Camping at Jenny Jump State Forest

This past weekend, the Fat Man and I camped for two nights at Jenny Jump State Forest, a lovely little campground right here in the Garden State (Warren County).  It is a good thing we had 20-degree down sleeping bags because the weather plummeted to 27 degrees with the wind chill our first night.  Brrrr.

Whenever we camp in early spring or late fall, I always pack a pair of warm gloves, a wool hat, and a neck gaitor.  You lose a lot of heat from your head, neck, shoulders, and hands.  Having a warm head means a happy Heidi. 

Heidi's healthy breakfast

Fat Man's breakfast

The next morning I awoke to the sound of nearby hunters shooting New Jersey’s state dog: deer.  I enjoyed a healthy breakfast of nonfat, plain greek yogurt with fresh berries and a little granola along with my Starbucks Via with sugar-free, hazelnut nondairy creamer (237 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat).  The Fat Man had a large cherry Danish and coffee with half-and-half (what he calls a low-calorie version of light cream), for a total of 470 calories and a whopping 10 grams of saturated fat.  Not so healthy.

We took a short hike to the Summit Trail, which was a lovely vista for very little effort (elevation of 1,090 feet and 1.5 miles, but it felt like a lot less).  Then we went down to the Swamp Trail, which looped around and brought us back to the campsite.  

Summit Trail view 

Our trusty tent

Jenny Jump has 12 miles of designated hiking trails with great views and challenging mountainous terrain through a mature hardwood forest bordered by rows of white pine, according to their brochure (to learn more, visit the New Jersey Parks and Forests website).  No pets or booze allowed, but bears can come and go as they please.  You also must carry out your trash or burn it like most pyromaniacs do.

There are 22 tent and trailer campsites with fire rings and picnic table

in wooded areas and eight shelters with living rooms, wood-burning stoves, two double-bunk beds, and outdoor grills (sorry, no private toilets).  Our 20-year-old Eureka tent and air mattress served us quite well, as usual.  We brought our own firewood, but you can buy it there.  You also need to make reservations, especially at peak camping times.  It cost us $20 a night for a spacious campsite.

Entrance to our campsite

You pass Shade of Death Road on your way to the campground (now there’s a name that sounds inviting).  Some say a woman beheaded her husband and buried his head and body on opposites sides of the road, while others claim an Indian surprised a 9-year-old girl who was picking berries on some rocks during early settler days.  Her father told her to jump, which she did; falling to her death.  Others claim it is haunted by ghosts, but we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

The campsites were spread out very nicely and you didn’t feel like you were camping on a crowded street in the Bronx (like we did in one section of Fahnestock campground in New York).  The only thing I didn’t like was that I could hear the trucks on Route 80, which robs you of that escape-to-the-woods feeling (it might not be a problem for campsites on the opposite side of the road).  But the bathrooms were heated and the showers provided plenty of hot water without having to feed a machine quarters.  While the Clevis composting toilets weren’t as pristine as others I’ve experienced, they were not overly smelly.  We would definitely camp there again.

Heidi’s rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ and a half stars (would have been 5 if I did not hear the highway).

The Fat Man’s rating: 2 Texas Weiners and a cherry cheese Danish.