FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Burlington County, New Jersey

Apple Pie Hill Station Fire Tower

A 60-ft Aermotor fire tower in Wharton State Forest, first erected at Big Hill in 1938 and moved here in 1950; fenced off in 2016 after vandalism.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Fenced off on September 10, 2016 after vandalism. Wikipedia says visitors may enter when staff are present and by appointment; Atlas Obscura said in July 2017 it was not possible to visit.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
The hill lies along the Batona Trail in Wharton State Forest
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower60-ft Aermotor tower with a metal box cab at the top, painted red and whiteThe designs: Aermotor, Cupola house
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1912
Height
59 ft (18.0 m)
Elevation
179 ft (55 m)
Agency
New Jersey Forest Fire Service
Land
State land
Location
Burlington County, New Jersey
Coordinates
39.80738, −74.58938
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-nj-apple-pie-hill

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.5 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1912 BuiltOriginal cupola lookout on the hill, built about 1912 per the NHLR; Atlas Obscura says a lookout has been there since about 1912Sources: nhlr.org, atlasobscura.com
  2. 1914 Event1914 newspapers conflict: the Inquirer says a lookout tower has been erected, while the Transcript says the state was still planning oneSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1914 and 1938
  4. 1938 BuiltTower first stood at Big Hill in 1938, per the NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  5. 1950 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  6. 1950 MovedMoved from Big Hill to Apple Pie HillSources: nhlr.org, atlasobscura.com
  7. No record between 1950 and 2004
  8. 2004 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 15, 2004Source: nhlr.org
  9. 2016 ClosedClosed to public access by a fence around the tower on September 10, 2016, due to vandalismSources: en.wikipedia.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  10. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Apple Pie Hill rises in Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, inside Wharton State Forest.1,2 A 60-foot fire tower stands on its summit.1 The hill lies along the Batona Trail, which makes it a well-liked hiking spot.1

A lookout has been on the hill since about 1912.3 The register describes an early cupola lookout, built about that year, that overlooked the Pinelands.2,3 Newspaper reports from 1914 disagree on whether a tower was up yet: a Philadelphia Inquirer item said a lookout tower had been erected, while a later Transcript item said the state was planning one and had enough money to build it.4 Both reports expected a watch to be kept there: the Transcript described a permanently stationed observer, and the Inquirer described a guard on duty day and night.4

The register says the tower standing today first stood at Big Hill in 1938 and was moved to Apple Pie Hill in 1950.2,3 Atlas Obscura describes its metal box design, unlike the earlier cupola.3 The register lists the tower as registered on March 15, 2004, and names the New Jersey Forest Fire Service as its administrator.2 None of the sources says when the tower stopped being staffed.

On September 10, 2016, the Department of Environmental Protection fenced in the tower and closed the hill to visitors, citing vandalism.1 Eastern US Lookouts says the barrier was erected to keep people away from the tower, and it lists vandalism, theft and unsavory activities as the reasons.4

Sources disagree about access. Wikipedia says visitors are admitted when staff are present and by appointment, but Atlas Obscura reported in July 2017 that a visit was not possible.1,3 Anyone planning a trip should check with the state first, since the tower was fenced off in 2016.1

  1. Apple Pie Hill, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pie_Hill (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Apple Pie Hill Station Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/nj/apple-pie-hill-station-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Apple Pie Hill Fire Tower in Chatsworth, Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/apple-pie-hill-fire-tower (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Apple Pie Hill, Forest Lookouts, Eastern US Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/apple-pie-hill.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Apple Pie Hill Station Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Apple Pie Hill Station
Apple Pie Hill StationPhoto: Wikimedia Commons, via Wikipedia · See Wikimedia Commons file page (varies per photo) · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, status, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Wikipedia: List of New Jersey Forest Fire Service fire towers Gave us: type, height, ownership, photos, links Wikipedia (NJFFS fire tower list) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipedia). Facts only (register numbers, elevation, height, division, coordinates); article prose/notes not reproduced. Photos are Wikimedia Commons files, each with its own licence on its file page. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: links easternuslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, visiting details, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

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