The Batona Trail is a hiking trail through

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Pine Barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

. The trail is one of the longest in the state, behind the

Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail The D&R Canal trail is a recreational trail in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The trail is made up of three segments that transverse three counties: a canal towpath from New Brunswick to Trenton; a canal towpath/ rail trail from Trenton to Bull' ...

, the section of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

within the state, the Liberty-Water Gap Trail, and the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state. The Batona Trail begins in

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly the Lebanon State Forest) is a state forest in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Its protected acreage is split between Burlington and Ocean Counties. Description The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest is the ...

(formerly Lebanon State Forest) at the ghost town of

Ong's Hat Ong's Hat is one of the earliest Internet-based secret history conspiracy theories. It was created as a piece of collaborative fiction by four core individuals, dating back to the 1980s, although the membership propagating the tale changed over ...

and traverses Franklin Parker Preserve,

Wharton State Forest Wharton State Forest is the largest state forest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey, encompassing approximately of the Pinelands northeast of Hammonton. Its protected ...

and

Bass River State Forest Bass River State Forest is a state park in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park, named for the Bass River which crosses through it, shelters a portion of the environmentally sensitive Pine Barrens but also provides a variety of rec ...

. The trail was built in 1961 by the Batona Hiking Club, which began informally in 1928 when

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

ns began meeting regularly to hike. It takes about three days to hike the whole trail.

History

In 1960, Dale Knapschafer suggested a trail be built linking Wharton and Lebanon State Forests. The next year, Batona Hiking Club (Batona being a condensed form of the phrase, "BAck TO NAture") president Morris Bardock contacted the Department of Conservation and Economic Development in New Jersey for permission to construct such a trail. After receiving permission from the state, Morris Bardock and Walter Korszniak made exploratory trips to figure out a route in the winter and spring of 1961 for the future trail. Through the help of volunteers, the first of the trail were completed over the summer, and the final pink blaze was painted on a tree near

New Jersey Route 70 Route 70 is a state highway located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It extends from an interchange with Route 38 in Pennsauken Township, Camden County to an intersection with Route 34 and Route 35 in Wall Township, Monmouth County. Route ...

in Lebanon State Forest on September 16, 1961. Bardock chose pink blazes for the Batona Trail. The trail originally connected Carpenter Spring in Lebanon State Forest (now Brendan T. Byrne State Forest) and Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest. At this time Batsto (''batstu'' meaning "bath place" in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

) was being developed by the state and continued to be inhabited by a few people. More recently the trail has been extended In 2012 the trail was rerouted in two areas. The first was in Bass River State Forest, which is the southernmost part of the trail. The second area is around Chatsworth. Both of the rerouted sections go through quieter areas and bypass paved roads and power lines where the trail originally ran. The Chatsworth section puts the trail through the northern section of th
Franklin Parker Preserve
Both of these reroutings have added about to the overall trail length.

Flora and fauna

Although the Pine Barrens, as the name suggests, are mainly flat pine forests, there is a large variety of plants and animals along the trail. The pines include, primarily, pitch pine (''

Pinus rigida ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

''), and shortleaf pine (''

Pinus echinata ''Pinus echinata'', the shortleaf pine, is a species of pine native to the southeastern United States. Description The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. The tree reaches heights of with a ...

''). White pine (''

Pinus strobus ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lake ...

'') and loblolly pine (''

Pinus taeda ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. ...

'') typically occur only where deliberately planted, and Virginia pine (''

Pinus virginiana ''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, Possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. The ...

'') is sporadic, usually in atypical areas. The most common vegetation community type in uplands is Pine/Oak Forest, composed of the typical pines and various oaks (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'' spp.), with an understory of ericacious shrubs, mainly huckleberries (''

Gaylussacia ''Gaylussacia'' is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to the Americas, where they occur in eastern North America and in South America in the Andes and the mountains of southeastern Brazil (the majo ...

'' spp.). The wetlands are typically stands of Atlantic white cedar (''

Chamaecyparis thyoides ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...

''), or mixed hardwood swamps mainly composed of red maple (''

Acer rubrum ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

''), black gum (''

Nyssa sylvatica ''Nyssa sylvatica'', commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and e ...

''), gray birch (''

Betula populifolia ''Betula populifolia'' (gray or grey birch) is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. Range It ranges from southeastern Ontario east to Nova Scotia, and south to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with disjunct populations in Indiana, Vi ...

''), swamp magnolia (''

Magnolia virginiana ''Magnolia virginiana'', most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, white bay, or beaver tree), is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae. It was the first magnolia to be ...

''), and highbush blueberry (''

Vaccinium corymbosum ''Vaccinium corymbosum'', the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from ...

''). Another very common wetland forest is the Pitch Pine Lowland, which is dominated by pitch pine, but may include a wide variety of the other wetland species. Another common tree seen along the trail is the sassafras (''

Sassafras albidum ''Sassafras albidum'' (sassafras, white sassafras, red sassafras, or silky sassafras) is a species of ''Sassafras'' native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern T ...

''). There are a number of wild edibles, such as berries from bearberry (''

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is a plant species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos'' widely distributed across Circumboreal Region, circumboreal regions of the subarctic Northern Hemisphere. Kinnikinnick (First Nations in Canada, First Nations for "smo ...

