Bass River State Forest - Your Passport to Adventure - Tuckerton, NJ
N 39° 37.259 W 074° 25.363
18S E 549548 N 4385850
Bass River State Forest was the first forest acquired by the state of NJ in 1905 for public recreation, water conservation, and wildlife and timber management. The CCC boys in the 30s were responsible for the building and construction of the park.
Waymark Code: WM7REB
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2009
Views: 6
Passport Program Information
The NJ Parks and Forests Service came out with a passport book for collecting stamps for visiting a select sampling of our states parks, forests and historic sites. Many fine places did not make the list but many beautiful and culturally important sites did make the list so I suppose it all evens out in the end. The passport book is divided into 3 sections, north, central and south Jersey. This stamp and Bass River State Forest represent the second listing for the Southern N.J. section. If it was not for the release of a puzzle cache a few years ago and my obsession at the time for first to finds, I would never have visited all 24 sites of central and southern NJ. The puzzle cache is called Passport To Adventure (South Jersey Challenge) and can be found HERE. The stamp and the passport books are free. To find out more about our fabulous passport program please visit HERE. The stamp for this park features Lake Absegami, a 67-acre lake created in the 1930's. It is the center of the forest's recreational activities and provides an area for swimming and a serene setting for boating and canoeing. A trail through the Absegami Natural Area wanders through a pine/oak woods and a small Atlantic white cedar bog
Bass River State Forest Information
The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. The 3,830-acre West Pine Plains Natural Area is a globally rare stunted forest ecosystem, known locally as the Pygmy Forest. It preserves a portion of the pine plains, and supports an extensive forest of pine and oak trees that reach a canopy height of as little as four feet at maturity. New Jersey contains the largest area of this forest type in the world. The forest supports the endangered broom crowberry and twelve rare species of moth.
Fishing, hunting, horseback riding, swimming and boating (electric motors only) are available. There is a large, developed campground, primitive group campsite, shelters and cabins. The fifty-mile (80 km) Batona Trail passes through Bass River State Forest as well as nearby Wharton State Forest and Brendan T. Byrne State Forest.
"Right on this road into Bass River State Forest, 2.3 m., a 10,000-acre tract with excellent deer and duck hunting in season. In Bass River Forest is the remnant of a beaver colony that sought shelter in an abandoned cranberry bog where they found a broken dam once used to flood the bog. They replaced its ruined gate and made a lake of 7 acres." --- New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past, 1939; page 560
Lake Absegami, a 67-acre lake created in the 1930's, is the center of the forest's recreational activities and provides an area for swimming and a serene setting for boating and canoeing. A trail through the Absegami Natural Area wanders through a pine/oak woods and a small Atlantic white cedar bog
Personal Anecdote
I have visited this park many many times to geocache and participate in other activities and events. There are many wonderful geocaches to be found here. There is an excellent welcome/nature center where you can find out all manner if information and add a stamp to your NJ Parks Booklet if you are a collector (which I am!). There is a firemen memorial across from the welcome center. The Batona trail runs about 50 miles or so through this forest. (Ba - Back to Na - Nature). There is also a pretty decent self guided nature trail which loops through this wetland forest. Canoeing, kayaking, camping, hiking, running, picnicking, hunting and swimming are all available here.
Location:
Burlington and Ocean Counties
762 Stage Road
Mailing Address:
762 Stage Rd
Tuckerton, NJ 08087
(609) 296-1114
Size: 27,635 acres
Fees: Entrance fees are only charged from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
$ 5.00 weekdays
$10.00 weekends
$ 2.00 walk-in/bicycle
For more information, click HERE.