Bass River State Forest

This state forest is known for its 'Pygmy Forests', where trees consistently grow to less than four feet in height, as well as for its dense cedar forests and associated ecosystems.

Bass River State Forest is like the core of the New Jersey Pinelands. Like the part of an apple you would not eat, or the pit of a cherry, or the guts. It is the central, yet most remote and unbothered State Forest. This place offers little forgiveness to novice and pretentious visitors and should be left for experts and experienced explorers. One could easily get lost in the middle of nowhere.

Deep within Pine Barrens, this vast yet patchwork State Forest encompasses uplands and wetlands, including cedar and mixed hardwood stands. Although it is almost untouched, the New Jersey Pine Barrens would lack an integral part of its ecosystem without it. Existing yet overgrown trails make up the forest’s internal nervous system of dying connections of what used to be accessible paths. Unmarked trails become obscured by vegetation, creating a challenge for navigators. Aside from prominent, mapped dirt roads, this has little to do with civilization.

Bass River north swamp When we finally get rain after a long drought Tree carcass in swamp

Will the water consume the trees or will the trees make their comeback and consume the swamp

Lone tree in an unknown location

Aftermath of a storm after a long drought

When a whole forest comes crashing down

A Ghost City

Just like if a city were to become uninhabited, where everything just disappeared or died, an area's ecosystem can also fade away. A dead cedar forest just stands there. The water still surrounds it.

Dead cedar forest in a remaining pond

Hollow area with only grass and stumps

Wading River

Water nears the bay through which it has passed through the pine barrens, and this is where it ends up. Water has traveled through hundreds of thousands of acres consisting of cedar and hardwood wetland forests.