The Knobstone Hiking Trail is a 160-mile trail along the landmark Knobstone escarpment in one of the most rugged and scenic areas of the South Central Midwest, on the high bluffs of the forested corridor between Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. The KHT consists of four sections,  Knobstone (south, 45 miles), Pioneer (South middle, 37.9), Hoosier National Forest (North middle, 28.4), and Tecumseh (north, 42.7-miles).  The Knobstone has continuous trail from start to finish.  The Tecumseh and Hoosier Nation Forest has minor county road walks.  The Pioneer has 5 miles of existing trails with approximately 9 more miles in various stages of development. The extended road walks are nearly all on remote gravel and black top roads with great scenery.  There is 2.5 miles of road walk along Hwy 135 with a wide grass strip at the edge.   There is good access and parking at 10-20-mile intervals, ideal for day hikes and backpack camping. No fees, reservations, or permits are required.

The Knobstone Hiking Trail Association (KHTA) was formed in 2013 to become the steward of this great trail. The KHTA is a non-profit organization dedicated to completion, preservation, and promotion of the KHT. We depend on Association members and volunteers for its very existence. Only a part of it is on public land maintained by government agencies. Trail conditions are dependent on hiker reports and volunteer action in response to them. The KHTA is the only source for maps and information about the entire trail. Won’t you join us? 

Help Realize The Vision  – Support The KHTA – Join /Donate/Volunteer
Consider Making a Monthly or Annual Recurring Commitment

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Check Out A Guide To The Knobstone Trail: Indiana’s Longest Footpath

Check Trail Conditions & Updates

View The 2023 Fall-Winter Newsletter  – Newsletter

Pictures From Section Hikes, Thru Hikes, & 2nd Sat Work Days

Private Easement  and KT Workdays – KHTA Volunteers & Adopter

Second Saturday Workdays – Gateway Trail Building In Morgan-Monroe State Forest
April 13 & May 11 – Join Us For The 2nd Saturday Workday – 9:30 am-3:30 pm
Help us as we continue to build this new trail in Morgan-MonroeSF. We will meet at 9:15 and sign the DNR volunteer forms, hike about a mile to where we’ve been working and continue building this trail. Work will consist of benching the new trail, smoothing out previously built sections, raking and pruning or other aspects if the temps allow. Not all work is labor intensive, there’s plenty to do without moving piles of dirt!
DNR requires those using chainsaws to have participated in their training, but hand saws can also be used along with helping to remove cut items. All tools will be provided, but bring some gloves, a favorite shovel or pruners if you’d like.
We take plenty of breaks, including a longer one for lunch. So bring some snacks or a meal, some water or hot whatever your preference and come out and be part of building a trail. Come out and build a foot of trail or 100 feet, it all helps us get closer to finishing!.  Click Here for more info and to sign up on Meetup.

KHTA Volunteers & Adopters Workdays
April  20 & 29 – 9:00 am-3:00 pm – location TBA and depended on ongoing progress
Since last Fall we have brushed and cleared blowdowns on approximately 25 miles of trail north of Elk Creek Lake.  Currently we are focused on brushing and removing blowdowns on KT miles 17-32.  In the weeks ahead we will meet at either the Leota or New Chapel Trailheads.  Info will be updated on our Indiana Meetup website.  Click Here for more info and to sign up on Meetup.

Join us on our website at http://www.knobstonehikingtrail.org/ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Knobstone-Hiking-Trail-

2024 Organized Hikes 

Click Here for more info and to signup on Meetup  KHTA hikes and workdays.

Organized Hikes – James Kendall – For more info on these two hikes click Here

KT overnight Deam Lake NoBo to Leota – Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 9:00 AM to Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM EDT
Leota Trailhead – 12598 E Saylor Rd · Salem, IN

“Your pack weight will be directly proportional to the sum of your fears”. (Warren Doyle)
Hike NoBo two days from the Knobstone Trail southern terminus to Leota trailhead.
Plan to camp north of Beech Road, about 14 trail miles the first day. Then on to Leota another 11 miles day 2.
The KT offers rugged hiking with frequent ups and downs through relatively remote forests.
Plan to follow Leave No Trace principles, including #2: “Travel and camp on durable surfaces “.

