Batona Trail

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Batso NJ

The Park

The Batona Trail is a wilderness trail that begins at Ongs Hat to the north and ends at Lake Absegami in Bass River State Forest. The original 30 miles of the Batona Trail were routed and cleared through white cedar and pitch pine forests by volunteers in 1961. Today the total length of the trail is 50.2 miles with many road crossings that make different lengths of canine hikes possible. The distinctive pink blazes on the Batona Trail were selected by Morris Burdock, then president of the Batona Hiking Club and chief advocate for the building of the trail.

The Walks

The Batona Trail is easy walking on paw-friendly sand for most of its length. Despite the over-whelming flatness of the surrounding countryside, there are undulating elevation changes on the trail itself. Any dog could walk end to end with no problem, if that was the goal. The high point on the trail is Apple Pie Hill, soaring 209 feet above sea level (there is a fire tower you can scale - the steps are too open for dogs - and literally scan the east-to-west entirety of New Jersey from Atlantic City to Philadelphia). A superb canine hike is the four-mile walk here from the Carranza Memorial. For the most part, however, there are no vistas beyond what you see around you - cedar swamps and millions of pine trees. In season wild blueberries and huckleberries can be gobbled along the trail.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Packed sand roads and sandy soil

Workout For Your Dog - Long walks on sandy will do the trick

Swimming - The route of the trail is well-lubricated by tea-colored streams and an occasional pond

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

Mexico’s greatest aviator, Emilio Carranza Rodriguez, crashed and died in the Pine Barrens in 1928. A memorial, paid for with pennies collected by schoolchildren, marks the location of his death, along the Batona Trail.

Phone - None

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - The trail runs through Lebanon, Wharton and Bass River State Forests where information on finding a parking lot can be found. Some commonly used starting points are on Routes 563 at Evans Bridge, 542 at Batsto Village at Route 72 at Four Mile.

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