Wharton State Forest

Intermediate level only due to the 19 mile length of the orange trail. It's a scenic ride through Wharton State Forest. I will definitely be going back to ride it in the opposite direction. Truly enjoyable. Pack enough water and some snacks with some friends for an awesome day!

As advertised. Flat, some tight turns Singletracks. We did the orange loop. No surprises.

When the weather is crap and you don't want to ruin your local trails - head out to Batsto Trails at Wharton State Forest in Hammonton New Jersey. These trails are hard packed sand and are the perfect way to get in a good workout as there is virtually no elevation change, but you are almost never coasting - so it's a slow burn. Speakign of burn- there was a terrible forest fire here this past summer, but luckily they got it under control. The only thing technical you'll find back here is tight turns and tree squeezes. These trees get even the best of us! There are two main loops to choose from 9 miles or 19 miles, and once you commit- you're stuck. there are no off chutes or other ways back to the lot. There are heated bathrooms and a visitors center here where you can check out the historical Batsto tours.

Trails were reopened in Oct 2017. The trails are located in the Pinelands of NJ and are very beginner friendly. The main trail is an 18 m loop on flat terrain winding through the pinelands forest. While you can really push the pace on this trail it is very narrow in sections and has plenty of tight twisty areas where you can easily clip your bars on a tree at speed if you are not careful. From late spring through summer the trail can get badly overgrown and you've got to be very careful about ticks and other bugs. The trails can also be a bit sandy in the summer as well. But because of the sandy base the trail drains really well after rain. Best riding conditions in the winter.

As of 7/31/17 all bike trails in this area are CLOSED due to a "Forest Fire Advisory." Check this website for trail status: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/wharton.html

I think I reiterate what many have said here already, and thank you to the folks who already posted, since these posts led me to chose this trail while passing through your state. I made the mistake of parking at the Atsion area with the goal of linking up to the orange trail that originates at Batsto. The sandy roads and unnamed trails are not that great as people have written here. But the 19 mile orange trail is a ton of fun! It is a packed single track bike trail, narrow in many spots, pretty flat and twisty so lots of fun. Pretty easy with nothing really technical except for the turns and some logs. Great for a beginner but a seasoned rider could blast through it and leave there exhausted as well. If you are training for a hilly technical event, you won't want to do all of your riding here. If you are looking to just lose yourself in the woods and crank out some miles, this is a good place. I didn't see anyone mention but the Batsto area does charge $5 to park in season. Definitely ride from Batsto and nowhere else, or you are likely to get bogged down in sand or overgrown brush and get frustrated like several posters here. Stick to the marked BIKE trails like the 19 mile orange one. Be careful crossing the fire roads. The trail is for bikers but motorbikes can use some of the dirt roads this trail crosses. And beware, like anywhere, of riders going in the opposite direction. The trail is very narrow and winds a lot, so keep your head up.

I rode the full orange trail counter clockwise. If you enjoy smashing your knuckles against trees constantly and bushwhacking pine trees for more than half of the ride, this place is for you. Horribly overgrown, with lots of sand in the beginning and end of the trail. Almost no elevation to speak of as well. The only real enjoyable section was the burned down forest, where the trail is actually somewhat clear of bushes. Wait till winter or you'll have a sad time here.

Best trails around for a long uninterrupted ride in SJ, in the winter when it isn't overgrown. In the height of the summer it gets too closed off to be much fun (not to mention the ticks).

Great place to ride after a rain. very fast and flat. trail surface drains exceptionally well. there's an opportunity to log a lot of miles here by combining the loops, the only problem is that there's no elevation or technical riding so it gets pretty repetitive 20 miles in. I live in Philly and Batsto is a good option when most other trails are unrideable. I wouldn't make the trip if conditions elsewhere are rideable (if I'm gonna drive an hour, I'll go to white clay, Valley Forge, Nox, or Marsh Creek before here).

yo..you know how you meet someone and have a great time with them and then all you think about i the next time you get to be with them all the stuff youre going to do to them? thats this place. rode here this morning and loved it. tight curvey switchback singletrack cut into a scenic forest. i did green to blue trails because i didnt have time to do the whole orange trail, but ill be back there asap to ride orange...pack extar water and a powerbar, youre going to be here for a long ride

Some parts of the trail aren't marked very well. A little sandy and a bit overgrown. Some parts of the trail are only about 1-2 feet wide so it's easy to get hit by sticker bushes.

Don't know why they call this a beginner trail. It's tight, twisty and long. 18 miles of anything will kick your butt! Note that the 30 miles is a combination of several trails, with 18 mile loop the longest. It is overgrown during the Summer with lots of ticks (found another one this morning). The trail is clearly marked and is a pretty fun ride. I will wait for the fall to try this one again though.

This was my first time at Wharton and I was riding s Specialized Fatboy Expert. Pretty tight single track at Wharton but a lot of fun once you start reading the trail. The conditions were cold but the trail was hardpack and dry. Rode the orange trail and cannot wait to ride again

Really fun beginner trail, I highly recommend. Twisty and tight, but there are some sections where you can go really fast. Has about 5-6 obstacles that are good challenges for a beginner but with clear paths to go around them. Mostly dry and packed trail, only a few sections have sand in them, and those are generally at the intersections. No rocks at all. Only a few roots that are very manageable. Orange loop is flat. The white & red has slight elevation, but is still really flat overall. Trail is well-marked.

Wharton is the forest, however, Should be titled Batsto trails. Trail head is located at Batsto Historic Village. Jorba maintains these trails and as far as South Jersey goes, this is good solid single track. In fact , you will have a hard time finding any sandy spots at all on the MTB trails at Batsto. It's tight (you will bang knuckles) and twisty with an 18 mile big loop and 8 mile small loop. Starting point is from Batsto village back lot. In summer it can be overgrown in spots and buggy as hell with ticks. In winter its fast flat XC that's dry when most places might be slushy , icy or muddy. If some well made obstacles were made it would be less boring. But zero elevation tends to get monotonous after 10 miles no matter how hard you are hammering so bring a friend or two.

This is a fun place to ride. It has some twisty single track that is well kept. I did the 19 mile orange loop, it got a little boring, might want to bring a friend to make it more fun. Probably one of the best place to ride in South Jersey

good ride. 19 miles. No elevation. Twisty single track through the pine forest. Roots and narrow gaps the main challenges. Not much traffic: none the day i was there. Enjoyable ride

Well,, Well,,, Well,,,, Maryann and I did the Orange Trail which is 19.3 miles..... Sure we did much more technical trails like "Six Mile Reservoir" but the 19.3 mile Orange trail whipped our butts.... Our Quads were extremely tired,,,, we had backaches,,,, had to pull off two ticks on Maryann's legs,,, it was a tiring ride although fairly easy!!!!!

I thought this was a great trail. There are a lot of miles of nice singletrack w/ a lot of tight, twisting turns. Not many obstacles but all the turns made it fun. Well maintained. I didn't think there was a lot of sand at all, some small spots but otherwise it was fine. Wharton has a lot of different trails as it is a huge state park, but as long as you stick to the MTB specific trails you should have a great ride. The trailhead is located at the Batsto parking lot . Avoid the Batona trail, it is a hiking trail that intersects with the Wharton MTB trails, but it is mostly deep sand and for foot traffic only.

This is a pretty nice trail. If I lived closer It would probably be my go to after work ride. I did the orange trail, the 19 miles is flat 99% of the time, mostly twisty, if you are in good shape you can have fun here. There is no sand on the orange trail, this is nothing like allair, this place is way better imo.