Other Roanoke Island Attractions

The Roanoke Island Maritime Museum- and the George Washington Creef working boathouse offers a look at local and regional maritime heritage through displayed watercraft, exhibits, restoration projects, and traditional skills workshops. Featured at the Museum, is a North Carolina Shad boat and early commercial fishing exhibit featuring the 1883 Shad boat, Ella View, as well as exhibits on regional boat building. The museum’s education programs focus on the use, construction and celebration of traditional watercraft and related maritime activities. Dates and hours vary throughout the year. (252) 475-1750 or visit www.roanokeisland.com.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site -Sir Walter Raleigh's explorers and colonists attempted to found settlements here on the north end of Roanoke Island in 1585 and 1587. It is home to the Waterside Theatre, where you'll find The Lost Colony, a symphonic outdoor drama and also has a visitor's center, interpretive programs, bookstore, and nature trail. Located off of Hwy 64/264 on the north end of Roanoke Island. (252) 473-5772 or visit www.nps.gov/fora.

The Lost Colony - America’s #1 outdoor drama is the perfect pinnacle to your Outer Banks experience! See this compelling unsolved mystery of America’s beginnings and other productions at Waterside Theatre in Manteo on Roanoke Island. The Lost Colony tells the story of the events leading to the disappearance of the English colonists who settled here over 400 years ago. The production features music, dance, drama, riveting action, and special effects with lavish costumes and sets designed by five-time Tony Award-winner William Ivey Long. Box Office: (252) 473-3414. Visit www.thelostcolony.org.

The Elizabethan Gardens was created by the Garden Club of North Carolina as a living memorial to the English colonists who first settled on Roanoke Island. Each season brings a fresh and exciting array of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Masses of blooming azaleas, dogwoods, rhododendrons, herbs and bulbs can be experienced in the spring. Sweet scented roses, magnolias, crape myrtle, hydrangeas and bedding plants bring stunning color to the summer garden. Annuals, impatiens and chrysanthemums are abundant in the autumn and spectacular camellias and daphne bloom in late fall and winter. Also enjoy antique statuary, the world’s largest bronze likeness of HRH Queen Elizabeth I and period buildings. For more information call (252)473-3234 or visit www.elizabethangardens.org.  

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island - The aquarium presents the aquatic environments of coastal Carolina through its theme "Waters of The Outer Banks." The variety of exhibits promises to educate and entertain visitors. (252) 473-3493 www.ncaquariums.com.

Wright Brothers National Memorial - Site of the world's first controlled powered flight on December 17, 1903. The Visitor Center features full-scale reproductions of the Wright 1903 Powered Flyer and interpretive presentations. A pavilion boasts an exhibit hall with special exhibits, including a replica of the 1902 Wright Glider and a multipurpose auditorium. The grounds include historical markers of each attempted powered flight, replica camp buildings and a 60-foot granite monument on top of Big Kill Devil Hill (a 90-foot dune) honoring the Wright brothers. Located at Milepost 8, Kill Devil Hills. www.nps.gov/wrbr (252) 441-7430

Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station Historic Site - One of the most complete U.S. Lifesaving Station sites in the nation, with original station built in 1874 and a second station constructed in 1911. Five outbuildings, including the 1911 Cook House and the 1907 Midgett House, comprise the remaining structures. Family-oriented programs offered during summer months, including the Beach Apparatus Drill reenactment! Exhibits include artifacts, apparatus, documents, uniforms, photographs, including displays of the Outer Banks Lifesaving Stations. Located on Hatteras Island. (252) 987-1552 www.chicamacomico.net.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum - A unique museum, located on Hatteras Island in Hatteras Village. dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich maritime history of the Outer Banks and the more than 2,000 known shipwrecks that rest off the Outer Banks. (252) 986-2995 www.graveyardoftheatlantic.com.

Town of Manteo - Spend a morning in downtown Manteo browsing the cute, trendy and unique boutiques that line the peaceful streets, or relax with a specialty latte in a quaint coffee house. Linger in the local bookstore over titles that range from classics to local authors to international bestsellers. Pick up a piece of handcrafted pottery, or let one of the town’s elegant galleries inspire you. Visit a cooperative weaving organization, the yarn shop, or an antiques-and-quilts store. A charming boardwalk wraps around the town. Stroll down the wooden planks and admire Roanoke Island Festival Park’s 16^th century representative ship, Elizabeth II. Bring a picnic to a table on the green lawn at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum where volunteers and staff restore boats using traditional boatbuilding techniques. Admire the gorgeous boats on display. View the marsh and watch sailboats glide in and out of the bay. Eat at one of the town’s locally-owned sandwich shops for lunch, or enjoy a fine dinner and the view of Shallowbag Bay in the evening. For more information about Roanoke Island Festival Park, call (252) 475-1500 or visit roanokeisland.com or townofmanteo.com.

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources - The department was formed in 1971 to serve North Carolina’s citizens across the state in an outreach to broaden minds and spirits, preserve history and culture, and to recognize and promote our cultural resources as an essential element of North Carolina’s economic and social well being. It was the first state organization to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella. The department is comprised of the Office of Archives and History and the Office of Arts and Libraries. Through these offices, the department addresses a wide range of interests and provides assistance to North Carolina’s residents and visitors to the state. (919) 807-7250. www.ncculture.com.