martin van buren national historic site

I visited this site six years ago with my family and I loved the presentation made by the staff and guides. I learned much more about a fellow New Yorker than I had before; one who is not remembered so much in history.

Got out of the car expecting to take a few photos... peeked in the front window and wham! Park ranger asked if we wanted to join a tour. We did and it was absolutely fascinating! Tour guide was very good about giving the group peeks into the personal life of Martin Van Buren. Kind of like putting a face on history lessons. Well worth the small fee for a tour!

Discovered this little gem when driving the backroads from Albany to Hyde Park (to tour the Roosevelt Home & Library). Stopped into this historic site on a Sunday AM. My husband, adult step-daughter and I were the only people on the first tour of this gem of a October day. So, we had a very individualized tour - the house is beautifully maintained. We like to visit presidential sites, as we find it helps us to better understand the leaders we never knew and it helps to flesh history out for us, which this tour did. Loved the cartoon caricatures in the house, we were free to walk the grounds, and were happy to see this continues to be an active farm. I wish I had the time to visit the grave (off site, but a short distance from the home). Major discovery is the National Park Senior pass program. If you are over 60 and haven't signed up, it's a must. My husband bought one the day before at FDR place, but it was not really explained to us (I actually kept saying during the day that I thought we had been undercharged. Well, according to the guide at the Orientation building on this site, we were not. We actually toured this place for FREE! My husband's pass covers up to 3 people! Can't wait to visit other National Historic Sites!

My partner and I went to the Martin Van Buren Historic Site as we were driving from Albany to the Berkshires. We actually had never heard of this place and didn't know it was here except for a solitary sign when we got off the highway for another road. We hightailed it in the opposite direction of our destination, and we are both very glad we did.First off, the park ranger there mentioned that because my partner's in the military, we were eligible for a free year pass to any National Park site as a benefit of active service. For all the national parks sites we've been to over the past years, we were shocked that this is even a program because we had never heard of it. That is easily a $170 benefit, and this place gets five stars just for telling us about this when all the others didn't.As for the historic site itself, we were able to get on a tour that started in about 40 minutes. Our guide, Lou, was very engaging and funny, and made our trip memorable with his quips and anecdotes. We were able to see almost all of the house during the tour, including the gorgeously restored original paintings on the wall in the entranceway. To think that so much history has occurred from this house in the 1830s and 1840s, it's great that they still have a good portion of original furniture and items.If you're not able to get on a tour, they have a walking path around the grounds that takes about 20 to 30 minutes. The one not five-star aspect to this historic site is the gift shop. It's not very comprehensive, and has more books about Andrew Jackson and Frederick Douglass than it has about Martin Van Buren.Overall, we had a great time at the Martin Van Buren Historic Site. I recommend it for families as well as couples. There were some kids when we were there.

This is a hidden gem, a very interesting historic home with many original furnishings. Tour takes about an hour and is well worth the time. Our guide Kelsey was very knowledgable and added a great deal to the experience.

Martin Van Buren isn't one of the better known presidents, but the tour and Park Ranger were great. Our tour guide was so knowledgable about the President and added so much information and historical context. The house is nicely restored and quite interesting. Well worth the visit.

We enjoyed the guided tour through the two floors of President Van Buren's large home in Kinderhook. One can walk around on the grounds - there are several information boards. We also went to his burial site in town - interesting cemetery.

Columbia County is one of our favorite areas in the Hudson Valley and Hudson/Kinderhook are without a doubt wonderful areas in Columbia County to explore (Clermont also ranks up there as well). We had a chance to do a 2nd tour of Lindenwald (Home of President Martin van Buren) and enjoyed it immensely. Luis was a wonderful NPS guide and the young lady in the visitors center was just truly delightful. We learned so much more on this visit than we did on our first and even had some quality time to walk the grounds which is a must. Be aware that a 1.5 mile trail now exists between Lindenwald and Lukyas Van Alen House (4th visit and counting) so make a special effort to spend some time walking between the sites. As you can imagine, Dutch Hudson Valley History is very prevalent here. You must make soem time to walk around Kinderhook as well to sample some of the historic homes and visit Martin Van Buren's grave site in Kinderhook as well. The Columbia County Historical Society has two sites (Vanderpoel House of History and The Columbia County Museum and Library) all within 2 blocks of one another.we are definitely coming back again ....

We stayed in Hyde Park primarily visiting the FDR sites, however took a side trip to see the Van Buren Home. It was about an hour ride each way if you have the time or are passing nearby. The visitor center sorely needs updating, but we came to see the house and hear about this President. We had an extensive tour of the entire home and learned the history of this Dutch family, though President Van Buren was the first President born on US soil after The Declaration of Independance was ratified. It is a large home with much of the original colonial interior intact and interesting history. Well worth the visit, especially for school age children, who otherwise, will probably never know a thing about this man.

Nice tour of the house of Martin Van Buren after his presidency, although our tour guide was a little green and could use some more training. House was lovely with some state of the art items of the time, such as indoor plumbing and a stove. Good stop if you like Martin Van Buren, lives of our presidents, or a good house tour.

I wouldn't go out of my way to get here unless you are a real MvB aficionado, but it was a nice stop to otherwise break up a long car ride. We got to see a good number of rooms and the has had interesting architecture. Not much of a visitors center. National Parks Pass accepted. There are trails to walk if you are inclined to make longer stop of it; we did not so I cannot offer any input on them.

There are two parts to the tour:1) an AV ( a bit old) of his history and his presidency. We were tight for time and had to do this after the tour, but recommend for sure doing this first. It would have been nice to go into a bit more depth about his presidency and why it didn't work out so well, but at least it was a good intro2) the house itself. Interesting looking house that he lived in right after his presidency. Pretty grounds right off the road. You have to go on a guided tour. It got a bit waylaid by one guy on the tour but in genera; was good as an interesting house as well.You could also picnic hear at the tables set outside. It was a pleasant day so nice to do this

We had a great tour at the Martin Van Buren home. Our tour guide, Lou, was excellent. Enthusiastic. Very informative, appreciated questions, very good sense of humor. It was great for adults and kids. Well worth the hour to do. At $5 for adults and free for kids 15 and under, it is a great value. Some of Van Buren's items are on display, and the guide does a good job of mixing in information about the house with Van Buren and his family. Strongly recommend.

I had gone there in 2006 in December to get a Passport to National Parks Stamp, and found that this site is closed during the winter. I wish I had more to time to get a tour of the house, but the park rangers were friendly and helpful. Next time I travel this way, I will get the home tour, but I did get my park stamp this time.

While Martin Van Buren didn't buy "Lindenwald" until after he served as President the home is still a very interesting historic site. Van Buren ended up running for President in two additional elections while living here and the home's location right on the historic Old Post Road (a segment of which runs right in front of the property) meant he had countless high profile visitors while he lived there. The rather pedestrian visitor's centre (essentially a glorified mobile home) doesn't do the property justice (and the park ranger was sour and humorless). A short walk takes you to the home with 45 minute long tours available during much of the day (we didn't take it). You can wonder the expansive grounds and there are some nearby hiking trails. The home is impressive with a mixture of classic building styles including Italianate and Federal.