Reviews of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Tourist Attraction)

1401 National Park Dr, Manteo, NC 27954, United States

Average Rating:

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We offer you the opinions of people like you who consume the products and services of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Tourist Attraction) near to the state of North Carolina.

To this day this firm receives a score of 4.6 over 5 and that rating has been calculated on 922 reviews.

You may have noticed that its rating is practically the highest, and it is based on a very large number of feddbacks, so we can conclude that the rating is quite accurate. If people have bothered to evaluate when they are happy, it works.

As you know, we do not usually stop to write evaluations when these are correct and we usually do it only if we've had a problem or incidence...

This Tourist Attraction is classified in the category of Historical place.

Where is Fort Raleigh National Historic Site?

REVIEWS OF Fort Raleigh National Historic Site IN North Carolina

William Slattery

This place was awesome! Has a very nice museum with a great 17 minute movie that plays every half hour. Outside there is an earthen fort and a nice nature trail that you can walk. There is also a nice little gift shop. Enjoyed my visit there very much, and admission is free! Highly recommended!

TF Farrow

What a great place, whether bringing the kids, or on your own.. its a beautiful site, with plenty to keep you busy, sit down and relax, listen to nature in its finest, check out the history of the area, if your a visitor you will definitely enjoy the slower paced day, if you are a local you can go to just wind down, show the kids something new. It's one of my favorite places to go.. look up their website and see all they have to offer. Most of all, dont forget the camera, you will get beautiful shots and memories to boot'.. 5 stars all the way"

kyle calabro

A short leisurely walk to the theater area (outside) is very nice and relaxing. As you wait for the gates or chains in this case to open, you can grab some refreshments, candy, dip n dots. There is beer available or you can check out the gift shop. As everyone is seated the sun begins to set behind the stage. It is very nice. The play itself was very engaging. The production was on the higher end. Things are happening all around you. Very entertaining and somewhat educational.

Pamela Betts

Place well kept. But nothing exciting since the play was not on stage for the season.

Kenneth Wacasey

Nicely curated historical museum and site. The staff (park rangers) were really friendly and eager to interact with us. I really like the movie about the lost colony to suppliment the museum area and archeology area. All for free was certainly icing on the cake. We spent about an hour here including the short hike (5 min) to the fort area site. Well worth the short drive from Nags Head.

Teresa Mumford

Of course you need to see where the first colony was started. Good infor.ation.

Ronald Reinhardt

The ranger gave a very good presentation of different senarios of what happened to the settlers.

Jean McHugh

Elizabethan Gardens is beautiful. The lost colony was a great place to go to.

Thomas Edwards

Well kept, clesn, trails clearly marked with historic markers. Worth stopping by to see.

Theresa Bartholomew

The visitor center is nice but the Elizabethan Gardens are $9 and that’s too much.

Amy Van Devender

A hidden gem we had not known about. Great interpretation. Nice trails. Close to outdoor drama and Elizabethan gardens.

JoyN

Great educational place for kids!

Joe Kessler

Very interesting place to ponder what happened the colonists. Ranger programs are very well done too. The visitors center is s must as well.

Ryan Martin

We came here for a sunset while on vacation and it turned into an adventure of it's own. I'd post more pictures but they include my family. As for finding the same spot just use Google maps to look up the dead end road that faces west at the tip of the island. Hopefully that helps. It looks like a stretch of grass with trees on both sides and at the end there is a hidden beach that's beautiful. Also nearby where you'd park is a graveyard and on the opposite side of that are more amazing views. Enjoy

Adam Jacoby

Great show broadway quality

Michael

Beautiful gardens to remember the first colonists.

Janice Burkot

Beautiful gardens. Cost $9

Timothy Conaway

Watched the outdoor play of the colony. Well done nice seats. Wear bug repellant as after dark lots of bugs from the lights.

James Davis

Creepy. Beautiful. Magical. The gardens are amazing and completely worth the visit. The play was alright (a lot hammier than expected), but the gardens are the real highlight.

