Best Tent Camping near Elmer, NJ

We stayed for a weekend and were very happy with our cabin - a pleasant surprise was how incredible the bathroom inside there was - we're talking spectacularly clean! There was a shower stall w/built-in shelves that seemed brand new (no mildew on the shower curtain, no stains, etc.). The small sink had a mirror above it that opens for a medicine cabinet. Plenty of toilet paper but you need to bring your own soap/shampoo/towels.

The cabin featured a separate kitchenette area with regular size fridge, sink, electric stove with oven and some counter space/cupboard and rack for a hand towel. A fire extinguisher was within easy reach. The main area had two Adirontack chairs, table with benches, electrical outlet and wide barn doors (designed to open fully but ours were nailed shut so only a regular door width opened). There was a wood stove which, in August, we did not utilize (and I'd recommend bringing a small fan or two if you come in the summer, it was hot). There was a chalkboard (no chalk).

While we did not think we'd be using the narrow screened in porch it did rain and we were glad to have it. Also inside were two little rooms with bunk beds. I felt claustrophobic in there, imagining spiders and all sorts of creepy things living in there and opted to sleep in the car. Which reminds me - warning - there are tiny deer ticks. Don't go out to the car in the dark when the dew is on the grass w/o covering your feet and ankles, you will get deer ticks. Not like it happened to me or anything, wink wink. That being said, the bunks were clean, if well-used. Bring your sheets/pillows/sleeping bag for them. 

Outside, to the back of the cabin, was a small deck with picnic table, a grill, and a fire ring. Beyond that you will find a path to the lake with beautiful swans.

We walked the path around Thundergust lake after dinner and here is another warning: bring super-woodsman-strong-do-not-mess-with-me bug spray. While we all can get mosquito bites, these babies were like Rambo mosquitos on sterioids - one bite would leave a welt swollen a quarter inch above your skin and an inch and a half long. One bite. Now imaging a dozen of them and you can see why my friend was miserable the next day. We also found the "spotted lantern fly" a pest that is non-native and wrecking havock, which we promptly crushed with a hiking boot.

The swimming area of Parvin Lake was closed due to COVID, but we did a few hikes. There are maps available in the ranger's office - and some pretty cool tie-died t-shirts, too. (I got the turquoise). Anyway, the trails were pretty busy - lots of locals out getting a walk, run, or dog walk in. The hikes were easy, with level, sandy trails that were well-marked. There is a lot nearby the camping area, (like Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy where you can feed the animals and purchase some fantasic dairy products, yarn, and meats) or the Jersey Shore, or Amish markets.  So, while you can have the camping experience you will never feel "alone in the woods", which is why it's a great choice for new campers. Also  families who want the option of day trips close by. Some people had kayaks out on one of the lakes.

While a bit worn from the weather, it was nice to read about the foliage/native plants as we walked the trails. We also caught the end of the blueberry season and I was able to collect enough to make a small batch of jam when I got home.

My four-star rating comes from personal preference for more solitude when I camp. The other side of the same coin is the other negative impression I left with - there was a lot of trash/litter no matter where we were in this park. "Leave no trace" is not practiced here by the visitors, and while the park keeps the cabins COVID-spotless, the grounds are not maintained with the same stringency. In all fairness, the visitors should stop throwing bottles, wrappers, etc. on the ground. Signage and some volunteer days might help.

Atsion Family Campground

Off US 206 and about 1/2 a mile up Atsion Road in New Jersey’s Wharton State Forest, you’ll find the Atsion Family Campground. The facility is run by the Dept of Environmental Protection and offers Tent, Trailer and Group Sites. There are also Cabins for rent as well, but only available during the summer months, After Memorial Day until October. AFC is one of several campgrounds in WSF and is the largest with 50 camping sites. Amenities include a handicapped accessible restroom/shower building, several drinking water spigots, and a waste dump for trailers. There are no electric hook ups and cell service is low, but manageable. Plenty of sun (shady too) so bring your solar powered generators and cell signal boosters if you need to stay connected. AFC is also pet friendly, so bring your 4 legged furry family members, after registering them with the camp site.

The individual sites are spacious with a pic-nick table and fire ring grill. Some sites have lake-side water access, so bring your canoes and kayaks and reserve these sites (4, 8, 10, 12, 20 and 22) early as they are popular. The ground is sandy and relatively level for easy camp set up. Some sites are close to a roadway, so you do get some car noise, and like all unmonitored camp sites, loud, unruly campers can be lurking among the pines. Be sure to get your fire wood from the guy that lives across the street from the campground entrance. 5 bucks, on the honor system, a good amount of wood, open 24/7.

