Looking For Elk In The Pennsylvania Wilds In Clearfield And Elk County.

I returned to Elk County in North Central Pennsylvania last weekend. Unlike my visit three weeks ago it was a pleasant, almost three hour drive,  through the farmlands and mountains of beautiful north central Pennsylvania.

On my last visit my Jeep broke down here, on the Quehanna Highway  just north of the small town of Karthaus,  in Clearfield County , only a few miles from the  Quehanna Wild Area.  I was stranded here for 4 1/2 hours waiting for a tow truck.   I had to rent a vehicle in Clearfield  but was able to visit Benezette and see my first elk in Pennsylvania.  There is more on this adventure in previous blog post.  This time I drove a few miles past where I was stranded and entered the 50,000 acre Quehanna Wild Area. The Quehanna Wild Area is part of the larger Pennsylvania Wilds region, one of the largest expanses of forested land  between New York City and Chicago. It encompasses 13 counties in the most rural part of the Commonwealth, and is home to the only elk heard east of the Rocky Mountains.

After driving only a few miles from where my Jeep broke down, I came to the  Fisher Road Trail. A friend had told me he had seen elk on a field on this utility right of way that crossed the highway.

I began my hike on the west side of the highway on a the gravel Fisher Road,  it took me through a mostly chestnut oak and red maple woodland.

I was surprised and glad to find some edible king bolete mushrooms growing along the road.  They would be the first of many species of mushrooms I would see on my hike here in the Pennsylvania Wilds. I forage for a number of edible species and enjoy observing all species of fungi on my hikes.

 A  short distance  from the highway I followed a road to the right and came to a  restricted area. I was next to a State Corerectional Boot Camp.

I returned to the main Fisher Road and  followed it along a  large filed of bracken ferns and black huckleberries. I am np expert but it looked like a good place to see elk. It was around 2 p.m. when I began my hike and I knew it would not be a good time to se elk or other wildlife but, as I have found over the years, you never know when you head into the woods on a hike.

The road split again and I followed the  road until I  came what appeared to be a private residence,

there were no signs posted on the road but I turned around anyway  and followed the other fork to a gate,

that led me through an older, mostly oak woodland,

where I saw a few birds active in the mid afternoon, including a few eastern towhees,

 a flock of black capped chickadees,

and  a chestnut side warbler in Fall or immature plumage.

Bracken ferns,

and hay-scented ferns grew along trail.

  I also saw some golden spindle coral fungi growing in the shade of the large oak tree.

I came to the utility power line right of way.  I thought I might be able to follow it  back to the Quehanna Road but there was no path on the right of way.  Instead the trail followed the right of way,   and

I followed it .

Ferns, black huckleberries, blackberries and mulberry plants grew under the utility power lines, and many late Summer wildflowers bloomed in the clearing, including  native pearly everlasting,

daisy fleabane, 

American burnweed

and white wood aster

Invasive bull thistle,

St. John’s wort,

and oxeye daisies also bloomed on the  trail. If you look closely you can see native  crab spider and an invasive flea beetle on the daisy.

The wildflowers also attracted other insects, including  clouded sulpher butterflies,

spicebush swallowtail butterflies,

and an American lady butterfly.

Hundreds of short-horned

and Carolina grasshopper hopped and flew along the trail.

I had walked out about 1 1/2miles when the  trail left the power line  right of way and continued into the State forest.  I decided to head back here.

I walked back to the Quehanna Highway, which I crossed and found the Fisher Trail on the other side. It was here my friend  told me he had seen elk, but I am guessing it was in the early morning or evening and not mid afternoon.

I walked about a 1/4 mile on the trail and came to some fields which looks like they were just planted so  the elk could  graze here.

As I began to walk back to my Jeep I  heard the high pitched cry of a red-tailed hawk and saw this one flying overhead.

I finished my 3.2 mile hike.  I didn’t see any elk but it was a nice hike and I was able to see some beautiful birds, insects and wildflowers.   I continued my drive on the Quehanna Highway and followed it for about 5 miles to the Wykoff Run Road. Here I  drove into the M.K.Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural area.

 I began a  hike  on the Big Spring Draft Trail,

which took me through a dense forest of some old and  new growth eastern hemlock trees. The afternoon sunshine barley filtered through the thick hemlock trees creating a magical effect in the dense woodlands.

I soon heard the sound of running water and came to a bridge over the Wykuff Run creek.

Here,  under the shade of the hemlock trees, and with the moisture from the stream I found  hundreds of mushrooms. They were scattered all along the trail and in the surrounding moss covered understory of the trees.  There were many different species growing in the green moss along the trial.I had never seen this many mushrooms on a hike before.  The most common were hundreds of painted bolete (suillus spraguei)that only grow in conifer forests.  I would see hundreds more  mushrooms all along the trail on my 2.8 mile hike.

