference between an incredible trip and a frustrating one.