being an englander, and quite ignorant when it comes to geography such as this, i was wondering if the pine barrens--where the famous episode of that title is set--were really there, and if so are they called Pine Barrens?

mick

Interesting question. Yes, the Pine Barrens exist, but that wasn't the Pine Barrens in that episode. The Pine Barrens are very flat, and located in south New Jersey.. The area used to film "Pine Barrens" is I believe an area called "Bear Mountain", which is located in New York just north of NJ.

Everytime i drive to my grandmom's house i drive through the pine barrens. and its not a good to place u want to get lost in. everything looks alike and there are some places that havent been charted yet. its scary and its one of the scariest places to get confused in because everywhere u look everything is the same.

maybe thats why they didnt film it there

They probably chose Bear Mountain because it's closer to where most of the show is filmed.

Yeah, that's right. They filmed in the Catskills (NY) rather than the Pinelands (Pine Barrens). Not sure why, though, it's probably the same distance from where they usually film.

I'm right on the border of the Pinelands. It's not all dense woods, but in the heart of it, the Jersey Devil is said to reside -- as well as hillbillies called Pineys.

I found this short description of the area which may be of some interest:

New Jersey, a small coastal state on the East Coast of the United States, is often thought of as being an endless stretch of highways, factories, and landfills. Though New Jersey is a highly industrialized state, it does have places that are wild and undeveloped.

One of these areas is called the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This unique area covers approximately 1.1 million acres, which is nearly one quarter of the state’s total land area. In many locations, pines are the dominant types of tree, but the landscape is by no means barren. The Pine Barrens is home to an estimated eight-hundred and fifty species of plants and three hundred and fifty species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

In naming the region, the early settlers of the 1600´s were referring to their inability to grow traditional food crops. This was and still is because of the sandy, acidic, nutrient poor soil.

Also, I vaguely recall reading that the NY State pine barren area near Bear Mtn. was used to film the show's episode (instead of NJ) because of some legality.

Its ironic, SanAlfo, to read your description of the pine barrens, and then to look at your avatar. Chris Moltisanti couldn't have said it better!

Thanks for the great link, Don; and also thanks to SC for the interesting addition!

mick

My description of the Pine Barrows is true. Its not a good place to break down. Time for the Sopranos to start. bye

While im at it I might has well post 2 more reply's so i can get up to 50. So the pine barrens is a spooky spot. AFter reading the don's link about the jersey devil i already knew most of that stuff. PPl around here talk about stuff like that. I tell ya if i had to get rid of body i would go to the pine barrens. its so big u can buried an elephant. peace

My 50th post! YA