Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Map of TRACK Trail at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Enjoy the peaceful settings of Connemara while discovering what makes the farm, fields and forests so unique at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. The TRACK Trail brochures were designed for use on any of the trails at Connemara.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site preserves Connemara, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer Carl Sandburg. Sandburg and his family moved to this home in 1945 for the peace and solitude required for his writing and the land required for his wife, Lilian, to raise her champion dairy goats. Sandburg published more than a third of his works while he resided here.

Enjoy visiting the Sandburg residence, the goat farm, rolling pastures, mountainside woods, miles of hiking trails, two lakes, flower and vegetable gardens, and an apple orchard. Walking the mapped trail around the lake, rock outcrop, and Sandburg Home back to the parking lot is a roughly 0.8-mile loop. Take the road up past the home another 0.2-miles to the vegetable garden and barn where Lillian's champion dairy goats reside. 

Track an adventure here
Collectible sticker for Carl Sandburg Home

Location Details

Recreational Features: Picnic Tables, Interpretive Programs, Birding
Amenities: Restrooms, Visitor Center, Gift Shop
ADA Compliant: No
Seasonality: Open all year
Mother goat and kids
Tree lined lake
Tree-shaded bench
Rock wall containing lake
Historic farm buildings
Gravel roadway bordered by a stacked stone wall
Rows of crops in a garden
Black and white goat
Forest path through english ivy
Kids in Parks trailhead sign with brochures
View upwards toward canopy
Open grassy area near barns
Flower garden
Connemara house

Adventures for Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Hiking

Nature's Hide & Seek

Difficulty:
Moderate
Trail length:
1.50
The Nature's Hide & Seek brochure is designed so that kids of all ages can walk along the trail and discover common things that are often overlooked in nature. Some of them are hard to find, others are easy. Best of all, the adventure never ends because every time you walk the trail you will discover new things hiding in nature.
Farm, Field, and Forest brochure
Hiking

Carl Sandburg Home: Farm, Field and Forest

Difficulty:
Moderate
Trail length:
1.50
Carl Sandburg’s grandchildren, Paula and John Carl lived at Connemara when they were kids. Follow them as they explore the homes and hiding places of some of their outdoor friends. They’ll show you how their family used the land to create new habitats to support plant and animal life.
Need for Trees brochure
Hiking

Carl Sandburg Home: Need for Trees

Difficulty:
Moderate
Trail length:
1.50
By following the picture and textual clues found in "The Need for Trees" brochure, kids will discover six of the more common trees found along the trail. During their adventure, kids will learn about the need that people and other animals have for trees and about the roles trees play in the forest.
Hiking

Nature's Relationships

Difficulty:
Moderate
Trail length:
1.50
In the Nature's Relationships brochure you will discover how everything in nature is connected... even us. As you walk along the trail, the brochure will tell you a story about a few of the relationships that can be found. Many more relationships exist, so keep your eyes and heart open and you will discover many of nature's relationships - even yours.

Directions

81 CARL SANDBURG LANE
Flat Rock, NC 28731
Latitude: 35.273141800000
Longitude: -82.453088900000

For directions to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, please visit > http://www.nps.gov/carl/planyourvisit/directions.htm

Partners

The TRACK Trail program is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.

The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site TRACK Trail was made possible through a partnership between the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's Kids in Parks program.

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