Bass River State Forest
| Bass River State Forest | |
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| Location | Ocean County |
| Coordinates | 39°37′13.91″N 74°25′28.74″W / 39.6205306°N 74.4246500°WCoordinates: 39°37′13.91″N 74°25′28.74″W / 39.6205306°N 74.4246500°W |
| Area | 23,563-acre (95.36 km2) |
| Operated by | New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry |
| Open | 1906 |
| Official website | |
Bass River State Forest is a 23,563 acres (95.36 km2) state park in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park, named for the Bass River which crosses through it, shelters a portion of the environmentally sensitive Pine Barrens but also provides a variety of recreational resources to visitors. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
The first of New Jersey's state forests, Bass River State Forest was acquired by the New Jersey Legislature in 1905 for public recreation, water conservation, and wildlife and timber management. The lands were once occupied by the Absegami, a branch of the Lenape tribe of Native Americans in the United States.
The 67 acres (0.27 km2) Lake Absegami, created in the 1930s, provides swimming, boating and canoeing.
A trail through the 128 acres (0.52 km2) Absegami Natural Area provides access to a pine/oak woods and a small Atlantic white cedar bog, also containing red maples and magnolias. The Absegami self-guided trail is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in length.
The 3,830 acres (15.5 km2) West Pine Plains Natural Area preserves a pygmy forest, a globally rare stunted forest ecosystem consisting of pine and oak trees that reach a canopy height of as little as four feet at maturity. The forest supports the endangered broom crowberry and twelve rare species of moth.
The 50 miles (80 km) Batona Trail passes through the park, as well as nearby Wharton and Brendan T. Byrne State Forests.
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