Wharton State Forest is a state park in the U.S. state of New Jersey. [1] The largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey, it encompasses approximately 115,000 acres (46 km²) of the Pinelands northwest of Hammonton, in Burlington, Camden, and Atlantic counties. The entire park is located within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. The park is located in the forested watershed of the Mullica River, which drains the central Pinelands region into Great Bay. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. The park is also the location of the historic Batsto Village, a former bog iron and glass manufacturing site from 1766 to 1867. The park includes extensive hiking trails, including a section of the Batona Trail, which connects the park to nearby Brendan T. Byrne State Forest and Bass River State Forest. It also includes over 500 miles (800 km) of unpaved roads. The rivers, including the Mullica, are popular destinations for recreational canoeing. The forest is named for Joseph Wharton, who purchased most of the land that now lies within the forest in the 19th Century. Wharton wanted to tap the ground water under the Pine Barrens to provide a source of clean drinking water for Philadelphia; however, the New Jersey Legislature quashed the plan by passing a law that banned the export of water from the state. The state bought the vast tract from Wharton's heirs in the 1950s. In the park is a monument marking the location where Mexican aviation pioneer Emilio Carranza crashed while returning from a historic goodwill flight to New York City on July 12, 1928. The forest has ten campgrounds, ranging from family camping at Atsion Recreation Area, with showers and a guarded beach, to wilderness camping that can be reached only by hiking or canoe/kayak. A significant fire of undetermined origin burned approximately 2,500 acres in a remote region of this forest over a period of three days, starting August 3, 2007. [2]
