eugene o'neill national historic site - tao house

Eugene O'Neill's house is very mysterious... you can feel the vibe when inside this place... a lot of history and sad events happened in this place. Very inspirational views... amazing views of Mt. Diablo and in the foothills of gorgeous Las Trampas hills! This place is a must for historians and literature lovers.

I've been many times and find the atmosphere inspiring. This is where O'Neill wrote his masterpieces. You are looking at the actual barn that is the backdrop of "Moon for the Misbegotten." The docent tours describing his life are fascinating. Be sure to hear the recording of his voice in his study. The book store will keep you occupied. For the truly adventurous, you can hike in the surrounding hills.

I've been twice.Incredible setting and ambitious visitors can hike up to the house and/or back (just talk with your guide about options) and there is gorgeous hiking from the house in the east bay regional park. The park looks over danville and into the hills.The tour was different both times I went, so I learned a lot about o'Neil. I enjoyed the culture and history but not so much the description of objects in the house.O'neil and his wife were into Buddhism but also mysticism so there is a bit of discussion about that. I had just read "long day's journey into night" which is very autobiographical so the tour was even more interesting.

When you learn about O Neill and his extraordinarily difficult life, you will marvel at how he produced his complex brooding plays. Most would have ended up in an institution! This free visit involves making an advance appointment and showing up in town -from here you are driven in a van to the property. Our outstanding ranger guide painted a complete picture of this very complicated man.

Our tour guide, Victoria Baird, was outstanding. She had only been doing this for 6 months, but had studied extensively about O'Neill and has the unusual ability to ability both to enlighten and entertain her audience at the same time. The Tao House, as it is called, has a beautiful setting and simple architecture. You will love seeing where O'Neill wrote his later plays. You take a shuttle bus up from the Museum in Danville, so the logistics are simple. This is truly a national treasure and the National Park Service is doing a great job managing it.

the views of Mt. Diablo are stunning and the history of Eugene O'Neill very interesting. Well worth the visit!

I came to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site/Tao House and was blown away by its beauty! What a wonderful local treasure! This place is free to visit. All you need to do is make reservations with the National Park Service and you're set to go. Guided tours are given by park rangers Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. One of my favorite features was seeing Eugene O'Neill's office where he wrote some of his most famous works like: he Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. I also loved the fact that I was the only one on the tour the day I came for a visit to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site/Tao House. I learned a lot about the life of Eugene O'Neill that I never new before.

Lead Park Ranger Thaddeus Shay lead us on an exquisite, informative, emotional literary tour of Tao House. We left Danville by bus and toured the (relatively) small home of the great author where he resided only for seven years, but where he wrote his most revered plays. Seeing the desk and room where he worked will always be a fond memory. Thaddeus Shay is a fantastic tour guide!

We visited here today having caught the shuttle bus run by the National park Service from Danville Railway Museum. It was only 10 minutes to the house and we completed the visit in just under two hours. On arrival we had a brief introduction before being invited to wander around the house and grounds. The house is wonderfully restored and still has an essence of Eugene and Carlotta O'Neill who lived here for seven years in the 1930s/40s. The gardens have the most wonderful views of the surrounding countryside and while the area is more built up than during the O'Neills time it remains a very tranquil and peaceful place. It is well worth a visit and the cost well it is completely free of charge, you can make a donation which is well deserved!

I've been on the guided tour and a play and both times being there were informative and entertaining. Came home with the book "Longday's Journey Into Night" which is O'Neill's autobiographical play. Very good, couldn't put the book down. I forgot the name of the play but it was very good. I plan on attending another play once the schedule come out for this summer.I visited in March of 2013 and Sept. 2013 for the play.

We showed up to bus stop in front of the San Ramon Museum in Danville, and were among only six people who took the shuttle up the hill to the Tao House. On Saturdays, they pick up at three scheduled times and it is first come, first served. They said that the previous Saturday, they'd had no visitors at that same time. The home is next to a regional park with lots of hiking opportunities, and has both NPS and foundation support. It is free to go on the tour and enter the site so donate some cash in the gift shop. The house and grounds have been maintained very well, despite a bad infestation outside the house, of ground squirrels, attracted by walnuts dropping from the trees, evidently. The best view is from the pool deck. Don't miss the dog's gravesite and his last will and testament. The house itself is sparsely furnished. Even though ours was supposed to be a self-guided tour, the substitute guide that day (who normally works at the John Muir site) told us a lot. Otherwise, you can read the interpretive signs in the various rooms, or ask the guide who is on duty in the house. The shuttle takes you back down the hill after 1 3/4 hours, unless you're done sooner, which we were - even though we'd gotten a bit of a tour in most of the house, and I was taking lots of pictures outside. On other days, you can make reservations for tours. Check the website for details. You must take the shuttle to get to the house. It is located on a one-lane, private road, with zero parking along the way, and two radio controlled gates along the way. (There's a pedstrian gate for hikers who appeared to be area residents who were pushing strollers with kids). The website said no pets were allowed but we saw a dog with leash pictographic sign on the side of one of the outbuildings so perhaps area residents take their doggies on walks up there. At the house, there is only parking for the shuttles and NPS employee vehicles. You park at the San Ramon Museum lot or on the street next to the museum. We found plenty of parking, even on the Saturday we went - even though there was a farmers' market taking up half the lot.

Because the road to the house is extremely narrow and I do mean extremely narrow, the only way to get here is via a shuttle bus. The ride is short, but when two cars are in the same place at the same time, hope that both drivers are cooperative! The house is in very good condition. The tour is self guided and there is a lot of material/formation available. The rooms were numbered and it was easy to stay on track. Our Park Ranger was nothing short of a dud. He so didn't really have any interest in being there! We annoyed him when he had to look up from his paperback novel.There is a lap pool in the back which requires a bit of a walk downhill. If walking is an issue, you can see the pool just fine without going all the way down. We also enjoyed the short walk to see his beloved Doug's grave site.Leaned a lot and was glad that we made the effort to come here...even with the rocky shuttle us ride!

Eugene O'Neill was certainly an interesting and kind of quirky individual. His home in the hills of Danville reflect those qualities. The view is magnificent and one can see why he was so in love with this property. Learn about his troubled youth, his tumultuous family life and his disapproval of his daughter, Oona's, marriage to Charlie Chaplin. You visit his private study where he did so much of his writing. See the living room space, the music room and the upstairs bedrooms, all of which gives you a glimpse of his personality and his devotion to Taoism which principles of informed the architecture and the furnishings. In order to visit one must call and reserve space and then meet in town where a small bus drives the visitors up into the hills to the property for a docent led tour. Groups are small so viewing the house is easy and pleasant. It is well worth the trip to see this historical home of one of Americas best known authors.

Our site guide was not fluent in the flow and facts. The site itself was just okay without the drama a good guide could provide .

For those of us who know far too little about Eugene O'Neill, the guided tour by Ranger Tad is quite educational. This wonderful house on this stunning hillside in Danville gave O'Neill a respite from fame and a quiet place to dedicate himself to his writing. We visited on a beautiful sunny day and enjoyed walking the grounds and visiting Remmie's grave. This is an excellent acquisition by the National Park Service.