
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.
No entrance fee.
The grounds are open for visitation 24 hours a day.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 2524732111
✉ caha_public_affairs@nps.govQuietest 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%
Log a sky reading
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Lindsay Warren Visitor Center
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.
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).
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 FredericksburgAnanias Dare
— English Expedition, Roanoke Island, Lost ColonyArthur Barlowe
— Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, English Expedition, Roanoke IslandEleanor Dare
— English Expedition, Roanoke Island, Lost ColonyGranganimeo
— Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Algonquian, Roanoke IslandHenry Wise
— MilitaryHorace James
— Civil War, Roanoke Island, Freedmens ColonyJ.C. and Virginia Harrington
— Archeologist, Archaeologist, History Of ArcheologyMark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Lindsay Warren Visitor Center

1896 Monument
audio
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
audio
Dough Cemetery
audio
Earthwork
audio
Elizabethan Gardens
audio
Etheridge Point Beach
audio
FDR Marker
audio
First Light of Freedom Memorial
audio
Fort Raleigh Park Store
audio
Freedman's Colony Picnic Area
audio
Freedom Trail- Fort Raleigh Trailhead
audio
Freedom Trail- Soundside Trailhead
audio🎧
🎬
🖼
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This finding aid describes the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Southest Region Collection, part of the NPS History Collection.
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.
Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
A Few Good Colonists
Open →
Be an Ethnographer - Exploring Culture
Open →
Building Barriers: Measuring Fort Raleigh
Open →
Freedom Versus Equality
Open →
Sailing for the New World: Trials and Tribulations
Open →
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