Knobstone Trail YoYo – THU, APR 25, 2024, 8:00 AM  – Knobstone Trail, Borden, IN

Cache a food drop at Delaney Park cabins, drive south to Deam Lake, and backpack north 3 days to our cabin (reserved). Shower, cook supper, sleep in a bed, quick breakfast, then hike back 2 days to the southern terminus at Deam Lake.
Tentatively camp 1st night north of New Chapel, 2nd night Oxley, 3rd night in the cabin, 4th night near North Branch Big Ox Creek, 5th day hike out.

Organized Hikes – Scott Beam – For more info on these two hikes click Here

KHT Pioneer Section Camping, Hike and Workday – Friday, May 17, 2024 at 6:00 PM to Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 5:00 PM EDT

Interested in learning about some of the easement trails along the Pioneer section of the 160-mile Knobstone Hiking Trail? Where to camp, water sources, and parking? Well, here’s one way to do it. We’ll be meeting Saturday morning and helping to clear the trail, which will mostly be pruning back briars and removing any limbs and maybe the occasional tree. I hope to arrive around 5 or 6 pm Friday unless the weather is terrible, then we’ll just meet at the KHTA parking area at 10 am on Saturday.
We’ll hike the route, clearing any obstructions as someone will be bringing a large mower to tackle most things along the route. We’ll hike north, passing the Frank Fisher Barn, and then head towards the Christy easement (former Moto Supreme property). These are the first easement trails located south of the Hoosier NF section of the KHT, which remove a lot of road walking and a trail that most don’t know about. We’ll then hike back to the start and decide if we want to camp out again Saturday night or just head home. So, bring some camping equipment, plenty of food and drinks, and learn about some of the easement trails along the Pioneer section or any other trails. We could even drive somewhere close on Sunday and hike another easement trail or in the Hoosier NF, Cave River Valley, or Hemlock Bluff. The campground and parking area is located due west of Clear Springs on West County Road 325 North, and east of North County Road 1100 West. I’ll add a picture of the place on Google Maps in the comments. It was the HHC camping area but recently the KHTA acquired the property.

Backpacking 90 of the 160 mile KHT over 7 days – SAT, MAY 25, 2024, 9:00 AM
KHTA Pletzer Campground , Norman, IN

Ok, here’s the rough plan for now. This will be about a 90-mile hike over the course of 7 days.  We’ll meet at the newly acquired KHTA trailhead and campground west of Clear Springs. We’ll then proceed in as few cars as possible to the starting location in Morgan-MonroeSF and start the adventure.
We’ll be hiking the new trail we’re currently building north of the Tecumseh, most of which isn’t built so expect some off-trail and rugged hill climbs to start. We’ll then connect to the Tecumseh and hike it south, and with limited camping locations, we’ll be at the mercy of the trail to see how far we need to go. I’m not against grabbing some rooms at the hotel on 46 if needed. But most likely we’ll use Yellowwood campgrounds or just push on to the Hoosier NF border where I know of some good locations beside a pond or two. We’ll then head down through the Hoosier NF and stay near the southern exit before tackling some of the Pioneer section which is some road walking and some pretty extreme easement trails that we’ll be working on the weekend prior. (Stop on out at that event to familiarize yourself with the area and meeting location)
The bugs will be bad this time of year, deer flies are probably the most annoying. We’ll be crossing creeks, walking roads, backpacking off-trail, and doing what most long trails consist of. I’ll be caching food and water on Friday evening and then setting up camp at the finish point that night. I’d suggest everyone do this and I can help coordinate ideas if you need help. I’d also suggest having someone on standby in case you have to bail out before we complete the trek. Another idea is I’d suggest you buy a guidebook from the KHTA for lots more information or come out to one of my other events and ask questions, especially at our annual meeting.  And I’m offering plenty of long-distance hikes leading up to this event to test yourself and really make this an easy trip. Some days might require more than 15 miles, some might be under 10 miles.

Pictures From The Hikes

  All KHT sections on state land are now open for hiking and overnight backpack camping!  

For The Latest Info On The DNR’s Covoid 19 Response Go To: DNR Covoid 19 Response

For The Latest Info On The HNF’s Covoid 19 Response Go To: HNF Covoid 19 Response