Just getting started with the Jersey Devil Hunt? Begin here!
Below you’ll find an introduction to the route. Once you’ve read through this, head to Plan a Trip for more detailed information on planning and logistics, and check out the Route Map to get the lay of the land and download GPS files. Stop by the FAQ page for additional info.Then you’ll be ready to roll!
Route Basics
The Jersey Devil Hunt is a bikepacking route across the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey.
- Expect to take two and a half or three days to complete the ride for most bikepackers
- Very fast riders may finish in two days
- Some riders may prefer a more relaxed pace of four days
- There is no need to carry large amounts of food or water
Rail connections make it logistically easy to reach the route
- The JDH runs from Trenton to Atlantic City. Both towns have commuter rail connections to Philadelphia and New York City
- The halfway point of the route is close to another commuter rail station in Hammonton
- This means you can easily ride the route without driving or setting up car shuttles!
The riding is all very easy in terms of technical and physical challenge!
- No rocky terrain, stream crossings, or climbing to speak of!
- Still, the sandy soil means most riders will move slower than on typical gravel
- After storms, fallen trees/blowdowns may mean lifting/carrying your bike in places
Check out the route map page to get an overview.
Feedback Welcome!
If you have any comments or reports to offer, write to: info@jerseydevilhunt.com
Opinions on the route are very welcome, and information on the current state of the route is extremely valuable! If you’ve ridden it recently, please send info on any of the following:
- What were your favorite parts, and least favorite parts?
- What did you think of the experience overall?
- Is there anything you think would improve it?
- Did you encounter any problems, bad trail conditions, or other things that riders should know about? This could include:
- Flooding/erosion
- Downed trees
- Damage by vehicles to road/trail surfaces, affecting rideability
- Official road/trail closures
- Change of operating hours for businesses or other amenities
- Campground facilities closed/unavailable
- Anything else riders might need to know!
What Bike to Bring?
The defining factor in the Pines is the soft “sugar sand” of many of the region’s unpaved roads. However, the Jersey Devil Hunt was designed to be (mostly) rideable on normal gravel or mountain bikes.
- As with bikepacking in general: The best bike is the one you have!
- There is no technical riding on the route at all, and suspension is not necessary.
- The Jersey Devil Hunt is 40% unpaved, with most of the unpaved mileage being sand/gravel roads, as well as a few slightly rougher 4×4 tracks and some easy singletrack.
- Be aware that in wet conditions, sand can take a significant toll on the lifespan of your bike’s chain (and potentially brake pads, though the lack of hills means not much braking here).
Tire Width
- Wider tires are helpful because they allow easier riding across soft sand. The wider your tires, the easier time you’ll have.
- Gravel bikes (typically with tires 40-45mm wide) will do fine for most of the route, but you’ll have to walk on a few parts—see below.
- 2.2″ tires, or wider, are ideal to avoid any hike-and-bike. Tires even wider than this are helpful and you’ll move faster in many places, but they aren’t necessary.
- The southern section of the route (Batsto to Atlantic City, miles 82-171) is virtually all rideable on an ordinary gravel bike. Rooty singletrack in Belleplain State Forest means wider tires are still nice to have, though.
Trail Conditions
- Most of the unpaved distance is on sand roads, which are of a similar consistency to gravel roads, but softer.
- The worst sand on the route is between mile 45 and mile 47. Riders on tires narrower than about 2.2″ may have to walk a substantial part of this section.
- An optional shortcut exists to skip most of this section—see the route map for details. The tradeoff is that you’ll miss Webb’s Mill Bog, a unique nature spot.
- Other short sandy spots exist throughout the route. These should only require a very small amount of walking, if any.
- 4 miles of the route is on an unpaved rail trail (the D&R towpath near Trenton) and almost 9 miles (~5.2%) of the route is on trails, including plenty of easy singletrack.
