New York Times Bestselling author, Andrea Lankford, is a former National Park Service ranger who performed firefighting, law enforcement, and life-saving wilderness medicine in some of the biggest and baddest National Parks in the world.
Her latest book, Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail, was an instant NY Times Bestseller, a Seattle Times Bestseller, and won the CrimeCon Nonfiction Book of the Year (2024).
Bio
Andrea Lankford, a former National Park Service ranger, has performed firefighting, law enforcement, and life-saving wilderness medicine in some of the biggest, baddest national parks in the world, including Cape Hatteras, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. She won several awards for her work as a ranger investigator and she implemented the "Heat kills, hike smart" public education program, which has been credited with preventing heat-related deaths at the Grand Canyon. It continues to save lives today.
Andrea is the author of five nonfiction books, including Ranger Confidential: Living, Working and Dying in the National Parks. National Geographic calls Ranger Confidential a Top Ten Book About U.S. Parks, and her hiking guide, Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America's National Parks, was featured in USA Today, chosen by People as a 2006 Travel Pick, and described by Newsday as "spell-binding." She has written for High Country News, Arizona Highways, and Backpacker. Her fifth book, Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail was an instant New York Times Bestseller.
Andrea is originally from Tennessee. People have described her as having “a country accent...but she’s articulate.” Despite the twang (or perhaps because of it), journalists and producers call on the expertise of this former park ranger for counsel and quotes on current events related to the darker side of the Great Outdoors. She’s shared her stories and insights on many news reports, televised documentaries, and podcasts.
Andrea has two degrees, a B.S. in Forestry and an A.D. in Nursing. The world needs another nurse more than it needs another writer, so Andrea became an RN after leaving the ranger ranks. She worked as a concierge nurse for 14 years, working primarily in Los Angeles. She now lives where a ranger ought to be—in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada.
Andrea’s outdoor resume includes thru-hiking the entire 2,200 mile length of the Appalachian Trail, kayaking from Miami to Key West, cycling from Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean, and becoming the first (with her friend Beth Overton) to mountain bike along the 800-mile Arizona Trail from Utah to Mexico.
Her penchant for perilous ventures began when she was nineteen. To earn money for college, she took a summer zookeeper position at a small zoo in the south, where she cleaned occupied alligator tanks and milked anxious rattlesnakes. Andrea has been clawed by a leopard, bit by a skunk, stung by deadly scorpions, lacerated by oysters, and charged by bears. She broke a rib deep within the Grand Canyon and survived three nights alone with a fractured fibula while conducting research on a cursed mountain for Trail of the Lost. Andrea is a much wiser (and more cautious) woman today, but if you buy her a drink, she’ll show you her scars.
Andrea’s Books
** THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **
** SEATTLE TIMES BESTSELLER **
** CRIMECON'S "BOOK OF THE YEAR" (2024)
** AN AMAZON "BEST BOOKS OF THE MONTH" FOR AUGUST 2023 (Biographies & Memoirs) **
** Goodreads Choice Awards/Best Books of 2023 – Finalist for “Best Nonfiction Book” **
** American Scientist, "Summer STEM Reads You Won’t Want to Miss" **
A Top Ten Book About U.S. Parks
"Ranger Confidential dispenses with the wilderness romance and cuts straight to the heart of how difficult it can be to manage America's National Parks....the book delves into the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of today's park rangers." National Geographic
Haunted Hikes
Ghosts! Curses! Hoaxes! Unsolved mysteries! Paranormal events! Take a walk on the creepy side of North America's National Parks! Andrea Lankford, a 12-year veteran ranger with the National Park Service, has written a thoroughly investigated yet often tongue-in-cheek guidebook that takes the reader to the scariest, most mysterious places inside North America's National Parks.
Author Photos
Author Photos for Media Use
On the trail of the lost, you may not find what you are looking for, but you will find more than you seek. photo by Salisha Blackburn of Storybook Photography 2023
Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1999
Working In Yosemite National Park in 1995
“You can't turn your back on nature, or she will turn her back on you!” says Frog biologist Dr. Paul Farraday in Quagmire, “The X-files”. Photo by Salisha Blackburn of Storybook Photography 2023