When you decide to camp in New Jersey you will find, with a bit of research, that there are a wide variety of public and private campgrounds from which to choose.  All of these campgrounds will vary as to the amenities they offer and accordingly the price they charge for a nights stay.  Rather than try to delve into all of the camping opportunities New Jersey has to offer at one time, this article will focus on some of the National Park units located in New Jersey and touch slightly on the private sector.

Public campgrounds are those managed by some level of a government agency.  Whether the agency is federal, state or local, the grounds are open to the public and generally present a low cost vacation with limited amenities.  Advanced reservations may or may not be made depending on the campground.  When planning a camping trip, many campers look to our National Parks as their first choice.  Research will show that some of the most treasured and scenic areas of our country are preserved and managed by the National Park Service and sprinkled throughout the nation.

The National Park Service was first established in 1916 under the United States Department of Interior with Franklin Lane as its first Director.  The primary goal, as stated by Lane, was to “faithfully preserve the National Parks in absolutely unimpaired form for the use of future generations as well as those of our own time.”  Today the mission of the Park Service is basically the same.  You will find however, the Park Service now manages “other types of land units” as well as our National Parks.  In New Jersey the land managed by the Park Service falls under some of those “other types of land unites” with names such as National Recreation Areas, National Scenic and Recreational Rivers, National Reserves and National Monuments. 

Some of these areas found in New Jersey are the:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area which contains the Delaware National Scenic River.  This National Recreation Area covers parts of New Jersey as well as Pennsylvania.  Camping in this National Recreation Area is under the control of the New Jersey State Forest and is available at Worthington State Forest as it is located in the middle of the National Recreation Area.  This State Forest has a campground with 69 tent and trailer sites and is open from April1 to December 31.  For further information call (908)841-9575

Gateway National Recreation Area which covers parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County in New Jersey.  The section of this National Recreation Area found in New Jersey is the Sandy Hook Unit.  Although there are no campgrounds within this unit there are many opportunities for boating, canoeing and site seeing with private camping nearby.  For further information call (732)872-5900.

Great Egg Harbor River National Scenic and Recreational River which starts near Berlin, New Jersey and gradually widens as it picks up the waters of 17 tributaries on its way to Great Egg Harbor at the Atlantic Ocean.  Established by Congress in 1992, nearly all of this 129-mile river system rests within the Pinelands National Preserve.  This National Park Service unit is unusual in that local jurisdictions continue to administer the lands so camping opportunities are found in the local jurisdictions with quite a few campgrounds along the river.  For further information call (215)597-5823

The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve was created by Congress under the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978.  The Pinelands National Reserve is the first National Reserve in the nation.  The Reserve encompasses approximately 1.1 million acres and covers portions of seven counties and all or parts of 56 municipalities.  The Reserve is a wonderful place to visit and exhibits a unique ecosystem.  Camping is available in the local jurisdictions at four New Jersey State Forest located inside the Reserve.  For further information call (609)894-7300.

There are other units of the National Park Service in New Jersey which bear mentioning for their historic and scenic value.  Although they are small and do not offer camping, they are worth visiting.  You might want to take a look at the Edison National Historic Site, Ellis Island National Monument and Morristown National Historic Park and then plan to stay at one of the private campgrounds nearby.

Similar to public campgrounds, in that everyone is welcome, private campgrounds, such as the well known KOA’s (Kampgrounds of American), are privately owned, franchised businesses.  Although they usually cost more for a nights stay, they generally offer superior amenities that include, but are not limited to, swimming pools, game rooms, movie nights, laundry facilities and camp stores with fast food and microwaves.  Many of these privately franchised campgrounds offer catalogs (at a price) which allow you to not only book your trip in advance, but often pick your site and book side trips prior to your arrival.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that New Jersey is home to the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail and also proud to encompass parts of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.  Both of these trails offer outstanding opportunities for camping and outdoor recreation, a must for the avid outdoor user. 

Whatever you decide, public or private campground for a day, a night or a weeks stay, be safe and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors.

