Bass River State Forest — Attraction in Bass River Township

Listen to me: BE VERY AWARE WHILE CAMPING OR DOING PICNIC AT THIS PARK. This is my story: A year ago I camped at this park, they tried to make my life miserable for forgetting my tiny Maltese dog paperwork almost to the point of making return to NYC 2 hours away. Lucky me I found the papers later and shove them to their face. Add to this the constant police presence harassing everyone and telling us to be quiet which is almost impossible when you have a group of 3,4 and 5 years old. I thought I learned my lesson and that I would never be returning to this park. BIG MISTAKE, I WENT BACK THIS LABOR DAY 09/04/17. This is what happened: I get to their golden park at about 10 am. We all pay 20 dollars for not being NJ residents, which in return get us a piece of pink paper to put it in the windshield. Its me, my family and friends divided in 4 cars. After unpacking everything we realize that we forgot to buy the ice and some foam plates. Me and 2 family members go out to the nearest town to buy this. While passing by the booth at the entrance I feel the sensation of letting the lady attending the booth know(her name Judith) that we are going out and coming back. Seeing a line of cars waiting and the fact that I had to get off my car to do this, I rather exited the park and went to buy my things. 50 min later, we come back, we see a sign that says that the park is now closed. I dont mind this, I already paid for my car space. right? What a surprise! Even those who pay cannot re-enter the park. They tell you to park outside and wait till the park re-opens which can take 3-4 hours. ARE YOU SERIOUS? But there is more. Is not true that you can park on the road. If you do that, there will be a police patrol car harassing you to no do it every 5 minutes. SO YOU CANNOT PARK INSIDE THE PARK, NOR ON THE ENTRANCE OR ANY OF THE ROADS IN the 10 MILES AROUND THEIR PRECIOUS PARK. I visited so many parks in the US that I cannot even remember and never saw something like this. BUT THERE IS MORE MY FRIENDS. These are some of the options that I thought could work for me to enjoy the rest of my holiday and bypass their strict rules. I have to say that all were totally denied surprisingly by the park staff. First: No parking in the nearest town and come back walking to enter the park. (you gotta be kidding me) Second: NO sending somebody of the people already outside with me to deliver the groceries to my family inside so that at least they can have a good time inside.(if you have a little kid inside waiting for water, well he is just going to die of thirst). Third: Let's get out there. Right? Surprise! 2 other drivers and their car keys are outside waiting with me and you guessed right. THEY CANNOT RE-ENTER THE PARK NO MATTER WHAT. So yeah, we waited 4 hours outside while our family was inside worrying about us. We ate MacDonalds instead of our BBQ and yes once they opened we took our things and got out of there. So in summary it was the worst day of our summer, I do not recommend that anyone visit this park. I am sharing this story with my friends, the rest of my family and the friends of my friends. I looking for ways to let the NJ park administration know about my experience and other's because it was not only me outside, there were other people outside too. Add to this the fact that there is no grass in their picnic area, bathroom are outdated and dirty and other reviewers are saying that there are many snakes. One star for the lake, its the only one that...

Pro's - The lake had kayak and paddle board rentals . Con's-The lake was very loud with different music blaring in your ear, and kids screaming as well as some adults using slang cuss words. Check in staff would not allow a minute before which is stupid its not the marriot and I just traveled almost two hours to start my vacation the shelter is sitting empty. They told me go shop at Walmart. Say what?? Then I get to the shelter the door is unlocked the locks broken, the shelter is FILTHY and loaded with bugs. The windows are broken the paint inside is peeling and the bunk bed tops were bending. The lake view was no lake view the trees and bushes covered everything. The bathrooms across from us were not cleaned all weekend, It was gross and smelly and bug infested. I understand its the woods we camp at another state parks often and they do a fantastic job. No showers in the bathrooms by the shelter had to drive two miles to another dirty bathroom . Needless to say I didn't shower for three days because it was that dirty. I didn't see one park ranger or staff come by all weekend to check up as I do in other campsites. Cabins and shelters were empty yet I couldn't book a cabin because its a 7 day min. Hello they are empty for a reason people . Try calling other parks and see how filled they are. Someone told me about this camp I will never go back. I was actually told the person who runs it refuses to fix the shelters and cabins and hire staff to clean it properly. I highly suggest they change some things or they wont have jobs to go to. The state forest we are going to this weekend is booked solid. See my point?? It would be a great place if they took care of it. Not sure where the state funds are being used. Oh by the way I left it cleaner then when I went in. This review is not to harm but to let you know something needs to be done. Check all the reviews im not...

May-2023

Just stayed at Bass River State Forest for two nights. It is our first time staying at this state forest. We rented out cabin 1 and as soon as we walked in we could tell that the cabin was not clean. The floors were filthy like if they never been mopped. The shower was dirty with hair and the shower curtain looked like is been there for years and never been replaced. The worse part was the cockroaches. The whole cabin was infested with them and when night time comes you will see them around the cabin. We had to put all of our utensils and food in the fridge including plates and spoons etc.. I think the workers should do a better job at cleaning out the cabins. I understand we are "camping" and doing outside stuff but I don't think the cabins should be that dirty when guests arrive. And something should be done with the cockroaches. I feel like that's not sanitary especially when you have babies/toddlers or kids around. I couldn't sleep well thinking one was going to crawl on my daughter or I while sleeping. None of the cabins have curtains or blinds we didn't feel comfortable using the bathroom or changing because there is no privacy you are out in the open and anyone that goes by can see inside.

The best part of staying at this place is the outdoors. The outdoors is super nice the lake is a few feet away from the cabins which is so nice. We loved being outside with our daughter and watch her play and enjoy the outdoors. We spent our time outside and on the porch relaxing by the lake and fire. It's nice and quiet and you are away...