TRAILGRAPH

Back of the monument commemorating the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony
National Historic Site

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

North Carolina

Tonight

🌗 46% moon

7 h fully dark

Crowds

low

Open today

Open

Entrance

Free entry

Amongst the shallow blue waters of the Outer Banks lies Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island. Shaped by constant winds of change, Fort Raleigh has become a focal point of American history. From the first Algonquian-speaking people to the first English colonies, from formerly enslaved people starting anew to an inventor testing new radio technology, this island continues to be a place to forge new paths.

Activities

Topics

No entrance fee.

Hours & seasons

The grounds are open for visitation 24 hours a day.

Generally open:

winterspringsummerfall

Hours are reported by the park — verify before you go.

Conditions

Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec

Typical crowds: low

Weather now: Partly cloudy, 86°F

☁️ 87°/77°

87°/77°

☁️ 90°/76°

Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 orange months are the quietest by crowds.

Quietest months

Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.

Jan

12%

Feb

16%

Mar

29%

Apr

44%

May

70%

Jun

100%

Jul

91%

Aug

72%

Sep

36%

Oct

36%

Nov

28%

Dec

21%

% of the busiest month's visits.

Log a sky reading

Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.

Visitor centers

Lindsay Warren Visitor Center

Accessibility

Assistive Listening SystemsBrailleRestroom - AccessibleWheelchair AccessibleAudio Description

27 audio-described place(s)

Reported by the park — verify before you go.

Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.

By the numbers

A visual read on Fort Raleigh National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.

Park fingerprint

How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.

3-day forecast

Daily high and low temperatures (°F).

People & stories

Figures tied to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.

Ambrose E Burnside

Maryland Campaign, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Battle Of Fredericksburg

Ananias Dare

English Expedition, Roanoke Island, Lost Colony

Arthur Barlowe

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, English Expedition, Roanoke Island

Eleanor Dare

English Expedition, Roanoke Island, Lost Colony

Granganimeo

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Algonquian, Roanoke Island

Henry Wise

Military

Horace James

Civil War, Roanoke Island, Freedmens Colony

J.C. and Virginia Harrington

Archeologist, Archaeologist, History Of Archeology

Passport stamps

Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.

🎫 Lindsay Warren Visitor Center

Places to see

1896 Monument

1896 Monument

audio
Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

audio
Dough Cemetery

Dough Cemetery

audio
Earthwork

Earthwork

audio
Elizabethan Gardens

Elizabethan Gardens

audio
Etheridge Point Beach

Etheridge Point Beach

audio
FDR Marker

FDR Marker

audio
First Light of Freedom Memorial

First Light of Freedom Memorial

audio
Fort Raleigh Park Store

Fort Raleigh Park Store

audio
Freedman's Colony Picnic Area

Freedman's Colony Picnic Area

audio
Freedom Trail- Fort Raleigh Trailhead

Freedom Trail- Fort Raleigh Trailhead

audio
Freedom Trail- Soundside Trailhead

Freedom Trail- Soundside Trailhead

audio

Audio & media

🎧

🎬

🖼

Learn more

2023 Excellence in Interpretation Awards

View the recipients of the 2023 National Park Service Excellence in Interpretation Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of interpretation and education by NPS employees.

Commemorating Fort Raleigh

The history of commemorating the site of the first English expeditions to the New World is in many ways as fascinating as the expeditions themselves. From the nineteenth century to the present, many steps have been taken to ensure that Fort Raleigh remains in American memory.

Emancipation and the Quest for Freedom

Although the abolition of slavery emerged as a dominant objective of the Union war effort, most Northerners embraced abolition as a practical measure rather than a moral cause. The war resolved legally and constitutionally the single most important moral question that afflicted the nascent republic, an issue that prevented the country from coalescing around a shared vision of freedom, equality, morality, and nationhood.

Findings from Archaeological Dig at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site – 2021

Archaeological digs took place in September, October and December of 2021 on the grounds of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Based on previous digs, this site was determined to be the location of a 1585 workshop used by metallurgist Joachim Gans and scientist Thomas Hariot.

Fire Prevention 52: Remembering Our Losses—Waterside Theater Complex

Three buildings, including a costume shop housing 5,000 vintage costumes created by well-known designers, designer sketches, and photos, were destroyed by fire in the Waterside Theatre complex at Fort Raleigh NHS in 2007. The monetary loss was $2-3 million, but the cultural loss was incalculable. By learning about significant NPS fires, we can help prevent further tragedy. Includes questions to increase your fire risk awareness.

Guide to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Southeast Region Collection

This finding aid describes the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Southest Region Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.

Louise M. Meekins

Louise M. Meekins served as a yeoman third class in the US Navy Reserve Forces during World War I. She was one of the relatively small number of women who had veterans hiring preference after the war. Although she began working for the federal government in 1941, she didn't come to the National Park Service (NPS) until 1950. Over the next 16 years, she became a respected park historian at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, North Carolina

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.

Ranger School

Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.

How Fort Raleigh National Historic Site connects

This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.

Park

Activity

Topic

State

VisitorCenter

PassportStamp

Trail

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