Meet the Queer Podcasters Making National Parks More Inclusive

20.07.2024 - 10:52 / cntraveler.com

The National Parks, despite efforts to highlight LGBTQ heritage, have long felt like the domain of a homogenous set of travelers. National Park Service efforts to change this image have had mixed results—a number of Pride events in parks have received backlash and even boycotts from those they claim to celebrate. But visibility matters, especially in places long typified as straight, able-bodied, and white—and that’s where folks like Dusty Ballard and Mike Ryan come in.

The two friends, both gay men who work in education in New Jersey, forged a bond over long walks in New York City before taking their adventures further into the wilds of the United States. In 2018 they launched Gaze at the National Parks, a podcast that highlights one hiking trail in one national park per episode, affirming that these are indeed spaces for queer people as well.

Out and proud, and often adorned in some manner of rainbow attire, Ballard and Ryan have come a long way—over six seasons, 258 episodes, and 37 national parks—since their first episode on Yosemite Falls. The hikes they feature span from Hawai'i to North Dakota, showcasing what it’s like for two gay men to trek in national parks, including the games they play on the trails, and important callouts on topics like Confederate monuments and stolen Indigenous lands. In June, they did a series of mini episodes for Pride, focused on queer representation in National Parks. At its heart, the show is an adventurous romp through nature, offering humor, insight, and solidarity along the way.

Ahead of their season six finale on July 22—the next season returns mid-September—we sat down with Ballard and Ryan to hear about their journey, and what’s next.

The hikes featured in Gaze at the National Parks span from Hawai'i to North Dakota, including important callouts on topics like Confederate monuments and stolen Indigenous lands.

What inspired Gaze at the National Parks?

Dusty Ballard: Before we started traveling together, a totally organic discovery was our shared love for long walks. We had been friends for a couple years at that point, and it was the first beautiful day in spring in New York City, so we wandered up to Central Park and over to Riverside, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be funny to walk all the way to Battery Park?” So we ended up doing that. We started doing these marathon walks, it would take us all day, and we would finish with dinner somewhere. Then, we started doing that with national parks and trails.

Mike Ryan: We started traveling together in 2016 for the first time, and we took our first national parks trip in 2017. In 2018, we went to Acadia National Park, and that’s where we were like, “Wouldn’t it be fun to start a shared Instagram account?” While on a