Jaqueline Bustos

A lot of history here. Beautiful

KK German

If you love nature, great place to walk.

Max O'Grady

Beautiful historic site operated by the National Park Service. The visitor center was very informative and detailed and the grounds were well kept.

Ice 2496

Didnt see the fort per se, but saw the Elizabethan Gardens. Those were amazing and worth going to. I saw a little of the fort from the car and it looked like a great time. Just wish I was down sooner for the reenactment.

Colin Miller

Went in on a whim and had a great, informative conversation with Josh about the history of the lost colony. He was very knowledgeable and engaging. Would definitely recommend stopping by

Filip Jasinski

Pure awesomeness! Super kind staff, incredible history, detailed and engaging visiting options, good even for small kids, extra clean and well preserved place. A must see!

Matthew Denis

Awesome place very relaxing especially the lost colony.

Jyoti Misra

It was nice.. if you like history you will like it

aj c

+÷Great learning experience for any age.

Steve Hartig

A nice place to visit when in Nags Head but probably not a destination unless you really love history. The visitor center does a great job of telling the story of the lost colony in both a personal way and also including the various theories. The video they show is worth watching

Raymond zeigler

We went and saw The Lost Colony and it was awesome! It is a must-see! Mantel is a treasure grove to explore!

Polycarp Omollo

Awesome garden with several varieties of plants. However, I think the fees are too high.

Diana Carroll

Nearly pristine area. Just stunning views and outdoor vistas. Very well kept.

Hendrik Burger

Walking through the forest reminds you of the ingenuity and relentless foresight the first lander's had. It was truly an eye opener on the value of the downpaynent for freedom.

Tina Harms

Need to come back in the summer for the reenactment. HUGE history lovers can't miss this place. Learned a lot.

The Total Wars Master

Great but not really a fort.

Michele Gilbert

Lots of good history here and interesting trees!

Emma Tucker

Interesting center with information about the Lost Colony and lots of artifacts that were found from colonists and the native peoples. The walking trails are very nice as well.

COMMANDO DOLPHIN

Elizabethan Garden. 2nd time going. Last time was 7 years ago. They lost some exhibits because of storms, but still great. Loved every minute of it.

Sea Jewel

The essence of the Raleigh forest cannot imitate what the early people met as they settled. It is a North Carolina treasure.

gwynn merritt

Can get breakfast anytime. Fairly reasonable price. Nice waitress

Roger Mcdaniel

Lots to visit in one location. Enjoyed all of it !!

ᏇᏒᏋᏁ ᏗᏝᎥᏕᏕᏗ

Way smaller than I imagined! But very lovely.

Thomas Balka

As part of the site, you can go and enjoy the Historical presentation of "The Lost Colony", definitely worth your time.

Mary Hing

This is a treat for those that love history and nature. We went to the gardens as well and they were beautiful. There was a fee, but it was worth it.

Vincent

Went to Fort Raleigh to watch the Lost Colony! Highly recommend going if you are in the OBX. There is not a bad seat in the theater. My only complaint was that the gift shop and visitor center was not open during the time of the play.

Jim Schwetz

learn about the lost colony and more. Nice place, was fun for my wife and i

Rebecca Herrin

I enjoyed the history of the place and there was a beautiful walking trail which made a nice place to stretch your legs. All in all, worth the visit.

Joe Cocco

Very nice! Easy walking paths and interesting history

Gail Hutchison

The Lost Colony theatre and Fort Raleigh are special places to visit....along with the Elizabethan Gardens. Take your time, reconnect with nature!

Tyler Christensen

Loved the show "The Lost Colony"

Debbie Smith

Great lecture by ranger. Beautiful area

Bobby Brown

Awesome place to learn some American history as well as North Carolina history.

Brittany Grimmett

Was an awesome play and very informative, would recommend a light jacket or blanket for the evening show

Alexander Justel

This place is gorgeous. Beautiful gardens. Meticulously arranged and taken care of.

