Backpacking/Fly Fishing Trip in NE PA

[hartfor6]

Hey Everyone!

TLDR Version: Hello, nice to meet y'all! Looking for a Backpacking/Fly Fishing spot with wild trout within a few hours of Philly. Any help would be super great!

I am new to this site so I want to say hello! Looking forward to learning from everyone.

I am also fairly new to fly fishing, I started in the spring of 2021. Not many of my friends are into fly fishing, so I am usually alone when it comes to researching new spots and my family is from Michigan, so I have had to start from scratch and build the base knowledge of locating good trout streams and all that goes into it. Luckily, I have been blessed with a wife that really enjoys to do all of the things that I like to do like backpacking and fly fishing. I taught her how to cast last year and she is really loving being out on the water with me. We even got a fly tying station for Christmas, which she broke out before me.

With that said, I know people don't generally like to give away their secret spots, especially a remote spot, but I'm having a really difficult time with this one. We are looking to do a long weekend backpacking/fly fishing trip this coming spring and I would like to find a trail that leads to a good creek where we can hike into, fish for a day or two and then hike out. We are located a little west of Philadelphia and willing to drive a couple hours. Ideally, it would be a trail that leads to a remote creek with some wild trout and we can hike in and set up camp for a day or two. Is anyone willing to help a little and at least lead me in the right direction? Is this even common in PA?

If you are unwilling to share an exact creek maybe you could help me understand the best way to find a creek with a trail that leads to it. Just having a difficult time with this one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

 

[jackfruit829]

I live a bit north of Philly and when I go out backpacking/camping I usually head to north central Pa to the Kettle Creek or Young Woman's Creek drainages. Lots of Class A wild streams there and its basically all in state forest lands. Using the PFBC Trout Streams Map I usually will find a Class A that looks interesting and go from there. Some have trails near by and some don't. Kinda depends on how remote you want to be. Once you find a stream/ general area and if you really want an established trail I would using some sort of hiking trail app to see if any are in that immediate area. Backpacking and Primitive camping is basically allowed all over the state forests as long as you only stay in one spot for like a night only. Here are the state forest rules. I usually only stay out for 1 night but the times I have out for multiple days, my campsite was always along a different stream each night. Hope this helps

 

[KeviR]

Hi Chris, welcome to PAFF.
I don't know of an example like you are seeking within 2 hours of W Chester. Not to say that it doesn't exist. But I can start by pointing you to some resources about camping and fishing to allow you to begin exploring options on your own.
First is a DCNR page that has rules for camping in state parks and forests. Not mentioned are state game lands, which don't allow camping, except hikers may camp within 200 feet of the Appalachian Trail.
Next is a PFBC page that is kind of your go-to for this type of info. It allows you to overlay state owned lands with trout streams and so find the type of opportunity you're looking for. Once you have a target stream, you can ask the forum here about it and probably someone will be able to fill you in. Or use the search function and look for the stream name in prior posts.
Good luck - I suspect others will post here soon with specific ideas.

 

[hartfor6]

I live a bit north of Philly and when I go out backpacking/camping I usually head to north central Pa to the Kettle Creek or Young Woman's Creek drainages. Lots of Class A wild streams there and its basically all in state forest lands. Using the PFBC Trout Streams Map I usually will find a Class A that looks interesting and go from there. Some have trails near by and some don't. Kinda depends on how remote you want to be. Once you find a stream/ general area and if you really want an established trail I would using some sort of hiking trail app to see if any are in that immediate area. Backpacking and Primitive camping is basically allowed all over the state forests as long as you only stay in one spot for like a night only. Here are the state forest rules. I usually only stay out for 1 night but the times I have out for multiple days, my campsite was always along a different stream each night. Hope this helps

This is really helpful! Thank you for the time and the information! Seems as if I'm going to have to have to drive a little more than a couple hours to find a nice stream to hike into. The price you pay for some nice hiking and fish in PA, I guess.

 

[hartfor6]

Hi Chris, welcome to PAFF.
I don't know of an example like you are seeking within 2 hours of W Chester. Not to say that it doesn't exist. But I can start by pointing you to some resources about camping and fishing to allow you to begin exploring options on your own.
First is a DCNR page that has rules for camping in state parks and forests. Not mentioned are state game lands, which don't allow camping, except hikers may camp within 200 feet of the Appalachian Trail.
Next is a PFBC page that is kind of your go-to for this type of info. It allows you to overlay state owned lands with trout streams and so find the type of opportunity you're looking for. Once you have a target stream, you can ask the forum here about it and probably someone will be able to fill you in. Or use the search function and look for the stream name in prior posts.
Good luck - I suspect others will post here soon with specific ideas.

I have definitely explored this site for sure and will explore it some more. Seems like outside of someone telling of a past trip, its just going to be a bunch of exploratory trips. I suppose that is the fun of it anyways, finding new and exciting things by just exploring.

