Chuck Keiper Trail
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The Chuck Keiper Trail is named after Charles F. Keiper who was a dedicated conservationist and wildlife law enforcement officer. The trail, located in the Sproul State Forest, is 52 miles in length and is organized into an eastern and western loop. The western loop is slightly longer than the eastern loop with the western loop being hiked in three days and the eastern in two days.
The trail makes many stream crossings without bridges and is best hiked at times of low water. The trail also traverses the Two Rock Run Fire area. There is no shade along this area of the hike so take plenty of water in the summer and try to hike this section in the early morning or late evening. The trail is a very strenuous hike as there are many ascents and descents without the use of switchbacks.
My Hikes @ Chuck Keiper Trail
Topo Map - Chuck Keiper Trail
Trail Ratings
 Reviewed by Amy Berger of Chelsea, MI 10/17/2009 |
| Briefly...my friend Mark and I chose the CKT because of its "strenuos" rating on the PCDNR website. We chose the east loop because of the closeness of the contour lines on the topo map. We smartly (later realized) went counter-clockwise as recommended by other hikers on this website. It was great. Very challenging. Very well blazed. Beautiful for sure. Headed out 10/12, was back at the car 10/15. Yes, this is slow, but we weren't in a hurry. The last day was hiked in snow! Yes, snow. Saw two piles of bear scat within 1/4 mile of our tent site. I'd highly recommend this trail but not to the unfit. Who knew that only 8 hours from our home in Chelsea, MI there was this great wonderland of natural beauty. |
 Reviewed by Bill G of Olney, MD 07/10/2009 |
| Had a wonderful hike of the CKT, July 6-9, 2009. I parked at the new lot that has been built for the Yost Run/Eddie's Lick loops and hiked the trail counter-clockwise. There was a lot of vegetation on the trail, making for wet boots and some slow going through prickly plants. Saw bear, deer, rattlesnake, grouse, and some other creatures. Generally the trail is very well marked. I found the junction at the parking lot at the north end of the connector trail to be confusing as I passed by from east to west. I ended up hiking along rt. 144 for a bit, until the orange blazes crossed the road at a memorial stone. The nights were very chilly at the bottom of the hollows and I did not have gear that was warm enough (just my tent and sleeping bag liner), so I had pretty uncomfortable nights. I saw the tracks of hikers ahead of me, but never saw other people. Much of the trail has a nice feeling of isolation. There were a lot of trucks on rt. 144 due to some area road construction, so the noise of engine brakes spilled out to the woods at some points. A highly recommended hike! |
Reviewed by Keith of york, pa 06/03/2009 |
| East Loop hike is a great challenge. ALways go counter-clockwise or you will be ascending very steep trails. My daughter nearly stepped on a rattler. Long pants are recommended for the Stinging Nettles. We hiked it in 2-1/2 days carrying 25-35 lb packs and are not in great shape. Did not encounter any other people, late summer 2008 trip. Great camping spots if you get off the trail abit, quite secluded I will be back for more! |
Reviewed by Matthew Menaquale of Moorestown, NJ 04/26/2009 |
| Three friends and I decided to spend labor day weekend hiking on the Chuck Keiper Trail. Strenuous for sure, but definitely worthwhile. We did the Eastern Loop which if I remember correctly was something like 25 miles. It starts of reasonably level, but after an hour or so you begin to run into the first of several large ascents. Needless to say, a 30LB pack makes this quite a challenge. As it was late August, the heat was intense at times. Pack plenty of water, or pick up one of those water purification pumps (which is what we did). The first night we slept in a small ravine, near a stream which took us off the path somewhat. The second night we slept out under the stars in a large clearing at the top of a large meadow, near the tree line. It provided us with a reasonable amount of dried wood as well as rocks to establish a fairly sweet campsite. We honestly could have stayed there for several days given the abundance of water in a small stream nearby and wood for fire. There were even small wild blue berries on the hillside. I have never seen more stars in my entire life. We sat there under the black and blue speckled expanse for a long time, it just so happened that we were out there during the perseid meteor shower which was spectacular. For the most part we encountered little wildlife, or other people. We were moving at quite a fast pace and over took several slower groups of hikers with ease. The only dangerous encounter was when the leader of our group almost stepped on a rattle snake that was sunning itself in the path during a section of flat forest. It was a great hike, and I can't wait to do the western loop! |
Reviewed by CHARLIE JIM MICKEY PHIL MARK WHEEZY of CLEVELAND, OH 11/15/2008 |
| THIS HIKE WAS AWSOME 4 DAY HIKE WITH MANY VIEWS ALONG THE TRAIL. IF YOU GO IN LATE IN OCTOBER, PACK WARMLY! THIS IS THE SECOND HARDEST HIKE IN PA, SO YOU HAVE TO BE IN VERY GOOD SHAPE AND TOUGH. PARKING IN THE CKT SPOT WILL BRING YOU TO 2 GATES-HIKE THROUGH THE ONE STRAIT AHEAD WHEN YOU DRIVE IN. WHEN FIRST STARTING OUT,YOU WILL BE GOING DOWN AN OLD ROAD AND YOU WILL GET CONFUSED IN A BIT. NOT VERY HARD ON THE FIRST DAY, IF YOU HIKE TO THE BOTTOM THEIR ARE GOOD PLACES TO STAY. THE DAYS GET HARDER, MOSTLY THE LAST. I WILL NOT GIVE AWAY THE REST, BUT BE FIT! |
Reviewed by Matt Mundis of Red Lion, PA 09/06/2008 |
