Godfrey Bridge — Wharton State Forest

Stayed at Site 7. Very spacious and moderately shaded. Nice and flat site. The only issues were the RV “resort” very close by, Very loud music at night from about 8-11. The ticks were out and about. Be prepared! Other than that it was ok.

Beautiful campground but unfortunately it is unusable due to tick infestation. Too many campgrounds in the area without this issue to make simply dealing with them a viable option

AVOID this campground. I am someone who camps multiple times a year and am low maintenance when it comes to camping - I prefer primitive camping to anything else. 

I saw some reviews before coming saying ticks were bad but thought hey it can't be that bad... it's that bad.

I stayed with a group of 12 spread out over four sites (005-008) and we were only able to stay one night because within the span of 24 hours we counted over 100 Lone Star ticks that had either attached to us or our dogs, or were crawling on us or the dogs. This does not include the 60 ticks we pulled off of our dogs when we got home and could really look them over.

I have never experienced anything like this in my life.... we were getting these ticks just setting up and sitting at the campsites. There was no way to avoid them other than not staying at this campground.

Stay somewhere else, don't put yourself through the stress.

Our group stayed for an extended weekend trip at one of the primitive tent sites. It was awesome, and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, we had neighbors that were being obnoxiously loud for multiple hours past the "quiet time", but even that didn't ruin our trip. Bonus points for being driving distance to multiple locations that we could take our kayaks.

All of the spots in Wharton are great, except for the ones closest to the private Wading Pines campground on weekends. This includes Godfrey and Hawkins. Wading Pines has live music (a terrible cover band) that they blast from 7 until 11-12 pm that echoes through the park. No idea how they get away with this, but it is an awful camping experience.

This site is great for people trying to cool off! River system that is perfect for swimming, tubing, wading, or bridge jumping.

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.

This place is great! If wet make sure your car can handle sand and mud as roads in are not paved. Flat ground, good fire pit, minimum people, boat/canoe launch, feels very remote. Can bring dogs and reserve online. Can't wait to come back for a longer stay.