David Smith

Beautiful garden with knowledgeable staff

Vincent Wenger

Very interesting!! Amazing history here...

Jeff Rutherford

We loved it there! Our kids did the junior ranger program they have. It was lots of fun.

ella durkee

Fort Raleigh is an impressive establishment on Roanoke Island. The staff is so very helpful, and, in the gift shop, I was able to find a book I had had trouble locating!!!!! The grounds provide a historical atmosphere to the walk around the land once visited by adventurous colonists and beautiful native people.

Maxime Dufresne

Nice short movie and small museum. Dont get too excited about the Fort...

Dave Dub

Neat site, and most importantly great staff and exhibitions. We chatted with a ranger at the front desk who explained to us, from MEMORY, about the lost colony of Roanoke. He did this because the film was out of order. The exhibits were very good as well. Finally, we went out to the "guided tour" of the freedmen's colony. The interpreter ranger was ASTOUNDING. It was almost like a really good sermon, the gentleman was so good and obviously cared so much about the material. Great for adults, decent for kids.

Natalie G

Everything nicely maintained and free entry. We spent a couple hours with our 8-month-old under the Spanish moss enjoying the breeze and park ranger's talks. Byron was very informative and personable, taking you back in time and bringing the mystery to life. Don't leave the Outer Banks until you go here!

Mike Westover

If you hear the word fort and expect a big structure, like we did then you will be disappointed. But with the other things on the property it makes the visit worth while. The Elizabethan gardens is great and the set for The Lost Colony play is there also. Along with a nice nature trail.

Bob Brace

The Lost Colony play was fabulous.

Roger Owens

Great place, lots of history. Family friendly. The Lost Colony was great. A bit pricey. Must see!

Lydia Wilson

Great historical place to visit. Love the history. Easy to walk around the site with good descriptive markers along the way. Informative visitors center too. We were able to catch the play this visit and it was amazing! We all, including the kids, loved it! The whole thing, actors, scenes, costumes, special effects, the play itself was all great. Will visit again and hope to catch the play again.

Teetee Fields

Loved it! Very beautiful place.

Lisa Penosky

Always enjoy the Elizabethan Gardens, awesome programs and events

Sarai Fleming

It was a very interesting and historical site to visit! Not only was it FREE to the public but, it had different activities and trails to hike. We hiked the Freedmen's trail to the Albemarle Sound and it was BEAUTIFUL! The trail was very easy to walk and follow and it wasn't that long. You can tell when you're getting close because the bugs are more apparent but, it's not bad. If you haven't walked the trail, I HIGHLY recommend it! You can walk along the beach of the sound to get more views of the bridge & sound. Plus, the historical story alone makes this trail very unique and special. Overall, the site was rich with history and for a smaller site it was very good. I hate we missed the play but, I was told that play is AWESOME so definitely check that out!

Ruth Anne Brown

The Elizabethan Guardens in Manteo is well worth the visit.

dennis dueck

To much fighting in play. But educational

William Boaz

Great place to vist and great ranger talk.

Tammy Bridges

This was very informative.

Mac Morrow

Just for the pure history this place has, it's worth a visit. The park is pretty adamant about the play they put on instead of the history though and it kind of takes the wind out of my sails. Other than that it's definitely worth it!

Jason Keyes

The Elizabethan Gardens were beautiful

Sergey Soukhenko

Awesome place to visit of you never been, definitely a piece of history.

Justin P

Fort Raleigh preserves the site of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in the New World. Funded by Sir Walter Raleigh, an attempt at permanent settlement was made in 1587 on the Roanoke Island. Virginia Dare, the first baby born to English parents in the New World was born here. By 1590, the colony had disappeared and their fate remains mystery to this day. The visitor center has a nice museum to learn about the lost colony and short trails lead around the grounds. The Elizabethan Gardens are on the property but there's a fee to enter.

