Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

Enjoyed my visit, even during the pandemic when the house and visitor center were closed. It was very easy to walk the entire grounds, and there were many placards with interesting information. And the best part is that you can call a phone number and tap in a couple of numbers to get a free audio tour. That was the first time I'd seen that at an historic site like this, and I thought it was very cool. You can sense the history at this place. If nothing else, it's a great place to go for a nice walk.

I would have given this a much higher rating had it not been for the highly tempermental young man who gave us the tour. It is to be naturally expected that they are concerned about site preservation. I know I am in my profession. Our group was given quite a lengthy lecture about not touching things. Unfortunately one member of our party forgot and leaned against the President's bedpost resulting in a very loud, strident and ebarrassing reprimand from the this guide that very far exceeded the nature of the incident. People are not perfect and they forget. A simple reminder would have been far more appropriate and would have yielded the same results as yelling did. It was obviously extreme enough to remain in the memory. It is an historic site and not a prison cafeteria. This may not be the best way to provide positive memories to visitors. We wrote to them about the incident but never heard back. It appears they are not concerned with how they treat visitors to the site. Maybe they should consider cording things off. In any case this is what happened. Hopefully they will consider training their rangers in how to deal positively with the public.

Love to walk the grounds. There is a big loop you can walk and get in some good exercise while enjoying the countryside and watching spring bloom.

Ground was frozen and crunchy this morning. Air was cold and clean. We only saw one other person. Did the perimeter (white) trail. 1.5 mi. So refreshing. It was calm and quiet, too.

Extremely short stop. We couldn't go inside the home, so we plan to return when the house is open (after COVID restrictions are lifted).nnWhat we saw, we loved.nnPlenty of informational pamphlets on site for this place among many others as well.nnRestrooms were extremely clean and sanitary.nnRanger manning the information booth was young, but extremely informative and pleasant.nnWe can't wait to come visit the walking trails again later this Fall.