There were also funnel cup,

bicolored bolete,

waxcap,

white coral  fungi

 black trumpet and many other species of mushrooms growing  in the moss along the trail.

The trail continued up a ridge where more conifer trees grew, including  native white pine, red pine, eastern hemlock  and a few invasive Norway spruce trees.

The trail took me through fields of bracken fern. I am not sure if elk would be found in this conifer woodland but I was enjoying the peace, quiet and beauty of the trail.

The trail was narrow and I brushed on the bracken ferns growing along the trail as I walked up a ridge.

Teas berries grew on the ground along the trail. I also this small white flower blooming which I have learned are robin runaway or dewdrop flowers. These native wildflowers bloom in mid Summer. I have never seen them before.

Indian cucumbers which have gone to seed also were growing in  the bracken ferns along the trail.

There was no bird or other wildlife activity in the late aftenoon but I enjoyed my hike through this conifer woodland.

After about a mile I came to an intersection with another trail,  the Ligament Trail which I followed back through a now mixed hardwood and conifer forest.

Here I found fewer mushrooms but two were edible species, corrugated milk caps and

honey mushrooms. Around my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania they are known as stumpers , stumpies or by us Polish and Slavic folks, popinkies.

The trail became wider as it took me down the ridge. And as I approached the Wykuff Run again,

and the soil became more moist , I again found hundreds of mushrooms. In addition to the species I shared earlier I saw, I believe, violet corts,

brittlegill rusulla,

and pigskin posion puffball or common earthstar.   I am no expert in identifying flora and fauna and I rely on my iPhone Apps or Google images so please correct me if I misidentify anything. Here is a link to gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos of the mushrooms, wildflowers and plants I saw on my  hikes.  Quehanna Wild Area- Benezette  flora   August 21 2026.

The trail took me past some ancient paper birch,

and eastern hemlock trees before crosing  a bridge and back  over the Wykoff Run.

And then to my Jeep. It was now late afternoon when I ended my 2. 8 mile hike. I didn’t see any elk but I enjoyed the beautiful of the conifer and oak forest.

I took a slow 15 mile drive on the Quehanna Road , scanning the woodlands along the road for elk. I didn’t see any but it was a nice drive. I passed many hiking trail and natural areas which I hope to explore on future visits to this area.It was almost 6 p.m when I arrived in Benezette, the Elk Capital of Pennsylvania. I already have fallen in love with this tiny town located in the mountains of Northcentral Pennsylvania.

I was hungry and returned to the Benezette Hotel,

where I had the same wholesome meal I did on my last visit. The pleasant waitress remembered me and we talked about life in this small community . I started with a garden salad,

and had fried haddock, mashed potatoes and green beans for my main course,

and, of course, I had to have a slice of the homemade apple pie for dessert.

After eating I drove to the Visitor Center, about one mile away. which was still open. Last time it was closed since I arrived  too late because of my Jeep.

I walked through the many exhibits and learned a lot about the area,

and the elk that made it famous. The native Pennsylvania elk became extinct in the 1860’s. The 1400 elk that live in the Pennsylvania wilds are descendants of the 117 Rocky Mountain elk introduced by conservationists in 1913. There is more information and links to the history of the elk in my previous blogs.

After the Visitor Center closed at 7 p.m I took a short walk along the trail near the viewing areas around the center. There were no elk

and so I drove to the viewing areas around  Winslow Hill, about a mile from the Visitor Center.

 I saw a small crowd of people with cameras and binoculars at the viewing  and I was excited since I knew they had to be  looking at elk,And they were. As I approached the viewing area I saw 18 elk in the fields below, females and calves.

They were the first female and juvenile elk I had seen in Pennsylvania.

They were distant and I couldn’t get any good photos but it was a wonderful experience to se these beautiful animals that roam freely in the woodland of North Central Pennsylvania.Here is a link to gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos of the elk and wildlife  I saw on  my  hikes. Quehanna Wild Area- Benezette  wildlife August 21 2026.

I watched the heard for a while then drove down on Dewy Road. A ranger at the Visitor Center told me the trail at the end of the road, Elk Alley,  would be a good place to look for elk  in the morning. It was still almost a 1/2 drive to my hotel in Saint Marys. I took a slow drive, looking for elk in the fields and woodlands along the way. I arrived around 8 p.m. as the sun  was setting. It was a long day. I had walked over 8 miles and drove over 3 hours. After a long shower I edited some photos and was soon asleep, looking foreward to another day of exploring and hoping to see some elk on my hikes.Here is a link to gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos from my  hikes.  Quehanna Wild Area- Benezette August 21 2026.

“We were meant to explore this earth like children do, unhindered by fear, propelled by curiosity and a sense of discovery. Allow yourself to see the world through new eyes and know there are amazing adventures here for you.” – Laurel Bleadon Maffei