For future residents of Hammonton, we’ve included some information about living near Wharton State Forest here from local star Realtor Jay Galante. Living near a state forest offers opportunities to get closer to nature in a variety of ways, including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking. With Wharton State Forest, residents in the area can have their pick of how to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

About Living Near Wharton State Forest

Wharton State Forest is the largest state forest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Encompassing approximately 122,880 acres of the Pinelands northeast of Hammonton, it is the largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey. It is also the site of Batsto Village – a former bog iron and glassmaking industrial center from 1766 to 1867.

Several nature trails offer the opportunity to observe pitcher plants, sphagnum moss, and lichen with a red head. Nearby, the Batona Trail can be combined with sand roads for a variety of hikes. A 12-mile circular hike begins by following village trails up the east side of Batsto Lake. The red, blue, and white trails offer views of the lake. Another hike from Batsto is to Atsion, about ten miles northwest.

The southeast area of the state forest, around Evans Bridge on County 563 features great hiking opportunities. You can find the site of Washington, a former Pinelands town down the sand roads, west of Evans Bridge, with a stone ruin that stands in the middle of the woods.

You can find the ruins of Harrisville on the Oswego River southeast of Evans Bridge, where a paper mill once stood, and a little further upriver is the site of Martha, an iron town of which almost no traces remain.

Some of the wildlife you can expect to see include: bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, marsh hawks, ospreys, great blue herons, hummingbirds, purple martins, goldfinch, turkeys, beavers, river otters, fox, swans, screech owls, great-horned owls, bluebirds, and deer.

Jay Galante is your area Realtor and can help you find out more about living in the region, and what living in South Jersey has to offer. To learn more about what living Wharton State Forest is like, contact Jay  today.