Nearby is the Atsion Recreation Area, which offers fishing, walking, biking and horseback trails, a life guard monitored beach by the lake with restrooms and snacks (Summer Months). Only 15 minutes away, a quick drive, is Batso Village, an old iron and glass community from the late 1700s to early 1900s. NJ State Park Rangers are working hard keeping the area clean, rehabilitated, and educational center allowing you to walk through the old buildings and time as you image what life was like back then. Wharton SF is huge, over 122,000 acres of sandy terrain, towering pine trees, lakes/rivers and off roading trails!! Y’all should come and play in the Pine Barrens

I have stayed here many times over the years, usually for a long weekend.  Longer trips were spent there with my parents when I was a kid.   I prefer the south shore campsites to the north shore.  The sites on the south shore offer a little more privacy and aren't as crammed.  I'm particularly fond of the dog friendly loop, its a newer loop and the bathrooms are more modern than the others scattered around. 

We have also stayed in the camping shelters a few times and a cabin once.    The shelters offer no frills sleeping quarters with two bunks beds, so four beds and closet/pantry on both sides in the rear for food and gear, a wooden table in and pot belly stove for warmth or a one pot meal in the front room.  Bathrooms are in a separate building across the road and are shared with the other shelters occupants.  The exterior includes a fire pit, picnic table and a fire ring for larger meal prep.

The cabins are a two steps above the shelter with a full kitchen and bathroom with shower, but otherwise rustic, with three sets of bunk beds, a wooden table and two Adirondack chairs in front of a fire place.  The screened in porch at the rear of the cabin overlooks the lake and has plenty of room for camp chairs.   There is also a picnic table and a charcoal grill outside.

The beach is home to the cleanest, most wonderful lake I have ever set foot  in.  There are picnic tables and grills scattered all around the beach near the parking lot and it does get crowded in the summer months.  There is also a concession stand open in the summer months, serving light fare -- burgers, dogs, ice cream, soda & chips.

I booked a tent site as my first introduction to the park. Setting up a reservation was incredibly user friendly, park staff was fantastic at getting us checked in, and the camp store was well stocked and priced. 

Our site, however, left something to be desired. The sites were all very close together, and the tent pad areas were fairly small. You can drive right up to your site and park there, which is incredibly convenient in terms of unpacking and set up. Around our site was pretty loud with neighbors at all hours, regardless of quiet hours, and balls being kicked into our tent pad area from surrounding visitors. There were some bottle caps and garbage on our tent pad upon arrival.

I think if you had kids and were looking for a "not so quiet" get away into nature, this would be a fantastic spot. There were larger and more private sites on our loop, and if I returned I would prioritize getting one of those. There are also more loops than the one we were on. 

The firepit had an adjustable height grill grate, and there was a picnic table at each site. Firewood ran $5 a bundle at the camp store.  Ice and potable water was also available. 

There was a nearby dumpster that was easy to use. Disappointed that there did not seem to be a recycling receptacle. Bathrooms were nice, the handicapped shower was very spacious. No shortage of hot water. 

We hiked all available trails from the trail map, though it seems there were more than listed, and a portion of the park is closed following previous tornado damage. We saw an abundance of herps, gorged ourselves on pawpaws, and generally foraged and tracked a ton of interesting wildlife. The trails themselves were pretty, but the rankings somewhat misleading. The "hard" trails would be hard in comparison to a flat gravel path, but in terms of general hiking, were comfortable with only a couple mildly steep or narrow points. I am unsure if the ranking system is for general hiking or in terms of ADA accessibility, however. If accessibility, it makes a lot of sense. For hiking? Less so; I'd rank the trails as a normal difficulty for their 'hard' trails. 

The beaches were lovely! We did not get the opportunity to kayak, swim, or fish, but are hoping to do that sometime in the future. Was still relaxing to sit out with a book and watch the water.

I do feel like we explored most of what the park had to offer, so while I would be happy to return it feels less urgent to do so. I think I would be better equipped to pick a site (or explore a cabin!) the next time which would resolve my minimal issues. Given the relaxed atmosphere of the trails, close amenities, etc. I think this would be a good choice to bring friends who are new to the camping scene, or for families.

★★★ Quiet Getaway Weekend 

We went to Spacious Skies Country Oaks in Dorothy, New Jersey, for a quiet getaway weekend. This is a small and basic campground, not a resort. No fancy amenities. We stayed in Site# 14- a pull-thru with 50-amp, water, and sewer. The hookups seemed to work just fine. There is a small concrete patio(which I like), fire ring(filled with trash from the previous camper), and picnic table. 

