Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Tours

NOTICE: ARRIVE AT THE PARK AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE START OF YOUR TOUR.

It is a 20 minute walk or shuttle from your car to the Sandburg Home. Check-in is 15 minutes before the start of your tour in the ground floor bookstore of the Sandburg Home.

* Example: If you reserve a tour at 1:00 pm, you should plan to arrive by 12:30 pm. Parking lots are located 1/3 mile from the Sandburg Home. Visitors will either walk or use the shuttle to access the home.  

Carl Sandburg and his family lived in North Carolina from 1945 – 1967. Their home reflects the family’s lifestyle and Carl Sandburg’s work ethic, and includes his library of more than 10,000 books. Visitors are able to tour all levels of the home while learning about Carl Sandburg’s contribution to American literature. During his career, he was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and one Pulitzer for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. Carl Sandburg was celebrated as a “Poet of the People”. The house tour reveals his career as a poet, writer, journalist, biographer, and social activist. His wife, Lilian, was a renowned breeder of champion dairy goats. Her career with the dairy goat industry is included on the tour. 

Access to the historically furnished rooms of the Sandburg Home is available by guided tour only. House tours are available year-round, every day except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Tours may be reserved up to 90 days in advance. 

Free Tour Days - There are several days during the year when it is FREE to tour the Sandburg Home. Free tour days are first come, first serve, no advance reservations. The next free tour days will be announced when tours resume.

Note: Do not rely exclusively on your mobile GPS, Google Maps, or similar automated navigation systems to get to the Sandburg Home in time for your tour.

The park is located three miles south of Hendersonville, NC, on Little River Road off of Greenville Highway/Rt. 225 in Flat Rock, NC. Visitors using GPS or mapping software should use 1800 Little River Road and look for the signs directing you to the visitor parking lot on Little River Road.

From Interstate 26, take exit 53 (formerly exit 22) - from I-26 east, turn right onto Upward Road. From I-26 west, turn left onto Upward Road. At intersection with Rt. 176/Spartanburg Hwy, continue straight. Upward Road turns into Highland Lake Road. At the light, turn left onto Rt.225/Greenville Hwy south. At next light take a right onto Little River Road. Visitor parking is on the left.

Parking: Free parking is available at the entrance to the park. The parking lot has three oversize vehicle parking spaces for RV's and buses. Vehicles with trailers will be unable to park in these spaces and should use the playhouse lot across the street subject to availability. On busy days the lot fills quickly. The Sandburg Home is located 0.3 miles from the main parking lot, up a hill with a 100 ft change in elevation. Visitors unable to walk up the hill should use the call box in the parking lot to request assistance.

There is a new Hikers' Parking Lot located 1/2 mile down Little River Rd from the Visitor Parking Lot for visitors who are just coming to enjoy a hike in the park. The Sandburg Home is located 0.4 miles along a gravel road from the hikers' lot.

Visitors may use the Flat Rock Playhouse lot directly across the street in the morning until noon and in the afternoon when there are no performances. There will be signs posted at the playhouse to restrict parking for performances. Please be a courteous neighbor and pay attention to their signs.

* If you park at Flat Rock Playhouse, remember to move your car before noon or risk being blocked in for several hours on matinee days (Wednesday through Sunday).