rural approaching Hammonton
where Rte 206 and Rte 542 lead
into the forest.5 Wharton State
Forest
Your introduction to
this region, variously
referred to as ‘the Pines’,
‘the Pinelands’ the ‘Pine
Barrens’ and ‘the Pine
Belt’ (locals are ‘Pineys’),
is the 12,000 acre
Wharton State Forest.
To understand the
region’s early history,
begin at the well-
preserved village of
Batsto. Founded in 1766,
Batsto forged ‘bog iron’
for the Revolutionary
War and remained an
important ironworks
until the 1850s; a self-
guided cell phone audio
tour provides a dry
primer on the uses of the
various structures. The
visitor center (9am-4:30pm,
$5 vehicle fee in summer),
also the primary one for
Wharton State Forest, has
an interesting collection
of exhibits dedicated to
the economic, cultural
and natural history of
the Pinelands. Several
1- to 4-mile loop trails
start here and pass
through scrub oak and
pine, swamp maple and
Atlantic white cedar, a
typical mix found in the
forests’ woodlands.
The most well-known
trail is the epic 50-mile
Batona Trail that cuts
through several stateparks and forests;
look for endangered
pitcher plants, which
get nutrients they can’t
get from the soil from
hapless insects. Stop and
climb the Apple Pie Hill
fire tower – the Batona
Trail passes by it – for
magnificent 360-degree
views of hundreds of
square miles of forests.
The climb to the top is
completely exposed and
the steps and railing feel
less than sturdy, so it’s
not for the acrophobic.54 p143
The Drive » From Batsto, it’s
the AC Expressway all the way
for 28 miles.6 Atlantic City
It’s not exactly Vegas,
but for many a trip to AC
conjures Hangover-like
scenes of debauchery.
And inside the casinos
that never see the
light of day, it’s easy to
forget there’s a sandy
beach just outside
and boarded-up shop
windows a few blocks in
the other direction. The
AC known throughout
the late 19th and
early 20th century for
its grand boardwalk
and oceanside
amusement pier, and
the glamorously corrupt
one of the HBO series
Boardwalk Empire (set
in 1920s Prohibition-
era AC), have been
thoroughly overturned.
Gray-haired retirees andvacationing families
are at least as common
as bachelors and
bachelorettes.
It’s worth nothing that
AC’s famous boardwalk,
8 miles long and still the
lifeline of the city, was
the first in the world.
Built in 1870 by local
business owners who
wanted to cut down
on sand being tracked
into hotel lobbies, it
was named in honor of
Alexander Boardman,
who came up with the
idea – Boardman’s Walk
later became ‘Boardwalk’.
The Steel Pier (%866-
386-6659; http://www.steelpier.
com; cnr Boardwalk & Virginia
Ave; h1pm-midnight Mon-
Fri, noon-1am Sat & Sun),
directly in front of the
Taj Mahal casino, was
the site of the famous
high-diving horses
that plunged into the
Atlantic before crowds of
spectators from the 1920s
to the ‘70s. Today it’s a
collection of amusement
rides, games of chance,
candy stands and a Go-
Kart track.
If it’s open, drop in on
the informative Atlantic
City Historical Museum
(%609-347-5839; http://www.
acmuseum.org; Garden Pier;
h10am-5pm daily). It was
closed for repairs at the
time of writing due to
damage from Hurricane
Sandy. The museum is
run by a quirky old-timer
and provides a suitably
quirky look at AC’s past.54 p143
TRIP HIGHLIGHTNEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS.11
(^) BRANDYWINE V
ALLEY TO A
TLANTIC CITY