Parks / Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
National Historic Site · IA
Orphaned at age nine, Herbert Hoover left West Branch never to live here again. In later years, he returned to his humble birthplace to celebrate his long career of public service. A memorial landscape remains to tell his story: how community, hard work, honesty, and usefulness to others opened a world of opportunity— and the presidency of the United States— to a child of simple beginnings.
Official NPS page →Entrance Fees
This park is fee-free.
Upcoming Events
Naturalization Ceremony
Sep 18, 2026 · Grass lawn east of the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Things to Do
Be a Junior Ranger at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
The Junior Ranger program helps kids get involved and learn more about Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Anyone can become a Junior Ranger by completing activities during a visit to the park!
Explore Herbert Hoover's Hometown With the NPS App
Use the NPS App on your visit to West Branch, Iowa, and discover the places and people that shaped the early life of the 31st President.
Get Started at the Visitor Center
Start your visit at the Visitor Center, where park rangers are available to answer questions and help you get oriented. Allow yourself up to 30 minutes in the Visitor Center, which is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
Picnic Where the President Picnicked
Picnic where the President picnicked! Herbert Hoover celebrated his 80th birthday in 1954 at a picnic shelter built by Boy Scouts in his honor. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site has two picnic shelters.
Take a Self-guided Tour
The grounds of the historic site are open 24 hours a day. Pick up a map at the Visitor Center or download the NPS App to your phone. Then visit the Birthplace Cottage, Blacksmith Shop, Schoolhouse, Friends Meetinghouse, Statue of Isis, Gravesite, and other historic features of the park.
Tour the Presidential Library & Museum
The Presidential Library and Museum is independently operated and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a federal agency. Permanent galleries exhibiting artifacts of President Hoover's life take you from his boyhood in Iowa, through his public service career, and final years in New York.
Visit Downtown West Branch
The West Branch Commercial Historic District is just outside the historic site along Downey and Main streets. It is a national historic district which preserves fifteen downtown buildings built from 1875 through 1929. The buildings house shops and restaurants.
Walk the Nature Trails
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site offers over two miles of trails through the tallgrass prairie and along Hoover Creek for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and nature study. Trail maps are available from the visitor center. In the winter the snow-covered trails are not groomed for skis.
Visitor Centers
- Visitor Center
Source: National Park Service.