Hey all,
A buddy and I are planning to do a short (1-2 night) bikepacking trip in May. It'd be our first one, so by no means are we trying to accomplish anything extreme in mileage, technical difficulty, or fashionably "epic" discomfort. What we are looking for is a large park with lots of singletrack, unimproved/dirt roads, and some camp sites... So Wharton seems to be a good fit. Thing is, I haven't been there in years. I want to solicit whatever advice I can from the locals first.
Using the DEP and Motorized Access maps I've devised a very basic plan. Here it is: start at Batsto and ride the Orange loop singletrack till we get to Quaker Bridge road or a sand road that goes toward Atsion lake. Take that up to the Goshen Pond campsite or just set up camp by the lake in a spot we like (if that's OK). Then take a similar route back the next day and finish the Batsto loop if we stay 1 night or take forest roads to another campsite for night 2, etc... Like I said, very basic. We're hoping to do around 30-60 miles of riding depending on the length of the trip.
Now, I'd like to be riding on dirt as much as possible. Are there dirt or sand road options that spur off from the main loop singletrack that'll take us to a camp site? If not paved is fine. If so, does anyone have a good map or routes, suggestions, or so on? The hardest aspect for planning thus far has been finding a really comprehensive map. I've also read about the Wharton 40 here... Would it be a better idea to utilize that route or parts of it? I am completely open to radically changing the plan based on local knowledge.
Is the whole thing just a Very Bad Idea?
Anyway thank you so much for any information you can give me.
A buddy and I are planning to do a short (1-2 night) bikepacking trip in May. It'd be our first one, so by no means are we trying to accomplish anything extreme in mileage, technical difficulty, or fashionably "epic" discomfort. What we are looking for is a large park with lots of singletrack, unimproved/dirt roads, and some camp sites... So Wharton seems to be a good fit. Thing is, I haven't been there in years. I want to solicit whatever advice I can from the locals first.
Using the DEP and Motorized Access maps I've devised a very basic plan. Here it is: start at Batsto and ride the Orange loop singletrack till we get to Quaker Bridge road or a sand road that goes toward Atsion lake. Take that up to the Goshen Pond campsite or just set up camp by the lake in a spot we like (if that's OK). Then take a similar route back the next day and finish the Batsto loop if we stay 1 night or take forest roads to another campsite for night 2, etc... Like I said, very basic. We're hoping to do around 30-60 miles of riding depending on the length of the trip.
Now, I'd like to be riding on dirt as much as possible. Are there dirt or sand road options that spur off from the main loop singletrack that'll take us to a camp site? If not paved is fine. If so, does anyone have a good map or routes, suggestions, or so on? The hardest aspect for planning thus far has been finding a really comprehensive map. I've also read about the Wharton 40 here... Would it be a better idea to utilize that route or parts of it? I am completely open to radically changing the plan based on local knowledge.
Is the whole thing just a Very Bad Idea?
Anyway thank you so much for any information you can give me.