Northern Bass River State Forest

Grass field

Evening brush

Thicket shrubs

Northern Bass River State Forest. Where the northern pinelands become the southern pinelands, the landscape goes from secluded villages to a nonstop, continuous ocean of remote forests. Although near the real ocean, the journey from Chatsworth, in eastern Franklin Parker Preserve, to Oswego Lake can be like crossing an entire ocean.

Flooded cedars

Dead cedar forest taken over

Dead cedar skeletons finally disappearing

Dense glimpse of cedar forest

Bumpy trail

Cedar island

When a cedar forest dies, over time, a new type of forest may grow, even if it takes decades. They could be replaced by hardwood or even pine.

Cedar skeletons almost gone

Are other forest types taking over?

Evening brush