Edd Sharp

Great historic place to visit

Jenna A. Robinson

I wish there was more direction at this historic site. Loved everything I saw but was left wanting to know more!

Viper

Nice well kept up place and the lost colony show os something you really need to injoy

Ann Bridgers

We had a great time exploring the history of NC while exploring this gem. Due to the government shutdown we weren’t able to see the theatre area but we were able to explore most other parts of this beautiful park. The waterfront walk was my favorite of all! Thanks for a beautiful time!!!

Blaine Eicher

Was here for The Lost Colony play, definitely can recommend! Hope to be back.

Jessi Hurt

The Elizabethan Gardens are a must see for every season. Meticulously maintained and absolutely stunning!

Robert Cartwright

If you have never been here before you need to check it out

Marissa Smith

good to learn about the history of Roanoke island. Not much there for small kids 7 and under other than trees and trails to run around.

M C

A nice walk. Clean and well maintained.

Joy McHone

Enjoyed seeing the Lost colony.

Tempest

Fun historic site preserving one of the oldest pieces of American history. I've never been in any of the buildings, but have visited the site 4 times. The site provides an informative and leisurely walk with paved walkways. There is also a maze of nature trails through the maritime evergreen forest surrounding the site. It doesn't take long to see the whole place and it is free. Being eastern NC the mosquitoes can get thick at sunset, but during the day are not particularly bothersome. Would recommend it to anyone looking for something easy, free, and fun to do in the OBX.

Franco Franco

This was a nice visit; nice park, welcoming guest services & excellent facilities. Bring yout walking shoes for the trail.

Corrie Breunsbach

I could wander the site for days. I'm fact, I could live in the Elizabethan Gardens, and never leave. It is a beautiful place to visit.

angela C.

This place is neat and that it carries on a lot of history. there's also little private beaches that you can explore and find all around it. The only thing that I'm disappointed about is that the actual tree isn't still there. A fake one but not the real one I went there expecting there to be a tree that I could touch but no..and maybe I'm naive for thinking it would be there but that's me. Other than that it's really great.

Todd

Nice museum and 15min film about fort and Lost colony. Play performance was impressive and all seating is with a good view.

Myles crumel

This place had some gorgeous sites!!! Everything was beautiful and worth the money!

sarah l

Absolutely beautiful area to walk around, the coastline was stunning. They have a daily educational talk around 230 I think, unfortunately we missed it. We had to skip the gardens due to a storm but I hear they are amazing. Everything is free to walk, around except the gardens. They also have a play they put on about the original settlers, not sure of the schedule or cost, if any.

Oriville Tycoon

Beautiful gardens with very friendly staff and a well maintained grounds. Really pretty.

Edward Scott

There isn't much here, just kind of a mound. But it is very cool being in the same place where so much happened. There is a path to walk to the beach where the English first landed. That is also very cool. We went to the museum which had some interesting artifacts and we watched a video and took the tour. It was all very informative. I wasn't going to come here at first, but I am happy I did.

James Turkovich

Awesome place to learn about history. Nice rangers/workers.

Meg Malone

Make sure you catch the 17-minute film about the lost colony that is shown every half hour — it’s a little dated but nevertheless interesting. I’d also recommend you look through the binder of children’s theories about what happened to the members of the list colony.

Christian Conway

Visitor Center had some cool exhibits and a neat movie about the history of Roanoke.

EL Smith

This review covers a couple of different visits because there is so much to do and see - the replicas of the Indian compound, settlers' fort and Elizabethan ship; the visitors center; and the Lost Colony amphitheater and play. Couldn't do it all on one visit but highly recommend it all. The re-enactors at the settlement and ship were wonderful, very engaging, interesting, informative and willing to answer all questions about their areas. The play is well done, enthusiastic, engaging, a little kitschy but not overly so, a little long for me, but I enjoyed it. The backstage tour, extra cost, was fun with our two cast member guides and was worth the minor added cost. It's a fun family thing for elementary and older children (littler ones may get antsy though I saw a couple of maybe 5s who did fine). Wear comfortable clothes as you will be outside but the theater has individual seats, not benches, so it's comfortable. #tlc2019

tonya canup

It's a small place but very nice , the lady working there was very nice and helpful

