My favorite place to paddle in the Pine Barrens. Remote and pretty. The immense size of some of the cedars and white pines would make it easy for you to believe you are in a more northern latitude. Oswego Lake, where many begin this trip is the only place I've ever seen solid ice in the Pinelands. Getting across the lake with a canoe in this state can be somewhat humorous to downright dangerous. You'd never know it, but this trips passes through what was once a busy little town, though I'm happy to say, that just about all traces of it have vanished and the forest has reclaimed the land.
Locked in ice!
A close second favorite. The upper reaches are less traveled because of the long shuttle required to get to the put in. One of my favorite trips is to incorporate the rarely run Skit Branch into the upper Batsto. The lower Batsto, has some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the area... though frequently visited. During some parts of the year, when the water is low, man made Batsto lake dries up (or the dam is released) exposing the channel and revealing just how winding these rivers are.
The "Egg" is a typical Pine Barrens river, It's twisty and left unchecked, the banks overgrow enough to make passage difficult. This is especially true in the upper and mid sections where there are more blow downs, sweepers, strainers and literally walls of briars than can be kept up with. The lower end before the lake is somewhat of an suburban paddle through riverside homes.
One of the nicer streams, due its diversity. The canoeist encounters everything from a tree stump slalom, to a braided swamp and an open lake. Interestingly enough, in its upper reaches the Cedar is less "tea colored" than other Pine Barrens waterways. However, due to its proximity to a more populated area, there will be plenty of beer bottles and other trash visible in the water.
