Monthly hikes on Batona Trail to begin April 16

Photo via Panoramio
The Batona Trail ends at the Bass River State Forest.

Get “BAck TO NAture” with volunteer master naturalist Kathy Gardiner during this year’s “Wednesday Walk-in-the-Woods” series of monthly hikes. The walks will cover the entire 52-mile Batona Trail, in sections, starting from Ong’s Hat near Brendan T. Byrne State Forest and finishing at Bass River State Forest, the first forest acquired by the state in 1905 for public recreation, water conservation and wildlife and timber management.

An approximate 10-mile hike from the Evans Bridge area will take place on Wednesday, April 16. Participants who want to carpool may meet at the Bass River State Forest office parking lot at 762 Stage Rd. in Tuckerton, at 8 a.m. Anyone interested in registering and/or meeting the group at the starting point may contact Gardiner at 609-296-6574. Hikers should bring lunch and a drink, and be prepared for mostly flat walking.

The last Batona hike will take place on May 7. A wildflower walk is scheduled for May 28. Events are canceled in the case of severe weather.

For more information, visit the N.J. Division of Parks and Forestry website at state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.