Martin Van Buren National Historic Site — Attraction in Town of Kinderhook

If you're traveling on Interstate 90 in New York and need a worthwhile place to stop, I highly recommend a visit to the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook. Just a short 15-minute drive from Exit 12, this historic location is great and well worth the detour.

The site is incredibly easy to get to and offers ample parking. I was particularly impressed with the amount of open space—it was a perfect opportunity to get out and stretch my legs and let my dog run around a bit. Just remember to bring a bag to clean up after your furry friend!

After a long drive, I picked up lunch in town and found a wonderfully peaceful spot on the grounds to eat. It was a much-needed, calming break on my way home to New Haven, CT. For anyone traveling this route, you know there isn't a proper rest stop until Lee, Massachusetts, so this historic site is a fantastic and interesting alternative to a boring highway stop. It's a great way to take in a little bit of our nation's history and break up a long drive.

Whether you're heading east or west, the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is a much better choice than the empty rest area right after Exit 12. You'll find a quiet, beautiful place to relax and refuel, making your journey much...

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...

While Martin van Buren is hardly the most famous of US presidents, he is a fascinating character who was a major political figure in the antebellum period and deserves to be far better known. Here, at the house to which he ‘retired’ after leaving the White House in 1841, a good introduction is given to the man and his later family life. The inside can only be visited on a guided tour (signed up for on arrival at the visitor centre), but it is an excellent tour led by a National Parks Service ranger. Restoration of the interior has been done sensitively, and it was a fascinating and enjoyable hour. Van Buren’s grave is just a few minutes’ drive away, the other side of...