Till Next Time

Eric
 

Tags: camping in nj, camping new jersey, new jersey camping, nj campgrounds, nj camping

When picking a place to camp in New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which is a division of Parks and Recreation, provides a wide range of camping experiences in their state parks and forests.  From tent and trailer sites to well established group campgrounds and primitive campsites to shelters and yurts the state of New Jersey offers some, if not all, of these facilities.  Therefore, when planning your camping experience you need to be aware of the rules and regulations that are common to all the camping areas and then individually check each site as to the specific regulations that might affect your experience.  Following are regulations taken directly from the department’s website: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/camping.html .

General Camping Rules for New Jersey State Parks
Minimum age of a permittee – A campsite, lean-to, camp shelter, cabin or yurt must be reserved and occupied by at least one responsible person, 18 years of age or older.  A group campsite or cabin must be occupied by a minimum of one adult supervisor, age 18 years of age or older, for each nine campers who are under 18 years of age in the group.

Re-registration – If camping facilities are available, campers may re-register before 10 am on the expiration day of their permit, provided they have not exceeded their maximum limit of stay, and facilities are available.

Limit of stay per area – Total initial length of stay allowed is fourteen consecutive nights.  Additional stays may be granted in intervals of not more than seven nights provided the applicant has vacated the camping facility for at least seven nights between each occupancy.

Alcohol – Alcohol is prohibited.  Additional rules and regulations are printed on the back of the camping permit and are posted in the area.

Fires – Fires are permitted only in stoves, fireplaces or ground fireplaces or in approved camp stoves provided by the camper.  Fires may be prohibited due to forest fire threat when prevailing conditions warrant this precaution.

Firewood – Firewood is not provided at campsites, lean-tos or shelters, but it can be purchased at some areas.  Firewood is provided at cabins.

Pets – Pets are not permitted in camping facilities.

Firearms – A person shall not possess or discharge any firearm, pellet gun, bow and arrow, slingshot or other weapon capable of injuring people or wildlife.  Hunters in compliance with Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife hunting laws are exempted.  Target practice is prohibited.

Vehicle Limit – No more than two vehicles (including trailers) may be parked at a camping facility.  Additional vehicles may be parked in a location designated by the superintendent.  More than two vehicles may be parked at group campsites and group cabins subject to approval of the superintendent.

Visitors – Visitors are allowed at camping facilities between 8 am and 8 pm.  All visitors must pay day-use parking fees, if applicable.  The number of visitors may be restricted due to limited facility capacities.

Trailer hook-ups – Water, electric and sewer hook-ups are not provided at campsites.

Check-out time – Check-out time is noon at all campsites.  Check-out time is indicated on permits issued for lean-tos, shelters, and cabins.

Reservations for campsites can be made up to 11 months in advance and fees generally run $20.00 per campsite per night.  For further information call 1-800-843-6420 or 609-984-0370.

Be safe, follow the rules and enjoy your camping experience! 

Till Next Time

Eric

Tags: camping in nj, camping new jersey, new jersey camping, new jersey events, nj campgrounds, nj camping

Sea Pirate campground is located in West Creek, NJ. It is a privately owned campground with alot of things that I like in a campground:

1. Close to the beach – It's just a couple of miles from Long Beach Island
2. Clean – The store, restrooms, laundry facility, pool and all public areas were well maintained and clean.
3. Spacious – The site(s) we stayed in and all that we saw were a good size, most had grass and trees and were in good repair. All hookups functioned properly.
4. Seasonal Sites – All the seasonal sites were clean and well maintained. We didn't see any that were old and delapidated. The residents seemed to keep their sites nice and neat.
5. Activities – There is plenty of things to do at this campground including: swimming pool, fishing, crabbing, coordinated arts & crafts and regularly scheduled and well attended evening activities.
6. Moderately priced – As of 2009 the sites ranged from $32 to $45 per night which is well worth the price in my opinion.

We have stayed at this campground twice now and will definitely go back again.

The staff was friendly and professional, the owner was a very nice older woman who spent lots of time in and around the campground helping out and just enjoying herself.

