Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Current Status: Pedestrian detour in place from main parking lot. Grounds / trails open dawn till dusk 7 days a week. Barn open 7 days a week 10-4. Bookstore / Visitor Center open Tuesday - Sunday 9-5. Interagency passes can be purchased at Visitor Center.
Alerts
- InformationVisitor Center and Bookstore Open Tues - Sun
Visitor Center and Bookstore hours are Tues - Sun 9-5. It is currently a .7 mile hike from the main parking lot and a .4 mile walk to the historic area from the Hikers Lot. Please keep this in mind. If you have access needs, please call the number posted in the parking lot.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
The park does not charge an entrance fee. Federal Interagency passes are available for credit card purchase only at the Visitor Center/Park Store located on the ground floor of the Sandburg Home.
Hours
| Park Bookstore and House Tours | Varies by day ▾
|
| Park Grounds | Daily · Sunrise to Sunset |
Park Bookstore and House Tours: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow |
|
| Nov 11, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Years Day | Closed |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center/Park Store and Information ↗Passport stamp
The Sandburg Home Visitor Center/park store is open Tuesday through Sunday (6 days per week) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours vary by season; the Holiday closures below will change by season.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Outdoor Pursuits and Trail Map
Enjoy the solitude of Connemara. Hike its many trails and take from it the energy to avoid diversions. The park offers 5 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy to moderately strenuous.
Opens on the Park Service site - Tour the Sandburg Home30-40 Minutes
*Please call 828 693-4178 to ask about tour availability for same day visits. Limited tours may be available when staffing allows.* Each tour is 30-minutes, with a capacity of 10 people.
Opens on the Park Service site - Virtual Tours at Connemara30-60 Minutes
Explore the park through a virtual tour of the interior of the Sandburg Home!
Opens on the Park Service site - Seasonal Programs and Special Events
Each season brings a variety of unique program and special event opportunities. Find out what opportunities are available during your visit!
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- Carl Sandburg Home Welcomes New Superintendent ↗2026-06-11
The National Park Service has selected Ashley Pipkin to serve as the next superintendent of Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Pipkin will begin her new role June 24.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Forest Service trails nearby
These trails are outside the park on National Forest land, within 15 miles of Carl Sandburg Home. Each one opens on Trailhead Atlas.
Distance is measured from the park's reference point to the nearer end of the trail.
Guidebooks for North Carolina's national parks and the South
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthRuffed Grouse 1× · Helmeted Guineafowl 1× · Peregrine Falcon 1× · Barred Owl 1× · American Black Bear 1× · Red Fox 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 102 birds, 35 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Barred Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Great Horned Owl · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersCanada Goose · Great Blue Heron · Green Heron
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Redstart · American Robin · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Blue-winged Warbler · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Canada Warbler · Cape May Warbler · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed Junco · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Wood-Pewee · European Starling · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Gray Catbird · Great Crested Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Warbler · House Finch · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Louisiana Waterthrush · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Pine Siskin · Pine Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Scarlet Tanager · Song Sparrow · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Tufted Titmouse · Veery · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · Yellow-throated Warbler
Small mammalsAmerican beaver · eastern chipmunk · eastern cottontail · eastern gray squirrel · eastern mole · golden mouse · hispid cotton rat · least shrew · meadow vole · northern short-tailed shrew · southern flying squirrel · white-footed mouse · woodland vole
Predatorsblack bear · bobcat · coyote · gray fox · long-tailed weasel · raccoon · red fox · striped skunk
Hoofed mammalswhite-tailed deer
BatsRafinesque's big-eared bat · big brown bat · eastern red bat · eastern small-footed bat · evening bat · hoary bat · little brown bat · northern bat · silver-haired bat · tri-colored bat
Also on the checklistVirginia opossum · feral cat · woodchuck
Activities
Weather & climate
Average Monthly Highs and Lows January - 45 / 25 February - 50 / 30 March - 55 / 35 April - 60 / 40 May- 70 / 60 June - 80 / 65 July - 85 / 65 August - 80 / 65 September - 75 / 55 October - 70 / 45 November - 60 / 35 December - 50 / 30
Questions people ask
Does Carl Sandburg Home charge an entrance fee?
No. Carl Sandburg Home is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Carl Sandburg Home?
Standard hours are 9:00AM - 5:00PM on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and it is closed on Monday. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Carl Sandburg Home right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Visitor Center and Bookstore Open Tues - Sun.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Carl Sandburg Home?
94,796 recreation visits in 2025, number 223 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Carl Sandburg Home?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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