Unfortunately this looks like it will be a year-long thing. If I'm proven right I will be pretty disappointed.
Some N.J. state parks, forests can reopen for camping June 22, officials say
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
I think you may be right cause I've sent numerous emails and phone calls and got nowhere my fear is there's a rumor that most of the primitive sites will never open again this Includes Hawkins Bridge which is my favorite place to go i havey a even asked if this is the plan and have still got nowhere no one is giving any answers at all they just keep saying it's not there dept and have no information to give
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I have a coworker who recently camped about 1/2 mile west of Goshen Pond, at the sandy cul-de-sac a little beyond the kayak launch. He actually got busted, got a fine, and had to pack up his stuff in the middle of the night and leave! He's a young kid and I have no idea how much noise they were making, or if they had some massive fire going.
I know some good renegade sites
I guess there's no harm in posting it now, they already know to check the spot. Nice place though! It was fun while it lasted.
This is going to keep happinig till they open up more then just atsion but with the current administration and what not that probably won t happen any time soon
There are so many places to stealth camp where nobody would look. Why go to a campsite area?
I know some good renegade sites
Al, remember that site where a few people were camping way the hell out there? You and I came upon them. They didn't act too surprised, but it sure was surprising to me to see where they were.
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A week ago we came upon a young man and woman stealth camping in a place I have never seen campers. They picked a clearing just off a road and had a little tent with their backpacks hanging on a tree. The pine flies were killing us and the man did not even have a shirt on. I think they were a little surprised to see us but as usual when they see Jessica they seem to relax a little. We had parked our car right near them not knowing they were there. We walked about 100 feet and noticed them. At first we did not see the woman and Jessica said she did not feel safe and wanted to leave. But I pushed on and on our return we saw her. We visit the place all the time and have not run into anyone in years there.
During that heat wave? I can't. I recall my first overnight excursion down the Mullica back in like 1977. We went past Mullica Camp and did a stealth camp at a sandy-beach bend in the river. It was oppressively hot all night, and the mosquitoes were eating us alive. At about 3 am I gave in and tried sleeping with my body in the river and my head on my backpack just out of the water. One of those nights you'll never forget.
No I don't remember that.Where were we? Send me a PM if you don't want to publicize it.
I spoke with a couple people this weekend that have been stealth camping because they don't want to be around people. They like me frequent Hawkins and Bodine but more so Hawkins. They felt like this closure was more to get people to stealth camp so they can bust the and get the fine money then the virus as Murphy did say he needed "revenue raisers" . I have to agree with them as there is not really a logical reason to keep the primitive sites closed in my opinion
That's a pretty cynical view and I'm not sure the reality is anything more than the state trying to save a few bucks by not having to patrol all these hard to access spots. With all the staff cuts and furloughs, I'm sure they don't want to deal with the emergency calls that camping there (by inexperienced people who get lost/hurt/stuck) generates. I'm fairly sure that no policymakers in the Murphy administration have any interest in the state forests at all, and maybe have never been south of Trenton. Hence the springtime policy of closing the state parks, but not the WMA land. I doubt anyone involved in the decision making even knew what a WMA was.
I voted for Murphy last time and I likely will again. I think overall he's done an admirable job with this and it seems like NJ is in a rare position of being a good example to the rest of the country in handling the virus. This is a decision that annoys me, since it's an infringement that has no purpose, but I find it hard to believe there's some sort of sinister plan behind it.
It would be interesting to talk to someone from the SF police and ask if they've been instructed to try and find people to bust in closed areas.
I voted for Murphy last time and I likely will again. I think overall he's done an admirable job with this and it seems like NJ is in a rare position of being a good example to the rest of the country in handling the virus. This is a decision that annoys me, since it's an infringement that has no purpose, but I find it hard to believe there's some sort of sinister plan behind it.
It would be interesting to talk to someone from the SF police and ask if they've been instructed to try and find people to bust in closed areas.
You also thought it a good idea to camp illegally at an easily accessible location next to a state campground. Just saying.
To ask the SP Police to admit if they've been instructed bust people in a closed area by the gov is like asking if they profile certain cars on the road you'll never get the correct answer cause if they admit it it's there butt in a sling and most are not going to risk there pension to shake things up and admit they been given those instructions. but you friend that got busted is not the only one trust my there are countless others that are doing the same and getting busted..
I remember coming up on campers at the more southern X.They were shooting guns.I was camped to the north of there with a friend from PA and we heard the guns and walked down in the dark to investigate.They talked to us and wanted us to party with them.We declined since I don;t drink and My buddy thought that their drunkeness wasn';t a good idea with the guns and when they turned their backs we snuk off. I don;t remember coming up on anyone there while with you.You say we were out there at night as well? I was camped near your northern X that night and we had no fire and made no noise. I was hanging out at the ":Crash" a lot back then. Actually I was camed quite a bit north of your northern X.
I try to keep a mile or so between me and drunk people with guns. It sounds like you guys made a good call there.
Not camping-related, but I got a summons in the mail today, from NJDFW, for "operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway" at Winslow WMA dated about three weeks ago. $274! I was never stopped or spotted in person, so they must have a trail cam back there. I never do anything destructive of course, but I did drive down the CNJ tracks for a short distance that day, and that must be what they saw me doing.
I guess there's no point in trying to argue it if they have my truck on camera. That fine amount just seems steep, for a harmless act.
Not camping-related, but I got a summons in the mail today, from NJDFW, for "operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway" at Winslow WMA dated about three weeks ago. $274! I was never stopped or spotted in person, so they must have a trail cam back there. I never do anything destructive of course, but I did drive down the CNJ tracks for a short distance that day, and that must be what they saw me doing.
I guess there's no point in trying to argue it if they have my truck on camera. That fine amount just seems steep, for a harmless act.