The park, named for the Bass River which crosses through it, shelters a portion of the environmentally sensitive Pine Barrens but also provides a variety of recreational resources to visitors.

The lands were once occupied by the Absegami, a branch of the Lenape tribe of Native Americans in the United States.

A trail through the 128 acres (0.52 km2) Absegami Natural Area provides access to a pine/oak woods and a small Atlantic white cedar bog, also containing red maples and magnolias.

[2] The 3,830 acres (15.5 km2) West Pine Plains Natural Area preserves a pygmy forest, a globally rare stunted forest ecosystem consisting of pine and oak trees that reach a canopy height of as little as four feet at maturity.

The 50 miles (80 km) Batona Trail passes through the park, as well as nearby Wharton and Brendan T. Byrne State Forests.