I’ve been [bikepacking in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey](https://youtu.be/munli_iYVXc?feature=shared) for years, but this year I decided to make a reality out of my dreams of a route crossing the whole region! In keeping with my car-lite lifestyle, I also made the whole thing doable by train from Philadelphia or New York City!
This is an alpha version of the route—I’d like to hear any feedback, thoughts, opinions, or best of all reports from the field! I do think the route now represents the best balance between visiting points of interest and a variety of landscapes, and staying away from pavement; but I’m sure I will continue finding improvements and tweaks to make.
Most of the possible routes I rejected were either extremely sandy (meaning even mountain bikers would need to do lots of miserable HAB) or else full of flooded areas requiring extensive wading and fording. There are actually surprisingly few route options that *don’t* involve one of those things, and what you see on the map represents a lot of what’s left!
I haven’t had time yet to populate the map with points of interest, but for logistics – take the SEPTA regional rail from Philadelphia to Trenton (or the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor from Manhattan), and the NJT Atlantic City line from Atlantic City back to Philly. Supplies are easy to come by in the southern half of the route so you can pack light, and water is plentiful in the woods (bring a filter).
Wild camping isn’t legal anywhere, but there are state forest campgrounds at convenient intervals along the route – book in advance in case they fill up!
I’m also workshopping different names for the route. If you feel moved to give any other suggestions, I’d love to ehar them. Possibilities include, roughly in the order that I like them:
* The Jersey Devil Hunt
* Pines ‘n Sands
* Pine Barrens Sand Slog
* Pine Barrens Sugar Sand Special
Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments. I’m excited to be making this public for the first time and will happily talk your ear off about it!
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I’ve been [bikepacking in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey](https://youtu.be/munli_iYVXc?feature=shared) for years, but this year I decided to make a reality out of my dreams of a route crossing the whole region! In keeping with my car-lite lifestyle, I also made the whole thing doable by train from Philadelphia or New York City!
This is an alpha version of the route—I’d like to hear any feedback, thoughts, opinions, or best of all reports from the field! I do think the route now represents the best balance between visiting points of interest and a variety of landscapes, and staying away from pavement; but I’m sure I will continue finding improvements and tweaks to make.
Most of the possible routes I rejected were either extremely sandy (meaning even mountain bikers would need to do lots of miserable HAB) or else full of flooded areas requiring extensive wading and fording. There are actually surprisingly few route options that *don’t* involve one of those things, and what you see on the map represents a lot of what’s left!
I haven’t had time yet to populate the map with points of interest, but for logistics – take the SEPTA regional rail from Philadelphia to Trenton (or the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor from Manhattan), and the NJT Atlantic City line from Atlantic City back to Philly. Supplies are easy to come by in the southern half of the route so you can pack light, and water is plentiful in the woods (bring a filter).
Wild camping isn’t legal anywhere, but there are state forest campgrounds at convenient intervals along the route – book in advance in case they fill up!
I’m also workshopping different names for the route. If you feel moved to give any other suggestions, I’d love to ehar them. Possibilities include, roughly in the order that I like them:
* The Jersey Devil Hunt
* Pines ‘n Sands
* Pine Barrens Sand Slog
* Pine Barrens Sugar Sand Special
Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments. I’m excited to be making this public for the first time and will happily talk your ear off about it!