We’ve got a lot in New Jersey, but one thing we’re short on is truly remote locations. If you’re looking for seclusion and isolation, you may have trouble finding it here – but it is possible. We may be the most densely populated state in the U.S. but we’ve got a state forest that’s truly spectacular.
Wharton State Forest is the largest tract of land in the New Jersey State Parks System.
Flickr/Julie Feinstein It comes in at over 122,000 acres. Compare that to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park’s 32 acres.
The park is located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Flickr/Matt Swern The Pine Barrens were so named because it believed their land was infertile. While the soil is sandy and acidic, the land supports a wide variety of plant life.
The Pine Barrens are home to a very special water source.
Flickr/Alexis Lewis The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer has some of the purest water in the United States. Because of this and other factors, the government protected 1.1 million acres of pinelands as the first National Reserve.
Being the largest park in this already remote location, Wharton State Forest has some immensely secluded areas.
Wikipedia/Famartin Head to Apple Pie Hill (the highest point in the Pine Barrens) and see nothing but trees for miles.
Outdoor Activities are abundant at Wharton State Forest.
Flickr/Julie Fienstein Hike, hunt, boat, fish, ski (cross-country), swim, horseback ride and more. Explore as much as you can, and don’t miss the beautiful bodies of water along the way.
You’ll love watching the sun set over the lake or kayaking along the river.
Wikipedia/Mwanner The Batsto and Mullica Rivers are so scenic, Goshen Pond and Atsion Lake so peaceful.
The park has many other attractions.
Flickr/Carly Schwartz You’ll find ghost towns and historic villages including Atsion and Batsto. Batsto is a popular tourist attraction with preserved and restored historic buildings. The area has more ghost towns than much of the wild west as settlements sprung up around mines and mills and then died away. The Carranza Memorial marks the site of a plane crash and you’ll find numerous cranberry bogs around Hammonton.
What’s your favorite remote location in the Garden State? Let us know in the comments.
Flickr/Julie Feinstein
It comes in at over 122,000 acres. Compare that to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park’s 32 acres.
Flickr/Matt Swern
The Pine Barrens were so named because it believed their land was infertile. While the soil is sandy and acidic, the land supports a wide variety of plant life.
Flickr/Alexis Lewis
The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer has some of the purest water in the United States. Because of this and other factors, the government protected 1.1 million acres of pinelands as the first National Reserve.
Wikipedia/Famartin
Head to Apple Pie Hill (the highest point in the Pine Barrens) and see nothing but trees for miles.
Flickr/Julie Fienstein
Hike, hunt, boat, fish, ski (cross-country), swim, horseback ride and more. Explore as much as you can, and don’t miss the beautiful bodies of water along the way.
Wikipedia/Mwanner
The Batsto and Mullica Rivers are so scenic, Goshen Pond and Atsion Lake so peaceful.
Flickr/Carly Schwartz
You’ll find ghost towns and historic villages including Atsion and Batsto. Batsto is a popular tourist attraction with preserved and restored historic buildings. The area has more ghost towns than much of the wild west as settlements sprung up around mines and mills and then died away. The Carranza Memorial marks the site of a plane crash and you’ll find numerous cranberry bogs around Hammonton.
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