carl sandburg home national historic site

Wonderful tour of home and goats. Lovely walk up the Big Glassy Mountain. Always peaceful and serene and very lovely in the fall.

The grounds are beautiful and it is a great place to walk around and relax. There is a good hike up the mountain as well as a pleasant level walk around the lower pond.There are free restrooms but sadly no means of refreshment as is sadly most often the case with the National Park service (surely it would be a money spinner ?).The house has a good structure and is very interesting to see a house left in a time warp of decades gone past.The access however is not well planned as the top bedroom (the one with the view) is hardly visible (you just get a peek down a long corridor).Also the ground access is a bit haphazard with no access to the beautiful lake and surrounding fields where the goats used to roam. No one roams there these days which is shame as it would add so much more acreage for people to enjoy.I enjoy visiting here (although I imagine 99% of people only enter the house once) but sadly the venue has so much potential that is just not being put to good use. Anyway I would still thoroughly recommend the house and grounds as a great day out (just bring your own refreshments and don't be too disappointed that you cant access that beautiful lower lake).

What's not to like? The grounds are practically sacred. One can almost sense the presence of America's Poet while walking through his home and property.

The Sandburg Home in Flat Rock, NC is a treasure from the Sandburgs and is now run by the National Park Service. The setting, on approximately 200 acres, is very idyllic. The old farm house where the Sandburgs lived can be toured, as well as the goat barn. (Mrs. Sandburg was an enthusiast and expert on raising champion dairy goats: Nubians, Saanens, and Toggenburgs. She actually ran a commercial dairy.) I always love the walking trails, which are extensive and well-marked and maintained. There is a very nice lake on the property, with a trail around it. In the summer a small out-door amphitheater serves as setting for Sandburg's Rootabaga stories, put on by the young people in summer stock at the Flat Rock Playhouse, which is located across the road from the Sandburg Home.

I often feel there's a "Guardian Angel" with us when my husband & I travel & this turned out to be the case when we visited the CS Home in Flat Rock. The "angel's name" was Sandy, one of the National Parks Services' guides at the site who gave us a terrific tour. As it was the beginning of December on a somewhat drizzly day later in the afternoon, we were her last tour of the day & it was impressive and generous in scope - I learned so much. Obvious from Sandy's opening commentary on the porch/entrance to the house where she put the house and its acreage in historical context, I knew we were going to experience a quality tour with someone who cared enough that we leave with a better understanding of this wonderful "Poet of the People." Our guide who deftly moved us from one interesting room to another with historical information, family stories and sometimes poetry quotes - also played the recorded voice of Carl Sandburg - parts of his songs, a few lines of poetry here and there - to hear his voice while standing right in rooms where he lived and worked was absolutely priceless. This tour will be forever memorable to me, not only because I am interested in Sandburg and poetry, but because I also felt a deep resonance with the meaning of citizenry and social justice. I was also referred to several important books in the Gift Shop and I was happy to discover that any book purchase receives the National Park Carl Sandburg embossed book stamp inside it. I will treasure my purchases for a long time. Traveling from Western NY where we had just experienced an epic storm before visiting relatives in Hendersonville, my husband & I found the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful grounds of "Connemara" just what the doctor ordered and my interest in Carl Sandburg has grown even stronger from this rich experience.

I was visiting the Asheville NC area and always love to visit National Park Service sites. Carl Sandburg's home/property sounded interesting to learn more about his life, but when I found out his wife's goat ranch was still there I had to go!! I really have a fondness for goats, they are such sweet and fun animals. The park service does a great job with preservation and care of the goats and telling the history of her farm. I didn't tour the home but it looks interesting if you have time...I focused on the goats and enjoying the grounds. Worth a detour from the Blue Ridge Parkway!

After finding that our grandchildren did not know who Carl Sandburg was or what he did, we decided to take them to Connemara. They loved seeing his home and all the thousands of books. We had a really informative tour with the docent who brought the Sandburg family to life and we could just imagine them writing, entertaining guests, and taking Mrs. Sandburg's prize-winning goats to a show. After the tour, we watched a film in the bookstore/gift shop and were fascinated to hear Carl's voice as he was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow. Watch the film and learn what Sandburg considered to be the ugliest word in the English language! Do not pass up a visit to the goat barn.

One cannot help but to be impressed with his collection of books, and the memorabilia of the life and times of Carl Sandburg. The docent was very knowledgeable and engaging. One of the advantages of a winter's visit it that my wife and I were the only ones on the tour. There is not a lot of space in the house to effectively handle a large group of people. I would think 5 or 6 people at most. Parking can be a challenge. The parking area near the visitor center may handle as many as forty or fifty cars maximum. From there you will have a quarter-mile hike up a fairly steep hill to the house. There is a phone number posted for folks needing special parking consideration. Be sure you visit Ms Sandburg's goat barns. Kids will love it, and may even bring out the kid in you. I came away encouraged to read more of CS works.The facility is managed by the US Park Service. Senior tickets were $3. I understand that there will be significant renovations starting soon, and that many of the personal artifacts will be removed during this activity. Be sure to call ahead and inquire about the status of the home and then make a decision.

How lucky we are to have this national park at our disposal! I highly recommend visiting the Sandburg home when you're in the area. After his death, it was left pretty much intact as when he and his family lived there. We arrived in a torrent of rain, so we couldn't walk the trails on the majestic 264-acre property. I will definitely return for the hiking experience! But we did walk to the barn to commune with the famous goats. Thank you Carl Sandburg for touching our lives in so many ways.

something for the whole family; culture, baby goats to pet, flower and vegetable gardens, and hiking with pristine vistas!HINT: Be sure to check out the basement of the Sandburg home to see an original AGA cooker, even more evidence that Carl was an "early adopter" of technology

This is a lovely spot where you can take a walk or even a serious hike. The grounds include multiple trails and a trail around a beautiful small lake. The house itself is also quite interesting, since the interior has been preserved in the 1950s style of the resident Sandburgs. A goat farm (Mrs. Sandburg raised goats) adds to the authenticity and is a welcome attraction for kids. Dogs on leash are welcome on the trails and admission is free, although parking is somewhat limited.

We visited while in the Asheville area. The home is easy enough to find in Flat Rock, but after parking, we were a little confused about how to get to the visitor center and home. Signage could have been a little better. Carl Sandberg and his wife purchased this home in 1945 and he lived there the rest of his life. After Carl died, his wife lived in the home another ten years until 1977 when she left it with all the furnishings and personal possessions (and there were a lot of them). Our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, but a little long winded getting bogged down in all the small details of Carl Sandberg’s life. But the house is interesting. Also on the property is a goat farm, where Sandberg’s wife raised goats. This is an interesting side trip in the Asheville area and way cheaper than the Biltmore. This is how real people lived. The area surrounding the home is lovely as well.

A beautiful setting, great history, hikes; extraordinary individual. Carl Sandburg is a national treasure. His very simple lifestyle is appropriately preserved in this modest home. The views are stupendous.

I recently visited Asheville to see a friend and she took me to the Carl Sandburg home in Flat Rock NC.We took the guided tour and the guide was very informative and answered questions along the way. Every room in the home is filled to the max with books. After the tour we walked around the peaceful grounds, visited Mrs Sandburgs precious goats and sat for a bit by the water's edge. This landmark is a must see.

i loved this place! Beautiful grounds, though a bit difficult to walk. His widow sold it to the National Park Service after he died, and took only her clothes, so it looks just like they are just out for shopping or something. Books everywhere, modest living. His wife Lillian raised and bred goats here and they have some still in the goat yard. Impressive!