Pinelands Adventures, an initiative of PPA, offers self-guided and guided nature experiences in the Pine Barrens. Sign up for email updates so you don’t miss out on special program offerings and guided trips!
Reporters from Channel 6/Action News Philadelphia took a river tour with Pinelands Adventures in July. See the story:
Self-guided Paddling
Batsto and Mullica Rivers and Atsion Lake
Canoe or kayak on two of the Pine Barrens’ most pristine rivers. Pinelands Adventures provides boats and transportation for 2, 4, 5 or 8 hour self-guided river trips and overnight trips for campers paddling to the Mullica River or Lower Forge campgrounds. You can even bring your own boat!
Canoe and Kayak Rentals are available for use on Atsion Lake and Goshen Pond for those staying at the Atsion Cabins, Atsion Family Campground and Goshen Pond Campground. Rentals for visitors to Atsion Recreation Area are available in the spring, fall and weekdays in the summer.
Naturalist Guided Tours
To learn more about tours and trips offered by Pinelands Adventures click here.
Pine Barrens Discovery Tours (Paddle & Walk)
Trek and paddle along the edges of the Mullica River and discover its secrets. Join a Pinelands Adventures Naturalist for an exploration of Pine Barrens life. This program includes a shore walk to learn about uplands and Atlantic Cedar Swamp habitats, a water quality survey to see what fish, frogs, and bugs can tell us about their home and canoeing on a Pine Barrens lake. Trip length: 3 hours
Ghost Towns of the Pine Barrens (Small Group Bus Tour)
A fascinating tour of many of the forgotten industrial towns that once thrived in the Pine Barrens, which, some say, contain more ghost towns than the entire America west. The group will learn about the unique places and villages that rose up around the iron furnaces, glass factories, paper mills, cranberry farms and brick-making establishments of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. Many of these old towns will be explored on foot as we search for the remnants of villages that once turned the raw materials of the region into products needed by a new nation. Trip length: 5 hours
Batsto River Naturalist Guided Tour (Paddle)
This trip begins at Quaker Bridge on the Batsto River. You’ll explore on water and land while learning about Pine Barrens habitats, history, plants and animals. Once on the river we’ll make stops along the way to investigate unique Pine Barrens plants along the river’s edge, learn about the role of fire in Pine Barrens ecology, and the history of bog iron in the pines. Trip length: 7 hours
Journey Between Two Rivers (Hike)
We’ll set out on a four-mile hike at an easy pace between the Mullica and Batsto Rivers. Explore the uplands and river edges for native plants and animals while learning about the unique features of the Pine Barrens and its history. Bring a picnic lunch! Trip length: 5 hours
John McPhee’s Pine Barrens Today (Small Group Bus Tour)
Join Pinelands Adventures on a small group driving tour to visit many places described in John McPhee’s landmark book The Pine Barrens. While most of the characters that McPhee profiled have since passed on many years ago, many of the places he wrote about have remained largely unchanged. They’ve remained that way in large part because McPhee’s book challenged citizens and political leaders to find a way to protect the unique Pine Barrens ecosystem and culture from development that loomed on the horizon at the time. Trip length: 5 hours
History of Pinelands Adventures
Learn a little about the history of how PPA started Pinelands Adventures.
