Things To Do

Visitors can enjoy guided house tours of the Sandburg Home daily.

Guided Tours of the Sandburg Home
* Beginning October 1, 2019, visitors can make advance reservations for Sandburg Home tours at recreation.gov!

Access to the historically furnished rooms is by guided tour only. Taking a guided tour of the historic Carl Sandburg Home is an insightful glimpse into the lives of the Sandburg family. The 30-minute house tours are offered throughout the day, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years days.

Sandburg Home Guided Tour Fee: (credit cards only beginning January 1, 2020)

$8.00 for Adults 16 and older
$5.00 for Adults age 62 and older and all interagency pass holders
Free for Children age 15 and under

• Reservations: Reserving in advance lets you pick your preferred house tour time. Tours fill up quickly. Last-minute, in-person tickets may not be available on the day you visit. Plan ahead and reserve house tour tickets at recreation.gov.
• Passes: The park sells the America the Beautiful- National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes.
• *These passes do not waive the house tour fee, but do provide a discount.
• 30-minute house tours are offered every day, once an hour, first come-first served.
• First tour begins at 9:30am; next tours at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, the last tour begins at 4:30pm.
• During busy visitation additional tours may be added.
• Visitors may only tour the Sandburg Home on a guided tour.
• Tours are limited to 12 persons.
• Strollers are not permitted on the house tour, but there is a place to leave them for storage. Infants and small children should be carried through the house while on tour.

 

Goats in pasture near barn

Visiting Connemara Farms Goat Dairy
Mrs. Sandburg owned and operated a premier goat dairy from 1935 to 1965. Here at Connemara the dairy became a Grade A operation, with milk being distributed to local dairies and sold in stores around the community.

Mrs. Sandburg's goat breeding program produced champion goats and led to the improvement of goats as milk producing animals.

Enjoy the Connemara Farms' goat-herd. The park service raises goats that represent the three breeds of goats Mrs. Sandburg raised at Connemara. Rangers and volunteers are on hand to share this fascinating story about goats and Mrs. Sandburg's dairy goat operation.

 

Visitors enjoy a walk on park trails.  The trail system covers more than 5 miles.

Outdoor Pursuits

"It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, 'Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?'...If one is not careful, one allows diversions to take up one's time-the stuff of life" - Carl Sandburg as quoted from a letter to his friend, Ralph McGill.

Enjoy the solitude of Connemara. Hike its many trails and take from it the energy to avoid diversions. Click here for a trail map.

 

Ranger Programs like cheese making demonstrations, special walking tours and theater performances can be part of a summer visit to Connemara.

Special Programs and Events
Park Ranger programs are given throughout the summer months. Please call a Park Ranger at 828/693-4178 to check the schedule for the time you wish to visit.

Also, from June until mid-August, live performances of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories and excerpts from the Broadway play, The World of Carl Sandburg, are presented at the park amphitheater.

Click here for a schedule of special events.