Roanoke Island, North Carolina

North Carolina Aquariums have three campuses; Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores, and Fort Fisher. The Roanoke Island museum features indoor exhibits and a large outdoor nature trail. The museum hosts the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center, with each rescued turtle’s information displayed. In the next space, children learn about sea turtle conservation through a series of interactive exhibits.

We loved Island Farm on Roanoke so much that we became members. The site of the Etheridge Family Farm has been recreated as an 1860 working farm. Exhibits show how the family lived and grew their crops. Recreated living quarters and interpretation recount the lives of the enslaved people that lived on the farm. Inside the visitor center, static displays also tell the story of Richard Etheridge, who was born into slavery on the property and later commanded the Pea Island Life Saving Station, the first to be crewed by black men.

Downtown Manteo is filled with shops, restaurants and galleries. Our perfect afternoon is checking out local art at the Dare County Arts Studio followed by lunch at Lost Colony Brewing & Cafe.

From downtown Manteo, its easy to take in more history of Roanoke Island. If you read a short history of Manteo, you will recognize many of the surnames on the graves found in the town’s historic cemetery. Just a short walk over the bridge takes you to the Roanoke Island Festival Park. The Museum has indoor exhibits as well as the Elizabeth II, a recreation of a 16th Century English shipping vessel. There are a few hotels and B&Bs on the island, but we found better luck on AirBNB with a small house within a short walk from downtown.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site in Manteo is the archeological site of the “Lost Colony” of English men and women in the late 16th century. The museum tells the story of the purpose of the expedition, and about the early encounters with the Algonquin people who lived on the land where the colonists built their settlement. Finally, studying artifacts recovered at the site and reading the documented history, guests are asked which theory for the disappearance of the colonists is the most realistic.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina was one of the first areas in the South to come under control of Northern troops, and Roanoke Island was settled by people who were formerly enslaved. In front of the visitor center is a marker that commemorates the island as a “Freedmen’s Colony.”

The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo were created in 1951 adjacent to the site of Fort Raleigh. The Garden is easy to see in just an hour or two, with both traditional European-style gardens and sections of forest with native plants. The Butterfly House was open and filled with mostly tropical plants, but I didn’t see any residents. Discovery Cottage children’s garden has a koi pond, fossil dig, and playhouses.