State Forest

Bass River State Forest

Burlington & Ocean Counties County, New JerseyAbout 32,926 acres

Status: Open (per official listing)Daily sunrise – sunset
Entrance fee: Not posted
Day-use reservations: None mentioned
Dogs: Not stated — check with park
Camping: YesAlso cabins
Official site: dep.nj.gov(609) 296-1114

Official page last checked Oct 29, 2026. How we keep this current

Overview

In Burlington & Ocean Counties County, about 14 miles north of Absecon, Bass River State Forest covers about 32,926 acres.

Visitors come for horseback riding, hunting in season, boating, biking, and picnicking. On the water side, there is a swimming beach and a boat ramp. For overnight stays there are 4 camping areas (tent sites, group camping, and showers). There are also cabins for rent.

Hours

Park, gate, office and facility hours are listed separately because they often differ. Alerts above override normal hours.

Facility	Days	Hours	Season
Park	Daily	sunrise – sunset	—

Official wording

open dawn to dusk

Source: official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Times are local to the park (America/New York).

Camping

Campground or site type	Sites	Price
South Shore Campground Year-round	—	—
Lean Tos	—	—
Group Area Campground	—	—
North Shore Campground April 1 to Oct 31	—	—

Camping details from the park

South Shore Campground

Lean Tos

Group Area Campground

North Shore Campground

From the official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Site counts and prices can change; confirm when booking.

Cabins and lodging

Shelter: 1 unit
Count of mapped points in the State Park Service points-of-interest inventory
Cabins: 1 unit
Count of mapped points in the State Park Service points-of-interest inventory

Shelter: Shelters

Cabins: Cabins

Things to do

BoatingCampingPicnickingHuntingHikingBikingHorseback riding

Trails

Trail	Length	Difficulty	Notes
Batona Trail	7.02 mi	Moderate	Blaze: PinkHikingLoose Aggregate surface
CCC Trail	3.93 mi	Easy to Moderate / Easy	Blaze: OrangeHikingBikingHorseback ridingDirt/Sand surface
Poppy Allen Trail	3.12 mi	Easy	Blaze: YellowHikingBikingHorseback ridingSand, Dirt/Sand surface
Falkinburg Trail	3.04 mi	Easy	Blaze: PurpleHikingBikingHorseback ridingDirt/Sand surface
Nisky Trail	1.7 mi	Easy	Blaze: GreenHikingBikingHorseback ridingSand, Dirt/Sand surface
Creek (Loop) Trail	0.99 mi	Moderate	Blaze: RedHikingGrass surface
Joe's Trail	0.65 mi	Easy	Blaze: BrownHikingSand surface
South Shore Trail	0.62 mi	Easy	Blaze: RedHikingDirt/Sand surface
North Shore Trail	0.56 mi	Easy	Blaze: BlueHikingDirt/Sand surface
Forest (Loop) Trail	0.55 mi	Easy	Blaze: GreenHikingGrass surface
Connector Trail	0.5 mi	Easy	Blaze: Lt BrownHikingSand surface
Absegami Trail	0.37 mi	Easy	Blaze: GrayHikingGravel surface
Field (Loop) Trail	0.36 mi	Moderate	Blaze: YellowHikingGrass surface
Connector - CCC Memorial, CCC Trail	0.03 mi	Easy	Blaze: UnmarkedHikingDirt/Sand surface

Trail descriptions from the park

Batona Trail – 7.02 mi – Moderate – hiking

CCC Trail – 3.93 mi – Easy to Moderate / Easy – hiking/biking/horseback riding

Poppy Allen Trail – 3.12 mi – Easy – hiking/biking/horseback riding

Falkinburg Trail – 3.04 mi – Easy – hiking/biking/horseback riding

Nisky Trail – 1.7 mi – Easy – hiking/biking/horseback riding

Creek (Loop) Trail – 0.99 mi – Moderate – hiking

Joe's Trail – 0.65 mi – Easy – hiking

South Shore Trail – 0.62 mi – Easy – hiking

North Shore Trail – 0.56 mi – Easy – hiking

Forest (Loop) Trail – 0.55 mi – Easy – hiking

Connector Trail – 0.5 mi – Easy – hiking

Absegami Trail – 0.37 mi – Easy – hiking

Field (Loop) Trail – 0.36 mi – Moderate – hiking

Connector - CCC Memorial, CCC Trail – 0.03 mi – Easy – hiking

Swimming

Swimming status: Off Season

Opening date TBD

Amenities

Facilities

Restrooms
Showers
Picnic areas
Picnic shelters
Playground
Visitor center
Nature center or museum
Park or camp store
Parking
Group facilities

Water

Swimming beach
Boat ramp

Camping

Tent camping
Group camping

Lodging

Cabins

Recreation

Horse trails

✓ listed by the park · ✕ the park says it is not available. Anything not shown here isn’t mentioned by the official source — that means unknown, not unavailable.

Getting there

Address: 762 Stage Road
New Gretna, NJ 08224
Nearest town: Absecon — about 14 mi north (straight line)
Coordinates: 39.6211, -74.4226
Phone: (609) 296-1114

Entrances

Park Entrance
Park Entrance

Google Maps directions Apple Maps Official park map (PDF)

Nearby state parks

Penn State Forest

8.6 mi northwest (straight line)

Warren Grove Recreation Area

9.3 mi north (straight line)

Wharton State Forest

12 mi west (straight line)

Carranza Memorial Historic Site

15.5 mi northwest (straight line)

Absecon Lighthouse Historic Site

17.6 mi south (straight line)

Atsion Recreation Area

18.2 mi northwest (straight line)

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park

19.5 mi northeast (straight line)

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

20.6 mi northwest (straight line)

Sources and freshness

New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites — park page — last checked Oct 29, 2026; page says updated Oct 8, 2026
NJDEP Open Space (State Owned) Facility layer, filtered to LAND_MANAGER 'State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites' with a FACILITY_URL park page
USGS PAD-US 4.1 (boundary and acreage)

“Last checked” is when our system last read the official source. No change has been detected since this page was first published. Hours, fees and rules can change without notice — confirm with the park before you go. Methodology

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