They have an annual crabfest there every year and if you get the chance it is definitely worth it. Plenty of crab, food, beer and live entertainment. There is always something going on at the campground during the summer.

There are several good restaurants in the area so if you want to go out to eat you can and you don't have to drive to LBI to do so. I say this because sometimes when we go camping for a weekend we don't like to worry about cooking dinner on Friday night after we get there and get our site all setup. We went to the Grapevine II restaurant right down the road thinking it was just a pizza place but it was way more than that. It was a good quality moderatly priced italian restaurant that we really enjoyed!

If it does happen to rain while you are there it's not really a big deal. Our site(s) and most of the sites we saw were fairly level and graded well so the water drains off fairly quickly. The fact that there are so many trees around does mean that the ground itself stays a little wet for awhile so be prepared with mats and/or external rugs to get most of the dirt and mud off your shoes before you go into your tent/trailer.

The only negative experience we had while there wasn't the fault of the campground and would not prevent us from returning but you should be aware of it: Mosquitos. There were alot of them around during the summer of 2009 but that was true of the entire state of New Jersey not just Sea Pirate. So just make sure to bring extra bug spray and your favorite area clearing bug repellant (I personally like the Coleman Mosquito Deleto – pricey but keeps the average campsite pretty clear of the little annoyances!).

I highly recommend Sea Pirate to everyone I talk to. Check them out at: Sea Pirate Campground

Till Next Time…

Eric

Tags: campground, nj camping, sea pirate campground

Is there such a thing as a "New Jersey Camping Guide"?

Yes and no.

There are a couple of "guides" out there that talk about New Jersey camping areas and facilities. There is one that I think is really, really good. My only problem with them is that they don't seem to be complete to me.

They talk about camping in the northwestern part of the state, they talk about the shore regions, they talk about the pine barrens but unfortunately none of them seem to be as complete as I would like to see. It might be that the publication might be focused on one particular region and cover that region incredibly well but they might not be as familiar with the Skylands region or the Gateway region.

Here is what I would like to see in a New Jersey Camping Guide:

1. Cover each of the six major regions in the Garden state: Skyland, Gateway, Shore, Delaware, Atlantic and Southern.
2. List each and every known campground, public and private, that can be verified to exist at the time of publishing.
3. Give details of each campground to include at least:
    a. Contact Info: address, phone, email, web address, etc…
    b. Proximity to major attractions: beach, theme parks, cultural areas
    c. Campground Map
    d. Size of Sites
    e. Prices for sites
    f. Details of facilities: pool, playground, lake, fishing, sports, arts & crafts, etc…
    g. General Info: do they charge for visitors, how many vehicles can be on site, cancellation policy, etc…
    h. Calendar of Events
    i. Dates of Operation
    j. Some reviews of facility
4. List Major attractions for each region:
    a. Theme parks
    b. Beaches
    c. Arts
    d. Sports Arenas
    e. Local Attractions
    f. Anything that a tourist or local would like to visit
5. Provide details of the type of camping available in each region. Mountainous area? Sandy area? Lots of grass? Traffic congestion? etc…
6. Average temperatures in region during "normal" camping season (March to November).

I'm basically looking for a camping guide that I can turn to that will answer just about any question I have about where to go camping in New Jersey. I don't want to have to look in this guide if I want to camp down south, another one if I want to camp up north and then have to look online for average temperatures, local attractions and campground prices.

See when my family and I plan out our camping schedule for the year (usually in February) we usually sit down around the kitchen table with our calendar(s) and try to plan a trip or two per month from March to November (we would go all year round but my wife refuses to go camping when the temperature doesn't even have the chance to go above freezing!). Right now when we do this I grab the couple of guides I have, our calendars, our maps of the state and my laptop and it takes us multiple hours to do this planning. If there was a single exhaustive guide as I am suggesting it would make our lives and our planning much, much simpler.

I don't even know of any website that has all of that information in one place including mine!

Till Next Time…

Eric
 

Tags: new jersey camping guide, nj camping