Trail Head
Location: 39.004177, -84.1409
Start at the main parking lot with lights, much safer than leaving your car at the trail head parking. Pickup trail permit from mailbox in front of main office. You pick up some alternate maps, but none are as good as the Arial map. Deposit Trail Permit in one of the two green mailboxes as you exit the parking lot.
Loop Start
Location: 39.005829, -84.140556
Hike down to the South Trailhead down near the bike trails
5.5M Camp #2
Location: 38.993255, -84.105781
5.5 Miles. Adirondack shelter, fire pit, outhouse needs some work (no toilets). You can stash water if needed at the end of Campbell Rd.(1/4 mile) or get it from the lake.
10.5M CAMP #3
Location: 38.999508, -84.076866
10.5M Camp 3 is 1/8 perpendicular to trail. There are no markers. There is a 8 ft wide ATV grassing trail then you hit concrete then camp 3 by a pond. It has an Adirondack shelter and fire pit, room for 4-5 tents.
CAMP #4
Location: 39.050186, -84.122185
Adirondack shelter and fire pit. Looks like it's frequented by locals.
4M Pine Ridge Area
Location: 39.005587, -84.1009
Inside Loop, Nice Pine area, it looks like some have camped here. Room for about 2 tents and small campfire.
5.5M Approach to Camp 2
Location: 38.993347, -84.106125
Trail deadends and according to the map you would think you turn left but turn right and then cut back uphill within 100 yards.
5.7M Creek
Location: 38.991171, -84.10194
Sugar and Poplar Creek 150' wide but passable. Nice spot to get water.
9.5M Clover Creek
Location: 38.99514, -84.072899
Passable and can access water
10.6M Water
Location: 38.998943, -84.075943
Small Stream, fed by pond from camp 3. Can access water.
22M Camp Ground Access
Location: 39.042965, -84.099609
Use this access trail to the campground HQ. There is a water faucet on the outside (exit lane).
25 - 26M
Location: 39.051987, -84.131027
There are lots of side trails. Don't take any of the white trails.
27.7M Water Crossing
Location: 39.032852, -84.150169
You'll need your crocks here. This stream is fed by the dam. 1-2' deep, just upstream of crossing.
19.3M Ridge
Location: 39.040786, -84.074163
Nice ridge area with plenty of room to camp.
Steve Newman Trail Head
Location: 39.006771, -84.142147
This is the actual Steve Newman trail head. This also starts the backpack trail and mountain bike trail. Has a nice map mounted under covered shelter
26M - IMPORTANT
Location: 39.048119, -84.136219
Take Greenbriar until you hit park gate entrance. Then take road past 1st bend until you get to gravel entrance for Green trail.
ALSO, just inside gate there is a green trail on left, you can take it only if you want to camp on the ridge about 1/8 mile and come back out. It's a nice ridge to camp on.
27M Dam Crossing
Location: 39.03492, -84.146004
Instead of taking the trail. Head down to the road and take the Dam crossing it's much more scenic, take this until mile 29 after the spillway and re-enter the trail.
29.6M Back Run Creek
Location: 39.016249, -84.1642
Fantastic Creek, slate rock
29M Back Run Creak
Location: 39.018117, -84.161453
Shortly after entering the trail, you'll cross Back Run creak and can actually sit on the slate rock and take a break.
31.1M Ulrey Run
Location: 39.008513, -84.15596
Another great creak with great views.
East Fork Trip Nov 9-12, 2009 35 – 67 degrees.
35 Miles, 53 Hours
General Guidelines
*Prior to hike – spend $2 on arial map of East Fork trails, each much better than the general overview map.
*Fall night hiking - I would not hike at night during the fall unless the path is well defined, depending on the amount of leaves you may not even be able to see the path which leaves you with only the trail markers which can become difficult to find at night.
*Streams – Most of the streams seem to be dry in the fall or easily passable. Note, all trails pick up opposite the entrance. Make sure you look for a path or marking just opposite before crossing. Be careful not to follow side stream paths.
*Miles 6 – 32, not as nice a backpacker trail but still good trails. You’ll need to get used to some of the steep inclines. Not as many switchbacks as you would like.
*Miles 12 - 30 are destroyed by horses. There seemed to be a lot of water pockets this year the horses just destroyed the trail.
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