New Jersey Pine Barrens/Wharton State Forest

The NJ Pine Barrens/Wharton State Forest have been on my radar for a while now, and I had heard about it the most from my motorcycling hobby side. It’s a popular area to explore in the ADV motorcycling world, in addition to the full size 4x4 hobby. So I was excited when Ben from CORE 4x4 organized a trip out there!

The terrain in Wharton is very interesting, and different than the usual Appalachian terrain the club frequents. The best way to describe it is like driving on the beach, through the forest. The trails are very sandy, and the forest is mostly pine trees, hence the Pine Barrens name.

We camped at the Atsion Family Campground, which is a nice big campground, with plenty of room on the sites for multiple vehicles. It also was along the waterfront, which made for beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

The sandy terrain made for some interesting watery bogs! In areas of large puddles, coupled with the sandy bottom, it occasionally took a little effort to get through them! Matt and Ben got hung up in a couple of spots, but nothing a quick snatch pull didn’t resolve!

We kept wheeling around through the area, with mostly more of the same as far as terrain. The forest changed in a few areas where some recent fires had gone through, making for some very interesting views.

After that, we broke for a quick lunch at Crowley’s Landing, which made for some cool views across the lake! Ben took his daughters out for a restroom break, so I took the opportunity to stretch out for a short nap!

Next we went over to check out a memorial for a fallen Mexican Pilot, and then headed over back to camp. That wrapped up the trip. It was a great time, and thanks again to Ben for organizing!