Batona Trail

Batona Trail
Typical section of the Batona Trail in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
Length	approx. 53.5 mi (86.1 km)
Location	New Jersey Pine Barrens, Burlington County, New Jersey
Trailheads	Leektown, Bass River Ong's Hat, Pemberton
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation change	196 ft (60 m)
Highest point	Apple Pie Hill
Lowest point	Harrisville
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Easy
Season	Early to mid-spring, fall, winter
Sights	Batsto Village Carranza Memorial Apple Pie Hill
Hazards	Severe weather Tick-borne diseases Mosquitos Limited water Poison ivy Venomous snakes

The Batona Trail is a 53.5-mile (86.1 km) hiking trail through New Jersey's Pine Barrens. The trail is one of the longest in the state, behind the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail, the section of the Appalachian Trail within the state, the Liberty-Water Gap Trail, and the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state. The Batona Trail begins in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest) at the ghost town of Ong's Hat and traverses Franklin Parker Preserve, Wharton State Forest and Bass River State Forest. The trail was built in 1961 by the Batona Hiking Club, which began informally in 1928 when Philadelphians began meeting regularly to hike. It takes about three days to hike the whole trail.

In 1960, Dale Knapschafer suggested a trail be built linking Wharton and Lebanon State Forests. The next year, Batona Hiking Club president Morris Bardock contacted the Department of Conservation and Economic Development in New Jersey for permission to construct such a trail. After receiving permission from the state, Morris Bardock and Walter Korszniak made exploratory trips to figure out a route in the winter and spring of 1961 for the future trail. Through the help of volunteers, the first 30 miles (48 km) of the trail were completed over the summer, and the final pink blaze was painted on a tree near New Jersey Route 70 in Lebanon State Forest on September 16, 1961. Bardock chose pink blazes for the Batona Trail. The trail originally connected Carpenter Spring in Lebanon State Forest (now Brendan T. Byrne State Forest) and Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest. At this time Batsto (batstu meaning "bath place" in Swedish) was being developed by the state and continued to be inhabited by a few people. More recently the trail has been extended

In 2012 the trail was rerouted in two areas. The first was in Bass River State Forest, which is the southernmost part of the trail. The second area is around Chatsworth. Both of the rerouted sections go through quieter areas and bypass paved roads and power lines where the trail originally ran. The Chatsworth section puts the trail through the northern section of the Franklin Parker Preserve. Both of these reroutings have added about 2 miles (3 km) to the overall trail length.