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? 

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

Check Trail Conditions & Updates

View The 2024 Spring 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
 June 8 – 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
June 15 – 9:00 am-3:00 pm – New Chapel Trailhead
We will meet at 9 am at the New Chapel Trailhead. We will clear blowdowns and brush the trail to the North. Bring water, lunch, gloves, other appropriate clothing, and lopers. Larger tools such as hoes, pulaskis, etc., will be provided.  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 – Future hiking info will be posted Here

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

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