''), teaberry (''

Gaultheria procumbens ''Gaultheria procumbens'', also called the eastern teaberry, the checkerberry, the boxberry, or the American wintergreen, is a species of ''Gaultheria'' native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and sou ...

''), huckleberry (''Gaylussacia'' spp.), blackberry (''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...

'' spp.), cranberry (''

Vaccinium macrocarpon ''Vaccinium macrocarpon'' (also called large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry) is a North American species of cranberry of the subgenus '' Oxycoccus'' and genus ''Vaccinium''. The name cranberry, comes from shape of the flower stam ...

''), and blueberry (''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...

'' spp.); young shoots from briers (''

Smilax ''Smilax'' is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering ...

'' spp.); and acorns from oaks. There is a diverse range of other plants, to include a wide variety of shrubs, grasses, sedges, rushes, ferns, mosses, and herbaceous wildflowers. Notable plants that may be seen along the trail include wild orchids; carnivorous plants such as the sundews (''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genus, genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucil ...

'' spp.), the pitcher plant (''

Sarracenia purpurea ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Description Like other species of ''Sarracenia'', ''S. purpurea'' obtains most ...

''), and the bladderworts (''

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

'' spp.); and the prickly pear cactus (''

Opuntia humifusa ''Opuntia humifusa'', commonly known as the devil's-tongue, Eastern prickly pear or Indian fig, is a cactus of the genus ''Opuntia'' present in parts of the eastern United States. Description As is the case in other ''Opuntia'' species, the gr ...

''). 39 species of mammals, 229 bird species, 59 reptile and amphibian species, and 91 fish species have been reported within the broad area of the Pinelands National Reserve. The number of native species, however, found in truly characteristic Pine Barrens, is much lower. Possums, chipmunks, squirrels, beavers, muskrats, mice, foxes, raccoons, weasels, mink, river otter, and white-tailed deer are some of the more common mammals seen in the Pinelands. Commonly seen amphibians include the green frog, leopard frog, carpenter frog, and the Fowler's toad. Common reptiles include the northern water snake, pine snake, hognose snake, eastern garter snake, northern fence lizard, eastern painted turtle, red-bellied turtle, spotted turtle, musk turtle, and snapping turtle. The only venomous snake in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is the

timber rattlesnake The timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, or banded rattlesnake (''Crotalus horridus'') Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of ...

, which is a state-listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. The

Pine Barrens tree frog The Pine Barrens tree frog (''Dryophytes andersonii'') is a species of New World tree frog. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Physical characteristics ''Dryophytes andersonii'', only about long, is one of the smaller species of tree fro ...

, a state-listed

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

, has a population here that is disconnected from other populations in

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

and the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

. The Pine Barrens location makes it the fringe of both northern and southern species, such as the yellow fringed orchid.

Events

The Annual Fall Endurance Run/Walk on the Batona Trail is generally held the first weekend in November.

Batona Trail Races

An annual

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

event has been held running varying distances of the Batona Trail since 2014. What originally started as a "fat ass" style (no entry fee) event became more structured in 2019 whe
Beast Coast Productions, LLC
began managing the event.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest) has more than of blazed trails, including its section of the Batona Trail. The system of trails includes trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, mountain biking, and wheelchair accessible trails. The Batona Trail in this park permits hiking, cross-country skiing, and snow shoeing. The Batona Trail intersects with other trails in the park, allowing visitors to create various loops for day hikes. The Batona Trail through Byrne State Forest is maintained by the State Park Service and the Batona Hiking Club.

Wharton State Forest

The portion of the Batona Trail through Wharton State Forest is maintained by the State Park Service and the Batona (BAck TO NAture) Hiking Club.

Carranza Memorial

The Batona Trail passes the Carranza Memorial within Wharton State Forest. There is a monument dedicated to Captain Aviator

Emilio Carranza Captain Emilio Carranza Rodríguez (December 9, 1905 – July 12, 1928), was a noted Mexican aviator and national hero, nicknamed the " Lindbergh of Mexico". He was killed on the return part of a historic goodwill flight from Mexico City to the ...

, whose plane crashed here on July 13, 1928. Carranza was born in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1905 and began flying at a young age, after fighting against the

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Stat ...

in the Yaqui rebellion. At age 22, he made the third longest non-stop flight. Carranza crashed in the pinelands of

Tabernacle, New Jersey Tabernacle Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 6,776, a decrease of 173 (−2.5%) from the 2010 census count of 6,949, which in turn ...

, along what is now known as Carranza Road, while returning from a good-will flight to the United States from Mexico. Every year a ceremony is held on July 13 to remember Emilio Carranza's life and achievements.

Apple Pie Hill

Apple Pie Hill Apple Pie Hill (also known as Petty Coat Pile) is a hill in Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. It is tall, making it one of the highest points of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. A fire tower stands atop the summit, offering view ...

is the highest point along the trail at above sea level. The hill sports a

fire tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a " fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...

at the summit, providing impressive panoramic views across the region and making it a popular destination.

Bass River State Forest

There is a system of eight additional trails in the state forest that connect to the Batona Trail. The Batona Trail through Bass River State Forest is maintained by the State Park Service, the Outdoor Club of South Jersey and the Batona Hiking Club.

References

{{New Jersey hiking trails Protected areas of Burlington County, New Jersey Hiking trails in New Jersey Protected areas of the Pine Barrens (New Jersey) Long-distance trails in the United States