Trail Maps

frickster

New Member
Here are the scanned trail maps for Wharton
 

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  • Wharton State Forest - MTB Trail.jpg
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frickster

New Member
Looks awesome with the added trail. How rideable is it and is it all wide/multipurpose once you get off the MTB trail? I've gone down a few of those other trails a little bit but have turned back because I've encountered alot of sand.

Might be helpful to resize this photo a bit smaller since it's hard to view on screen.
 

sj_john

Well-Known Member
Orange Trail

Looks awesome with the added trail. How rideable is it and is it all wide/multipurpose once you get off the MTB trail? I've gone down a few of those other trails a little bit but have turned back because I've encountered alot of sand.

Might be helpful to resize this photo a bit smaller since it's hard to view on screen.

The entire loop is rideable. It is a little spongy in some areas. It needs more bike traffic. There is very little sand on the singletrack. The entire loop is singletrack except where you have to use Goodwater road to cross the creek.
It is about 20-24 inches wide where we ran the mower recently but it gets tighter in older areas.

There is a novice Orange trail ride planned for Saturday 11/22. We are meeting in the parking lot for a 10 AM ride.
John
 

frickster

New Member
Just to be clear - are you saying the orange trail is single track throughout or only the green shorter MTB trail? I agree that the MTB trail has very little sand. However, when I've gone down the wider multipurpose trails, that's where I've encountered quite a bit of sand. If you're saying you can ride the whole ~18mi without much sand, that is totally awesome!
 

sj_john

Well-Known Member
Parking at Batsto

Is there a parking area/road near the northern area of the park for those coming from the North?

The only parking area without riding out the unmarked sand roads is at the Batsto Village parking lot off of Rt 542. We had to put pink engineering ribbon on intersections to remind us of the proper roads when we first started.
John
 

sj_john

Well-Known Member
It isn't a sugar sand slog.

Just to be clear - are you saying the orange trail is single track throughout or only the green shorter MTB trail? I agree that the MTB trail has very little sand. However, when I've gone down the wider multipurpose trails, that's where I've encountered quite a bit of sand. If you're saying you can ride the whole ~18mi without much sand, that is totally awesome!

The loop crosses many roads of loose sand and the amount of double track has been minimalized. Most of it is hardpack and about 24 inches wide at the most. What isn't hardpack is spongy new cut. There is nothing like the section of sugar sand on the Mt. Misery trail in Lebanon(BB) State Forest.

If you ride out of the left hand side of the parking lot following the Green disks, you cross a cinder trail and then cross a sand road. You climb up the rise. Here is where you decide to ride the trail clockwise or counter clockwise. We ride it counter clockwise most of the time. The trail twists between the trees crossing over the marked hiking trails and recrossing the sand road. This section twists between the trees and dumps you back out onto the sand road near the fire tower. You cross the parking area at the base of the fire tower and pick up the trail on the other side. This is a fun swoopy section that crosses another road and back into the woods. This section has a small bridge crossing and comes out on a hard pack jeep road for a little bit. This leads across another road and picks up single track on the other side. This section twists and turns, crosses another sand road and dumps you out of the woods onto a sand road that is usually packed down. This is the 1.5 miles of jeep road on the Green trail. But take a look on your right as soon as you start down this road, the Orange trail starts here. It loops far out into the forest and joins back on the Green trail. There is a water crossing about 15 miles out on the Orange where we need to put a bridge. I usually divert over to Goodwater Rd and use the bridge there but a group rode this weekend and found an old railroad tie to cross over the creek. I usually can pick up the trail again after the diversion. There is another place that is wet sometimes and a bridge is planned but it has been dry the last few times.
A novice group will be riding the Orange on Sunday 11/23. We were planning on Saturday but it is "Take Your Kid Hunting" day and we decided to move our ride.

John
 

slingblade_uhhuh

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
2009 Trail Map

Current unofficial Wharton MTB trail map here.
 

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whtbread

New Member
Plans changed to Estell Manor at approx 11am on 11/15. There should be a couple of us ranging in abilities. All are welcome.
 
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michael.su

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
I added the JORBA map of Wharton to Maprika. I think it's positioned pretty well but haven't had a chance to check it yet. Check it out and adjust it if needed :)
 

Robin

Well-Known Member
Rt 206 Parking/trails

First time to Wharton today - was in search of dirt. Nice to get out - lots of familiar faces.

I parked at Basto - but on my way/down 206, I noticed another parking area, Atsion, with cars/bike racks. What trails are accessible from there? and do they hook into the orange perimeter loop?
 

slingblade_uhhuh

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Unofficial map of Wharton's Batsto MTB singletrack...
http://www.jorba.org/sites/default/files/JORBA_Wharton.pdf

New official map of all of Wharton...
http://www.njparksandforests.org/parks/maps/wharton_map_web_version.pdf

The new official map shows doubletrack routes to use when the mtb singletrack riding conditions are less then optimal. You can ride the perimeter of the PBT on doubletrack, w/ a stop at Jemima Mount, or maybe w/ a sidetrip up to Devious Mount, for a fun ride.

My favorite winter/spring singletrack-is-too-soft-to-ride route includes riding the Washington Turnpike to the ghost town of Washington and on to Godfrey Bridge, maybe with a side trip to Hawkins Bridge or Oswego Lake. (If you have ever rented a canoe from Micks, you'll recognize the area.)

A CX'er had emailed us earlier in the year, excited about the doubletrack he rode around Atsion and Hampton Furnace during the spring. So that comes recommended too.

The Wharton Forest doubletrack is mostly (with a few exceptions) all good and fun to ride in the winter and spring when the Batsto mtb singletrack conditions might not be optimal for riding. With a bit of planning and a good GPS, it would be easy to lay out a long fun day (LFD?)
 
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WinTaper

Member
I keep meaning to check this place out.

So...

About how long is the outer "orange loop"?
Is it well-marked for someone who's never been there?
Approximately how long does it take for an 'average' ride
I'm planning on parking in the Visitor Center - good idea?

Thanks in advance...
-dan
 

slingblade_uhhuh

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
I keep meaning to check this place out.
So...About how long is the outer "orange loop"?
Is it well-marked for someone who's never been there?
Approximately how long does it take for an 'average' ride
I'm planning on parking in the Visitor Center - good idea?
Thanks in advance...
-dan

The Penn Branch Trail (orange) is 19+ miles. Pay attention in the first few and last few miles to stay on the right trail. The trail is well marked with posts and markers. An *average* rider can do the loop in 2 to 3 hours. Less if the rider is competitive. Starting at the Visitor Center parking lot is best if it is your first time there. Thats where the marked trailhead is.
New official trail map from the state is here... http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/maps/WhartonAreaMapFinal_reduced.pdf
 

BigDB67

Well-Known Member
I keep meaning to check this place out.

So...

About how long is the outer "orange loop"?
Is it well-marked for someone who's never been there?
Approximately how long does it take for an 'average' ride
I'm planning on parking in the Visitor Center - good idea?

Thanks in advance...
-dan

You will have a good time, I rode it about 2 months ago in about 3 hours with A LOT of breaks. Just make sure you bring plenty of water and some food. There are no real climbs but lots of bobbing and weaving through tight turns.
 

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