We went for a quiet weekend, so it didn’t bother us too much that there was no Wi-Fi and no cable TV. It would’ve been nice to have cable and/or Wi-Fi since it rained through most of our stay. I understand there is supposed to be Wi-Fi, but it wasn’t working. Our Verizon mobile service worked fine. And they plan to offer TV in the future. 

The pull-thru sites(# 12-15) are packed together so tightly that our sitting area was bordered by the hookups from the neighboring site. That’s a little unpleasant. And there are no trees for shade or privacy. Most of the rest of the sites in the campground are better spaced apart and wooded. I believe most of those sites are seasonal, but they seemed to be maintained. 

This was our second stay at SSCO, but first since a change of ownership to Spacious Skies a few months ago. I’m hoping the new owners make some upgrades to services and maintenance. If so, we’ll be back. 

THINGS I LIKED: The staff we met were all friendly and attentive- especially Kim, Eileen, and Jack Basic campground without resort-like amenities Quiet place to stay 

THINGS I’D CHANGE: Offer Wi-Fi Offer cable TV(this cost a star) The pull-thru sites are packed too close(this cost a star) 

NOTE: I try to review the places we stay based on what they’re trying to be. Resorts with water parks and lots of amenities should be reviewed differently than basic campgrounds in my opinion. Every place starts with 5-stars and loses stars for things I believe could and should be better.

Wharton State Forest has a few primitive campgrounds, which is what I'm looking for. I try to stay away from campgrounds with electrical hookups, because the sound of generators is not exactly the serenity of nature I'm looking for.

This is a review for GOSHEN POND campground, which you can reserve online. Goshen Pond isn't actually a pond, but actually just a very wide, slow moving section of the Mullica River. It's kayakable and canoe-able, but very shallow and swampy, so it doesn't make for good swimming. The Pine Barrens has a fascinating ecology - the ground is very sandy and nutrient-poor, which means that it suits fast-growing pines which live a short life and then die. The constant decay of trees in the area causes the copious amounts of rivers in Wharton State Forest to have a signature brown color. Just want to point it out - it's still clean and lovely, but not very clear.

The benefits to this Pine Barren ecology is that it makes for almost perfect camping. The ground is always very soft and sandy, which makes for comfortable sleeping. It's noticeably NOT rocky. It also means that there's always plenty of kindling available for collecting.

The GOSHEN POND camping area is great. Each campsite has room for 1-2 tents, and a fire ring. I personally prefer some privacy when I camp, and some of the sites offer this and some don't. There are some sites that the reservation site lists as RV sites, but they are rarely used by RVs and are actually the most secluded, so I would recommend them for tent camping as well. Site 3 is nice and private, and site 7 has the best view and easiest access to the pond. Avoid the sites in the center circuit of the map - they're very close together.

GOSHEN POND campground is connected to two equestrian trails, which make for great hiking. In your plans, keep in mind that Wharton State Forest is very flat, so you'll likely be able to cover a lot of ground much more quickly than you would on mountainous terrain.

There is a parking area, and the sites are variable distances from those areas. The RV sites will allow you to pull up directly to your campsite, but the rest of the tent sites are short walks away. You certainly don't need to plan for a backpacking adventure, but keep in mind that you won't have immediate access to your car.

There is a water pump near the parking area, and pit toilets. There are no flushing toilets, which I prefer at a campsite.

In review, the pros to GOSHEN POND are:

1. Soft, flat sleeping surfaces
2. Easy access to hiking trails and a kayakable "pond" that connects to the Mullica River system.
3. Plenty of kindling in the area.
4. Quiet and remote-feeling.
5. Some sites are very private.
6. Dogs allowed.
7. Water available.

Some downsides to GOSHEN POND:

1. No picnic table at any site, nor seating around the ring. I recommend bringing camp chairs and either a cooler to be a food prep surface or a folding table.
2. MOSQUITOS. Holy crap. Goshen Pond is nearly stagnant, so it is a breeding ground for mosquitos. I came back looking like a leper. I'm going back this weekend, and am investing in some 97% deet bug repellent and a mosquito net for my campsite.
3. Soot. Don't know what this is about, but at campsite 3, where I stayed the last time, there was a ton of soot in the soil, which just stuck to everything. You would wash yourself, and then be black with soot moments later. We eventually just succumbed to the soot and allowed ourselves to be dirty, but it was an annoyance. In the pictures, you can see the effect of it on my (normally) white dog.

Overall, I will definitely be returning to Goshen Pond and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a primitive campsite that truly feels like it's away from everything.