The words “remote” and “New Jersey” may not normally be heard together but we do have some scenic, secluded spots in our state. North Jersey has a handful but when it comes to isolation, South Jersey does it best. There are a handful of towns with tiny populations and no major attractions for miles…just natural beauty to enjoy. The most remote spot in the Garden State has to be somewhere in the middle of the Pinelands, and we think it’s pretty perfect.
It comes in at over 122,000 acres. Compare that to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park’s 32 acres. Just for reference, High Point State Park comes in at 16,091 acres and Island Beach State Park comes in at 3,003 acres.
The Pine Barrens were so named because it believed their land was infertile. While the soil is sandy and acidic, the land supports a wide variety of plant life. Because the land is not barren, many now refer to the area as the Pine Lands.
The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer has some of the purest water in the United States. Because of this and other factors, the government protected 1.1 million acres of pinelands as the first National Reserve.
Head to Apple Pie Hill (the highest point in the Pine Barrens) and see nothing but trees for miles. The hill comes in at just over 200 feet and features a 60-foot-tall fire tower.
Hike, hunt, boat, fish, ski (cross-country), swim, horseback ride and more. Explore as much as you can, and don’t miss the beautiful bodies of water along the way. One of my favorite spots is the beach at Atsion Lake.
The Batsto and Mullica Rivers are so scenic, Goshen Pond and Atsion Lake are so peaceful, especially outside of summertime.
You’ll find ghost towns and historic villages including Atsion and Batsto. Batsto is a popular tourist attraction with preserved and restored historic buildings. The area has more ghost towns than much of the wild west as settlements sprung up around mines and mills and then died away. The Carranza Memorial marks the site of a plane crash and you’ll find numerous cranberry bogs around Hammonton.
This article was copied from Only In Your State!
