Is overnight trail camping legal in the Belleplain area?

KDOG

New Member
Oct 6, 2013
17
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Dennis Township NJ
I'm wondering if doing an overnighter is allowed on the hiking trails around the Belleplain area such as East Creek Trail or Ponds Trail. I've always wanted to "snow camp" and I'd like to try it there since its fairly close to home in case things go bad.
 

Old Crazy

Explorer
Oct 13, 2007
481
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Stinking Creek, NJ
Belleplain State Forest has tent sites that are open year round. They're $20 a night for NJ residents. Free if you're an illegal alien...just kidding. :D

Bass River State Park, which just a skip and a hop off GSP exit 50, keeps the north shore camping area open year round. They have tent sites with a fire ring and there's also a bathroom with showers nearby. They also have Lake Absegami for kayaking.
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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You are not legally allowed to do anything worthwhile in your state forests in this state.NJ idea of camping is to cluster everyone up in the same place so you can learn to appreciate loud rap music and other people undisciplined kids,.
 

Old Crazy

Explorer
Oct 13, 2007
481
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Stinking Creek, NJ
One time when I was tent camping in Bass River State Park these three women in their 60's invited me to come have a glass of wine in their tent. Now I can handle camping alone in remote areas with bears, mountain lions, wolves, scorpions and poisonous snakes, but the thought of going into a tent with three drunk women who's ages add up to 190 was probably the scariest thing I've ever experienced in the woods. :D

I've spent hundreds of nights in the woods on backpacking trips and I prefer to camp for the night in a remote area, rather than a campsite. When I hiked the AT I never stayed at a designated campsite that was within a few miles of a road on Friday or Saturday night because there was a good possibility there would be people partying there who would keep me awake half the night and maybe even want to mess with me after they got good and drunk.
 
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Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
You are not legally allowed to do anything worthwhile in your state forests in this state.

Wow, I guess all the hours I've enjoyed in the state forests were worthless. :confused:

I don't think I would agree with a policy that allows camping wherever you want in the pines. The area just isn't that big and we already know how little respect many people have for it (just read the other current thread about trash in Belleplain). Based on what others have posted in the past, if you really want to camp outside the designated areas, it can be done, and I'd hope most members of this site would do no harm.

There have to be some kind of rules, otherwise we would just have chaos.
 

manumuskin

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I've always camped where I wanted and other then some scuffed up leaves no one would know I was there the next day.Never could get those leaves to look completely natural,wind fixes it after a day or so and if I had a hammock they wouldn't even see the scuffed leaves.
Chaos is exactly what I"m trying to avoid.Other folks screaming kids and loud rap music is my definition of chaos.
 

manumuskin

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Jul 20, 2003
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One time when I was tent camping in Bass River State Park these three women in their 60's invited me to come have a glass of wine in their tent. Now I can handle camping alone in remote areas with bears, mountain lions, wolves, scorpions and poisonous snakes, but the thought of going into a tent with three drunk women who's ages add up to 190 was probably the scariest thing I've ever experienced in the woods. :D

I've spent hundreds of nights in the woods on backpacking trips and I prefer to camp for the night in a remote area, rather than a campsite. When I hiked the AT I never stayed at a designated campsite that was within a few miles of a road on Friday or Saturday night because there was a good possibility there would be people partying there who would keep me awake half the night and maybe even want to mess with me after they got good and drunk.


Drunks! Now thats Chaos!
 

Boyd

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Chaos is exactly what I"m trying to avoid.Other folks screaming kids and loud rap music is my definition of chaos.

That is exactly my point. If the rules say you can camp anywhere, then you'll find screaming kids and rap music everywhere instead of the campgrounds, which you can avoid. Some of our favorite places will become popular campsites where these people hang out.
 
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manumuskin

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Jul 20, 2003
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Ahhh! Cram the rappers in the designated concentration camps and then true bushwackers can be in peace hanging from their hammock in a place that only bushwackers and crazed deer hunters ever see! I bow to your superior Bush Wisdom Boyd:)
 
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manumuskin

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That depends on the drunk category they are in. On a 1-10 scale, category 1-2 might listen to reason, category 8-10 and just the snoring may be a bother. Anything in between could lead from advances to murder.
I do like stalking drunks in the woods.Some of the things I have seen have helped vastly enforce my decision at a young age not to drink:)
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
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Coastal NJ
Some of the things I have seen have helped vastly enforce my decision at a young age not to drink:)

We are in the same camp Al. I only wish I had a camera at the time. :eek: As a young lad after borrowing the family car to attend a work party, I was surprised at the questions my father was asking me the following morning, until I saw the residue on the side of the car under the passenger window. That stuff is very hard to remove once it's dry.
 
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Old Crazy

Explorer
Oct 13, 2007
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Stinking Creek, NJ
If you stealth camp in the Pine Barrens, unless you start a fire that's visible from outer space, there's a greater chance you'll see Bigfoot than the Park Police.
 

manumuskin

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I very seldom make fires,not that I don't know how or I"m afraid I"ll set the woods on fire,I"m just basically lazy. I usually explore all day and then come back to camp,crawl into the tent still half clothed and pass out around dark.If I"m legitimate camping with grandkids I"ll do the fire thing with weenies and what not.Not my cup of tea but they love it.If I have a fire I"m doing real cool, things like making hide glue or trying to fire a clay pot. I do have a thing for cedar wood fires if I have company to BS with into the night but I did a lot of loner campin when young and it's no fun settin up alone so I either hit the sack or if I had some wind left I"d find a comfortable place to set in the dark and see what I could hear or what happened to walk by in the dark.Never saw a Bigfoot though there is always tomorrow. Hammock campin with tarp is the way to go in summer.Not bad in winter if you cocoon yourself right.Plenty of insulation underneath.I have always been low impact when it comes to camping and a fire was just something else I had to erase.I"d cover the ashes and coals so some archaeologists could come along next year and date it as 45,000 years old and then I throw the dead out half burnt wood as far as I can fling it.Those were the days.Too tired and chronologically screwed up to do things like camping anymore.
 

Gibby

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Apr 4, 2011
1,640
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Trenton
Hammock campin with tarp is the way to go in summer.

Yes it is!!! I got tired napping in my car or on a blanket last summer and treated myself to a fine hammock system. I set it up in my backyard Christmas morning because I was so excited. I can't wait to use it and the set came with a bug net!!! The Eagles Nest Outfitters is the brand.
 

kayak karl

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Sep 18, 2008
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Yes it is!!! I got tired napping in my car or on a blanket last summer and treated myself to a fine hammock system. I set it up in my backyard Christmas morning because I was so excited. I can't wait to use it and the set came with a bug net!!! The Eagles Nest Outfitters is the brand.
come set it up this weekend at Batona Camp. 1-24 to 1-26 there will be 40+ hammockers from the northeast coast. last year we saw 3 degrees. we are the extreme :) Thread

My old setup, Maple's setup is behind mine. We don't need no stinkin bug nets :clint:
 

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I can see why they've gotten away from dispersed camping and gone to more concentrated camping... better to trash one area that have folks spread out trashing the whole place. At least with folks mostly concentrated in the campgrounds, there is a chance that the park police will show up and do something, and the overall impact is lessened.

Not that I have a problem with folks camping by the side of the trail. I've certainly done that my share when backpacking.
 
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