| Although I havn't been on the CKT in over 15 years, I would have to give the trail a good rating. My scout troop had decided on it as a 50-miler, one week long trip. At the time, some portions of the trail were not marked as well as they could have been, but that was to be expected for a trail so far out in the wild. Other than a few boys getting lost very early on the trip, we had a good time. There was one day during the hike that the only evidence of the outside world we experienced was a small jet flying low. The whole experience was challenging and exhausting.It was also an awesome learning experience. We actually only hiked the west loop and part of the east loop past Cranberry Bog before we called the hike. Due to the setbacks early on and some very steep decents and climbs coming up, (not to mention heat),we headed home maybe 10-15 miles short of returning to the Route 144 parking area.(We had support people with ham radio "following" us all the way)Seeing the photos of the trail on this site reminded me of how beautiful this area is.I'm hoping to take my son on this trail when he gets old enough. In other words, if you want to really get away from it all, yet stay in PA, CKT is perfect, as long as your'e in good physical condition and you are WELL PREPARED. |
Reviewed by Tom Van Etten of Latham, NY 08/21/2008 |
| Just did this trail last week (whole loop in 3 days). Lots of views although sometimes broken. Nice campsites. Some problem with stinging nettles in gorges, especially Burns Run area. Also, almost stepped on a rattlesnake in that same area. A nice hike, just need to take it slow on some of the relatively steep descents. Very few people (I only saw one other person the entire time). |
 Reviewed by DJHathaway of Souderton, PA 02/06/2008 |
| Two friends and I hiking the eastern loop on an overnighter a couple weeks ago. It probably wasn't the best of ideas with temps ranging from 0-20 the whole time... but we were bored. In our excitment to get started we went clockwise which turned out to be a bitch the second day. Since there was snow on the ground it would have been really fun to slide down the steep sections. Fortunately, we didn't need snowshoes but there was enough ice to keep things interesting. The trail is a pretty one in the winter with all the leaves gone. Since you spend a lot of time traversing it gives you something to look at. There's also plenty of water to be found even with it being so cold. If I were to do the trip again (in the winer anyway) I would make it a two night trip. We were busting our balls to make it out before dark the second day despite getting an early start. |
Reviewed by Moon Monster of Baltimore, MD 05/13/2007 |
| I went counter-clockwise on the East loop over one night in mid-May 2007. The leaves were not quite out yet above 2,000 feet around route 144, so I took a lot of sun on the skin on day 1. Day 2 had clouds and some rain. Luckily for me, the views are mostly on day 1, and rather nice ones they are considering the ridges are low and don't tower like they do in other Eastern states. I saw no wildlife other than about 10 ticks picked up on grassy trail. I saw no other hikers either--not even on Saturday. Stinging nettle was out, but still baby sized. The poison ivy, however, was spiteful--draped across much of the trail in the Diamond Back and Boggs hollows. One of the best uses of hiking poles/sticks is to push that stuff out of the way, though it was still a dance to maintain pace around the thickest of it. From the parking lot, I didn't check both ways upon spying the orange blazes and wound up walking the West loop for 3/4 mile. Should have turned left and paralleled the road just under its East side. There was abundant water everywhere, this being just 3 weeks or so since the last snows. Even lots of boggy or flooded footpath. Walking over the wide, inescapable marshy areas below 144 was the only place I cursed the trail. I didn't think the sidehilling was bad, and the steep descents would be considered quaint in New England. Going counter-clockwise, the two big climbs are in the last third of the trip. Both are long, gradual pulls. While I was glad to not do the steepest grades downhill, I tend to like my climbing in steep bursts--it's over quicker. As is, the 2 climbs are sustained for 2-3 hours each. Were I to go it again, I'd go clockwise for this reason--but it's just personal taste. There are 4 switchbacks on the entire loop. |
Reviewed by MRHyker of Baltimore, MD 04/19/2006 |
| Since Saki, Pat and myself didn't get started until mid-day and we were unfamiliar with the terrain we did this over 3 days: 7.5 + 2 miles around Cranberry Swamp w/o packs, 7.0 and 8.0 miles, respectively. It was both rewarding and challenging. There are three or 4 long, gradual climbs, each accompanied by its own steep and rapid knee jarring descent on the other side. Furthermore, at the end of each gradual climb up a scenic hollow was a very steep climb waiting for you. Overall, the total elevation gain was about 3600 feet, 2200 of it was from climbing out of Boggs and Drake Hollow on the last day. Although the hills in both directions had a big impact on me the part that I found the hardest were the sidehill trails in Boggs and Diamond Back Hollows. At times the trail barely held on to the hill. At other times it was non-existent. Luckily the blazes were there to show the way over an imaginary trail. I had heard that this loop didn't have much in the way of vistas but we encountered several rewarding overlooks. The bogs and hollows were also impressive. While hiking through clear cut or burned areas provided a change of scenery and some views one couldn't help but think about the adverse effect man has had on the forest. |
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