- Overall, expect to move slower on this route than you are used to, as you’ll move slower on sand roads than you would on gravel.
E-Bikes
E-bikes are prohibited on the ~5 miles of singletrack in Wharton State Forest, near Batsto. This covers all classes of e-bike, including pedal-assist only. E-bikers should follow Devious Mount Road (which parallels the JDH route) to Washington Turnpike, then take Washington Turnpike to Batsto to rejoin the JDH route at the Batsto Visitor Center parking lot.
Suggested Itinerary
A suggested itinerary is found on the Route Map page. It consists of one long (74 mile) day, one 54 mile day, and one 43-mile day, starting in Trenton and ending in Atlantic City.
Each night on this itinerary is spent in a state forest campground—the only legal places to camp on public land in the Pine Barrens. Both ends of the route are at bike-friendly train lines connected to Philadelphia.
Two-Day Itineraries
See “Plan a Trip” for other itinerary options, including splitting the route into two overnighters. A train station (Hammonton) near the midpoint of the route makes it easy to ride the north or south halves as their own rides.
Camping
Camping is only legal in established campgrounds in the Pine Barrens. Several state forest campgrounds are along the route. The facilities at these sites vary widely. See Plan a Trip for details.
Direction
Riding north to south offers the opportunity for a more appealing ending, in the form of a long beach ride into Atlantic City. However, the route can easily be done in either direction.
The northern part of the route is more wild and remote (aside from the 27-mile stretch from Trenton to Whitesbog), while the southern half spends a little more time around towns and inhabited areas.
However, the southern half has much more scenic variation and features many of the most beautiful locations found on the route.
Resupply
Pack light! Assuming a three-day timeline, you don’t need to carry more than one day and night’s worth of food. There are no resupply options on the northern half of the route, but multiple options on the southern half.
Transportation
The route begins and ends at train stations that connect to Philadelphia; you can bring your bike on the train.
You can also split the route in half easily using the NJ Transit station at Hammonton. The route is easily divided into two overnight trips.
See Plan a Trip for details.
Difficulty
There is very little elevation change in this coastal plain route. There is also no technical riding at all.
The main physical difficulty comes from the softness of the sugar sand roads. If you are riding a bike without sufficiently wide tires (less than 40mm wide), you will likely wash out and be forced to walk your bike on a regular and extremely frustrating basis.
Even on fat tires, the sandy surfaces may mean you ride a bit slower than you otherwise would. Budget for a given amount of distance to take more time than it would elsewhere.
When to Go
The Pine Barrens are at their best in the shoulder seasons, which see mild temperatures and—importantly—no mosquitoes. April-May is the sweet spot in spring; October is the best in fall, with stunning foliage around the middle of the month.
Mosquitoes and other biting insects start to become an issue around early June, and mostly die down by late September.
Summer has warm to hot weather which is otherwise okay for cycling, but much of the Pine Barrens is absolutely swarming with mosquitoes and other biting insects. Proceed with caution.
Winter is cold, though warm spells may see daytime highs in the low 50s and nighttime temperatures well above freezing on a fairly regular basis. On the coastal plain, extreme winter weather is uncommon, so winter outings are certainly a possibility for the well-prepared.
Safety
Ticks and Lyme Disease
By far the biggest safety concern is the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), the species known to transmit Lyme disease. Other tick species are also present. Read up on tick safety before venturing into the pines, and allow time for diligent tick checks every evening.
The route generally avoids riding in any overgrown sections of trail where you are likely to brush against a great deal of grass or branches (putting you at risk for tick exposure). However, there is always a chance of this happening when in the Pine Barrens, so be prepared with tick precautions no matter what.
Ticks are active almost year-round in the Pine Barrens, especially in this era of ever-warmer winters. However, spring and early summer are historically the highest season for tick activity.
Other Wildlife
One venomous snake, the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is found in the Pine Barrens.
