Normanook Tower via Appalachian Trail Loop is a 5.3 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Branchville, New Jersey that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The loop starts out on the Appalachian Trail and then takes you onto Sunrise Mountain Road. Walk Sunrise Mountain Road a short distance to the Coursen Trail. Once on the Coursen Trail, pass through a damp and cool forest consisting of Hemlock, Mount Laurel, Rhododendrons, and several streams. The forest then turns into a hardwood forest with a swamp and a view of the Kittatinny Ridge. From the Coursen Trail, you will then get on the Tower Trail. Go through a stand of spruce trees, cross a stream, and start your rocky climb to the top of the Kittatinny Ridge and Culvers fire Tower. You will be rewarded with some great views of the Poconos and Delaware River Valley. From the top of the ridge, take the Appalachian Trail south along the ridge for a view through the tree.
Stokes State Forest: 973-948-3820
From Branchville take Rt. 206 west towards Milford PA. Pass Culvers lake make a right onto upper North Shore Road. There will be a sign for the Appalachian Trail and Sunrise Mountain Road. Go on Upper North Shore about .1 mile and make first left. Parking is 100 yards ahead.
April 3, 2021Perfect length and level of difficulty for an casual afternoon hike. Nice views, well marked trails, lots of rocky terrain was a bit tiresome after awhile. Good up & down loop.
April 3, 20214/3/2021. R. Loved the rocky up to the tower and back down. The “steps” down (counter clockwise) are for tall people; us shorter people have to sit and slide or if we did the loop clockwise we would have needed a hand or a butt push to get up the rocks. Dang...It was an adventure though for our group of sexagenarians.
March 20, 2021March 11, 2021March 7, 2021February 21, 2021Good ups & downs, some nice flats.
January 31, 2021Very nice hike. Without the foliage, it’s nice to walk on the ridge and have the views of the Culver lake. Beautiful sights from the fire tower. Proper shoes required, as the snow is on the ground and it gets slippery with some rock formations.
January 25, 2021Great trail, good work out. Will definitely return.
January 19, 2021Nice trail with beautiful views. I went clockwise and I started a bit late (close to 2pm) so I got to see the start of the sunset, which was stunning. Parking lot had about 6 cars when I got here and went 4.7 miles without seeing anyone and the one person I did see was super friendly. Had to help my dog up some rocks a couple times, but if I went counter clockwise he definitely would had dragged me down and it would have been worse on my knees. Definitely would love to see the view in spring or fall
January 12, 2021January 9, 2021Arrived at the parking lot at 9:30am and there were several cars already there. Several hours later the lot was nearly full but still had about 5 spaces open (looks like around 18 total spaces). I decided to do this counter-clockwise so I could head towards the tower and see the overlook before it got too crowded. However I only ran into 4 people during the entire hike (was also a very cold day so maybe that's why). By going this way you can get the climbs out of the way first as the rest of the hike is pretty level and towards the end you're walking on a paved road back to the parking lot. The climb up was rocky but not too steep. There are short paths off the main trail where you can get a peek of Culver lake and some overlooks. The paths towards the tower and a bit after were quite narrow. The descent after the tower is short but steep as well. There is quite a bit of snow left from the last storm. The ground was completely frozen but not too slippery. I could tell that towards Stony Lake it would have been quite muddy if not for the freeze. Seems to be a lot of water along the paths in that area. Took a lunch break around Stony lake and admired the frozen view. The forest along the blue trail was impressive and the bridges were nice to enjoy the creeks running through. Blazes were well marked. Appalachian (white) heading up towards the tower looks a bit faded but easy to tell the path you need to be following.
January 1, 2021Well marked trail with nice overlook of Delaware Water Gap.
January 1, 2021December 28, 2020Good trail a little rocky great views beautiful ice formations on stony brook.
December 27, 2020December 22, 2020December 13, 2020Great view. Must do.
December 13, 2020December 2, 2020pretty good loop pretty Rocky most of the way but a great loop.
November 29, 2020November 29, 2020Loop was good
November 28, 2020November 28, 2020November 28, 2020November 22, 2020Didn’t do the whole loop just Parking lot to Tower and back but very well marked and recommended
November 21, 2020
