FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Sussex County, New Jersey

Culvers Lookout

Also known as Normanook Fire Tower, Culver Fire Tower, Culver Gap Fire Tower

Normanook-named state fire tower in Stokes State Forest, first used in 1908; present Aermotor tower dated 1933 or 1934 (sources differ); staffed in fall and spring per a 2021 account.

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. On foot via the Appalachian Trail corridor; a locked gate keeps motor vehicles off the fire road except for authorized people

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Reached on foot from the Appalachian Trail corridor in Stokes State Forest
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor tower, 47 feet with a 7x7 foot cab per NHLR (Willhite says 45 feet)The design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1918
Height
46 ft (14.0 m)
Elevation
1,509 ft (460 m)
Agency
NJ Forest Fire Service
Land
State land
Location
Sussex County, New Jersey
Coordinates
41.18783, −74.76647
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-nj-culvers

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 3.8 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. 1908 EventFirst used as the Normanook Fire Tower (Wikipedia); NHLR says the site was established in 1908Sources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  2. 1918 BuiltSteel tower built by the state with $250 in Weeks Law funds (Willhite); NHLR says a steel tower was constructed and staffedSources: nhlr.org, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1919 First staffedWillhite says the new station started up in April 1919Source: willhiteweb.com
  4. 1933 BuiltPresent Aermotor 47-foot tower with 7x7 cab per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  5. 1934 Replaced by a new structureWillhite says a new tower was built by the CCC; conflicts with NHLR 1933Source: willhiteweb.com
  6. No record between 1934 and 1954
  7. 1954 EventObserver Robert Jennings inside when five windows were shot out (Willhite)Source: willhiteweb.com
  8. No record between 1954 and 1992
  9. 1992 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterDate registered August 1, 1992 per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  10. No record between 1992 and 2021
  11. 2021 StaffedObserver Nick Valerio on eight-hour shifts; manned during fall and spring (Willhite)Source: willhiteweb.com
  12. 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.

Culvers Lookout stands on Sunrise Mountain in Stokes State Forest, in Sandyston Township, along the ridge of Kittatinny Mountain near Culver's Lake.1,2,3

The site first went by the Normanook Fire Tower. Wikipedia's state list says the tower was first used in 1908, and the registry says the site was established that year.1,2 The state put up a steel tower in 1918. Willhite Web reports that it was built with $250 in federal Weeks Law money and started up in April 1919.1,3

The tower standing today is an Aermotor, roughly 45 to 47 feet tall with a 7-by-7-foot cab. The registry dates it to 1933. Willhite Web says a new tower built by the CCC went up in 1934, so the sources disagree on the date.1,2,3

In 1954 an observer named Robert Jennings was inside when five windows were shot out. Willhite Web says local kids shot at the tower for roughly an hour and a half without knowing anyone was inside, and that he came through unhurt.3

The registry recorded the lookout on August 1, 1992.1

A 2021 account says the New Jersey Forest Fire Service staffs the tower in the fall and spring, and describes an observer working eight-hour shifts there.3 The Appalachian Trail runs through the corridor, so hikers pass close by, but a fire access road has a locked gate that keeps motor vehicles out except for authorized people.1 Because it is still a working lookout, the cab is best admired from the trail.

  1. Culvers Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/nj/culvers-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. List of New Jersey Forest Fire Service fire towers, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Jersey_Forest_Fire_Service_fire_towers (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Culver Fire Tower, Willhite Web, https://willhiteweb.com/appalachian_trail/fire_lookouts/culver_tower/normanook_lookout_048.htm (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Culvers Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Culvers Station
Culvers StationPhoto: Wikimedia Commons, via Wikipedia · See Wikimedia Commons file page (varies per photo) · source
Photo of Culvers Lookout
Photo: Zeete, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, what it is built of, 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: 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. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 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, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.