Since bears are not a major concern in the Pines, hanging food at camp is not required. It is still not a bad idea to do so, as smaller creatures like mice may be attracted to it.
Fire
Pine Barrens are very susceptible to wildfire compared to other Eastern forests. Wildfires are often started by human activity. Never create fires anywhere other than where and when it is explicitly permitted (campground fire pits, when fire bans are not in effect).
Traffic
While the Jersey Devil Hunt makes every effort to stay off pavement, this is still New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the Union. In order to begin and end at train stations, some long road stretches are necessary, particularly out of Trenton and along the shore (if not riding on the beach).
Once you reach Whitesbog, the roads used by the route are almost all either quiet and low-traffic, or else have a generous shoulder.
The notable exception to this is Rt. 623 between Batsto and Makepeace Lake (mile 82-91). While not extremely busy, this road does have a fair number of cars, and often not as much shoulder as cyclists would like. Unfortunately, there is no better alternative to cross the more built-up area between the northern and southern sections of the JDH.
US-322/Black Horse Pike Off-Ramp
Marked on the route GPX file is an off-ramp from US-322 (Black Horse Pike) onto NJ-50, a short way north of May’s Landing. View on Google Streetview.
This involves going around a blind corner with fast-moving traffic where the shoulder abruptly disappears. To navigate this safely, either take the lane, or else move off the road entirely: wait for a lull in traffic, then cross to the grassy median area within the interchange. From there, walk up to Rt. 50 and cross south when there’s no opposing traffic.
Hunting
Several portions of the Jersey Devil Hunt are in areas where hunting is sometimes allowed, in Brendan T. Byrne, Bass River, and Wharton State Forests. More than 100 days of the year are open for some sort of hunting, either by firearm or bow.
Check HuntWise for details on when hunting is permitted. Consider wearing bright colors or a high-vis vest in order to make yourself very visible.
Navigation
Navigation can be difficult in the famously monotonous, disorienting Pinelands. The lack of good paper maps of the unpaved roads of the area can increase this difficulty. If relying on electronic maps, a backup map source is always a good idea (e.g. a smartphone as well as a dedicated GPS device).
Although the woods of the Pines are extensive, the road network is interconnected and surrounded by paved roads in every direction. In case you ever do become truly lost, proceeding in one direction consistently should eventually bring you back to pavement and civilization. A compass and paper road map would be very useful if you find yourself needing to navigate out of the woods this way.
There is decent cell phone reception on a surprising amount of the route. However, don’t rely on this—download basemaps to your phone before the trip, and bring backup methods of navigation.
Weather
Weather is unlikely to pose serious hazards, other than the standard considerations in a temperate climate: Heat exhaustion and dehydration in summer; hypothermia in winter and possibly in shoulder seasons.
Wildfires are much more common in the Pine Barrens than anywhere else in the mid-Atlantic and are an essential part of the ecoregion’s lifecycle. However, they can potentially affect the route. Check the news before your trip to see if any fires have occurred along the route, and keep an eye on the JDH Facebook page for any updates. Never make campfires except where it is explicitly allowed, and check for fire bans.
In hurricane season (roughly July through October) there is always a small chance of powerful storms hitting the Pine Barrens. Since hurricanes are easy to see coming, this is most likely to affect your ride in terms of leaving blowdowns, flooding, or otherwise affecting the route’s rideability.
The Jersey Devil Hunt does not require any wading, fording, or other water crossings, making it doable in any season without adding extra concern about wet clothing.
In summer, carry plenty of water capacity, and obtain/filter water at every opportunity. The longest stretch between water is from mile 35 to 73, so bring enough to cover this 38-mile stretch.
- Water supplies between those points are limited by opening hours and are not always reliable.
- This section also contains the worst sand on the route (miles 45-47) so you’ll spend more time covering it than you might expect.
The pine woods do not provide the dense shade you may be used to in deciduous forests, so you’ll experience more sun exposure than on most other East Coast bike rides.
