Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Jersey / Pine Barrens

Batona Trail

Brendan T. Byrne, Wharton, and Bass River State Forests

The Batona Trail runs across the New Jersey Pine Barrens through three state forests: Brendan T. Byrne, Wharton, and Bass River. The state’s Wharton brochure lists it at 53 miles, pink-blazed, through the heart of the Pinelands. It’s flat, sandy, and quiet, and it’s one of the few places in New Jersey where backpacking is allowed off the Appalachian Trail; the NY-NJ Trail Conference says backpack camping is generally prohibited in New Jersey parks, with the Batona and the AT as the exceptions.

Camping is only at designated campgrounds, with a permit, so most hikers plan it as a three- or four-day trip from one campground to the next.

The hike

The state trail map counts 50 miles from Ong’s Hat in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest south to Coal Road in Bass River State Forest. In its mileages, the trail passes the Lebanon fire tower at 4.7 miles and Pakim Pond at 8.0, then crosses Route 72. South Jersey Trails, which has hiked the whole trail four times between 2011 and 2023, says a newer 7.2-mile reroute through the Franklin Parker Preserve replaced an old road walk between Route 72 and Route 532, crossing bogs and swamps on bridges.

Apple Pie Hill sits at 15.1 miles on the map. The same writer says the fire tower is fenced and open only when staffed during high fire danger, and that on a clear day the view reaches Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Batona Camp comes at 18.7 miles, followed closely by the Carranza Memorial. South Jersey Trails notes a sharp right turn back into the woods after the Skit Branch bridge that’s easy to miss.

The Lower Forge turnoff is at 24.5 miles and Quaker Bridge at 25.5. From there the trail heads south, crossing the Batsto River swamps, to Batsto Village at 31.6 miles, where South Jersey Trails picks up its camping permits and fills water. The Buttonwood Hill turnoff comes at 35.0 miles, then Evans Bridge near the Wading River at 40.8 and Martha Bridge, near the site of Martha Furnace, at 42.8, before the trail ends in Bass River State Forest.

The writer describes the terrain as pine forest, cedar swamp, sand roads, and rivers, and rates it 8 of 10 for difficulty. Blazes “sometimes disappear,” the same writer says, though the Outdoor Club of South Jersey has improved them. In 2016, a group did the whole trail in two days; the writer’s verdict: “53 miles is a lot of miles, but what an easy hiking!”

For a shorter Wharton overnight that connects to the Batona near Quaker Bridge, see the Mullica River Trail.

Tips

Camping

The state trail map says camping is allowed only at designated campsites, a valid permit must be displayed at the site, and the trail is for hiking only. It lists three Wharton campgrounds on the trail (Batona Camp, Lower Forge, and Buttonwood Hill) and campgrounds near the trail in Brendan T. Byrne and Bass River State Forests.

The state’s maps say Lower Forge is hike-in or paddle-in only, with up to six people and two tents per site, a pit toilet, and no potable water. Batona Camp allows up to six people and two tents per site plus a group site for 15, with potable water and pit toilets; South Jersey Trails notes it’s reachable by car and counts 12 sites in 2018. Buttonwood Hill, about a mile off the trail, has five sites, no water, and some road noise, according to the same writer. Pets must be registered, alcohol is prohibited, and trash must be carried out.

Inside Intel: South Jersey Trails calls Lower Forge its favorite camp on the trail, on the Batsto River, “the most isolated campsite on the trail,” with swimming possible in good weather. It filtered water from the river, since the next pump is about six miles north at Batona Camp.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Sandy sites at Lower Forge:

The Batona is flat and sandy, and Lower Forge allows two tents per site. Our side-sleeper tips include wider pads, and checking that a wider pad still fits your tent.

See the tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.