Robert Dunn

The Lost Colony has to be your families new tradition. The show is great every year!! I started coming with my family as a child and always loved the performance. They have ticket packages that include backstage tours where you get to meet the actors and see the inner workings of the show. They also have children’s shows during the week. I would highly recommend visiting the Fort for the show as well as all the other activities that are available on site. Do yourself a favorite and take an afternoon and evening out of your beach time and check out the Living History of the Lost Colony .

William West

Small visitor center with a large amount of information. 17 minute video every 39 minutes that explains the basics of the lost colony. We were able to stay for the Rangers live interactive presentation that tied all the information together. Our boys were sworn in as Jr. Rangers after a booklet that was finished in 30 minutes with info found in the museum.

Michelle Stefani

Beautiful place. I went here for the Food and Wine Festival and had a great time.

R Walkins

This was a great change of pace from the beach vacation. We learned a bit of history and some more facts and perspectives to the Lost colony story. Our national park service guide/ranger was amazing and took time to give his entire presentation to just the two of us. The exhibits and video were also very informative. I would recommend a visit as well as to the Elizabethan gardens next door.

Gavin Beegan

The rangers were very helpful and kind and gave us a complete and detailed account of the site and its history. Definitely a place to visit if you're in the area.

Justin Patterson

Great place to take the kids. They can earn a Junior park ranger badge by completing a "scavenger hunt" type of booklet with different criteria for different ages. All the park rangers are helpful and knowledgeable

Alyssa Saldivar

Beautiful place to visit. Ranger Byron's program was great and really gave us a lot of information about the area during the Civil War. Visitors Center movie was surprisingly good, and the exhibits are very well thought out. If you have a chance to go to the Elizabethan Gardens, do it.

Dave Curtis

Historical site. Enough said

Brandy Valdez

Not much 8 side. The weather was ominous so we didnt get to walk the grounds

Tara Burns

Very well done! Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Clean grounds. Well curated artifacts and information presented in a way to keep even my 7 year old engaged. We enjoyed the water color painting activity very much.

Michael Werner

We went and saw the lost colony re-enactment and it was really cool. I was a little skeptical at first but the show was really good. The actors and actresses seem to really enjoy what they do and it showed throughout the show. I definitely recommend seeing this show. The sunset behind the stage was awesome too.

Lisa M. Reed

They have a very helpful tour guide and nice walking trails.

James Paxton

The museum presents the major interpretations of what happened to the Roanoke colonists and invites visitors to evaluate tbe theories for themselves. The ranger tour is excellent and the museum does a good job considering how few physical remains there are to interpret. The exhibits deal substantially with the Algonquian people of the region. However, the movie is dated and ends on a more off American exceptionalism. The grounds are lovely.

Hannah Donaldson

Great place to visit. Park Ranger Josh Nelson did a great job talking about the Lost Colony and the Freedsman Colony. Site has a reconstruction of what it probably was like.

Raven Night

An educational place to learn about history in a beautiful setting. A great place to take kids. I highly recommend it.

Craig Phillips

Play was educational and entertaining!

Ruby Crumpler

Very interesting place.

M Hilde

Super cool place. If you're close, it's worth it. I want close AND IT WAS WORTH IT!

Business Hours of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site in North Carolina

SUNDAY
9AM–5PM
MONDAY
(COLUMBUS DAY) 9AM–6:30PM HOURS MIGHT DIFFER
TUESDAY
9AM–6:30PM
WEDNESDAY
9AM–6:30PM
THURSDAY
9AM–6:30PM
FRIDAY
9AM–6:30PM
SATURDAY
9AM–6:30PM

PHONE & WEBPAGE

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site en North Carolina
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