 

[Nocktavius]

Slate Run and Naval Run, Black Forest Trail (Slate Run PA). When the trail leaves Slate Run it goes up and over the plateau for about 6.5 miles before coming down into a beautiful spot. You can work some shortcuts in and get over to the top of Hemlock Mountain then down into the naval run Drainage. This also brings you down onto a nice section of Pine Creek. Grab the purple lizard map of the Pine Creek Gorge region.

 

[jackfruit829]

This is really helpful! Thank you for the time and the information! Seems as if I'm going to have to have to drive a little more than a couple hours to find a nice stream to hike into. The price you pay for some nice hiking and fish in PA, I guess.

No problem. The Poconos area also has some streams where you can hike into and fish, but I personally wouldn't consider that area as part of a backpacking trip. I really like the remoteness of the north central region.

 

[Roofin' Trouter]

Michaux State Forest has hiking trails and wild trout. East Branch Antietam, Conococheague,and Mountain Creek are all stocked and have wild fish ,have tribs that hold wild and/or native fish, and close to Appalachian trail.

 

[Swattie87]

Your best bet is to look for some of the larger trail systems that go through State Forests, and begin your research there. You can backpack/hike-in camp on State Forests without a permit, as long as you move your camp each night. While there’s very good fishing on State Game Lands in PA, you can’t overnight camp on those, so that’s why I’d recommend you focus your research on State Forests. Keep in mind State Forest and State Game Lands, though similar, are not the same in PA, and different rules apply to each. The North Central part of the state has the most State Forest land, and is where the most opportunity awaits to combine backpack camping and wild Trout fishing.

Susquehannock Trail System, Chuck Keiper, Donut Hole, Black Forest, Old Loggers Path, Allegheny Front, and Quehanna Trail are all good options to look into and will keep you busy for years exploring if you want to. Though there are certainly more out there too. Pretty much every small forested stream on State Forest land in North Central PA has wild Trout in it. Yeah, some are better than others, but it’s pretty hard to pick a total dud and completely strike out up there.

Generally speaking, yeah, you’re probably talking 3-4 hours to get to most of these type of places from West Chester, but IMO the extra drive is worth it. Allegheny National Forest (NW PA) is good for this too, but is even further than the above areas. Good luck!

 

[troutbert]

1) You cannot camp on State Gamelands.

2) You can camp on State Forest lands.

Next step is to look at maps online to see where the State Forests are.

Then get the maps for the State Forests you are interested in.

 

[hartfor6]

Thank you to everyone for your responses! This was super helpful and it is nice to know people are willing to spend some time to help people out. Still taking more suggestions as well...keep em coming

 

[flyguyfishing]

I plan hiking/fishing trips by picking a general area (lots of good ones listed in this thread). Then, identify some trails in the area. Then, go to ArcGIS trout map to find streams to fish near the trails.

AllTrails and PA hiking trail books are good sources for hiking trails.

It is best to find a trail that passes through a state forest (for camping) but there are trails with “camp sites” not in SF land. The trout map has layer to show state forest/park/gamelands. Stream access is not an issue on state lands.

ArcGIS Web Application

pfbc.maps.arcgis.com

AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and Running

Search over 300,000 trails with trail info, maps, detailed reviews, and photos curated by millions of hikers, campers, and nature lovers like you.

www.alltrails.com

Have fun!

 

[troutbert]

It is best to find a trail that passes through a state forest (for camping) but there are trails with “camp sites” not in SF land.

In these cases, who does own the land?

 

[salmo]

Hey Everyone!

TLDR Version: Hello, nice to meet y'all! Looking for a Backpacking/Fly Fishing spot with wild trout within a few hours of Philly. Any help would be super great!

I am new to this site so I want to say hello! Looking forward to learning from everyone.

I am also fairly new to fly fishing, I started in the spring of 2021. Not many of my friends are into fly fishing, so I am usually alone when it comes to researching new spots and my family is from Michigan, so I have had to start from scratch and build the base knowledge of locating good trout streams and all that goes into it. Luckily, I have been blessed with a wife that really enjoys to do all of the things that I like to do like backpacking and fly fishing. I taught her how to cast last year and she is really loving being out on the water with me. We even got a fly tying station for Christmas, which she broke out before me.

With that said, I know people don't generally like to give away their secret spots, especially a remote spot, but I'm having a really difficult time with this one. We are looking to do a long weekend backpacking/fly fishing trip this coming spring and I would like to find a trail that leads to a good creek where we can hike into, fish for a day or two and then hike out. We are located a little west of Philadelphia and willing to drive a couple hours. Ideally, it would be a trail that leads to a remote creek with some wild trout and we can hike in and set up camp for a day or two. Is anyone willing to help a little and at least lead me in the right direction? Is this even common in PA?

If you are unwilling to share an exact creek maybe you could help me understand the best way to find a creek with a trail that leads to it. Just having a difficult time with this one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Chris

I have a suggestion but the drive is at least 4 hours. If interested PM me,