Elizabethan Gardens

Elizabethan Gardens sits on Roanoke Island's north end, adjacent to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, part of the same cluster of historic sites tied to the 1580s Roanoke voyages. It's a separate, non-profit botanical garden rather than an archaeological site: ten-plus acres of formal plantings, shaded paths, and seasonal color laid out in a style meant to evoke 16th-century England, built as a living memorial to the Roanoke colonists rather than a reconstruction of their settlement.

What Sets It Apart

Because it shares the same historic grounds as Fort Raleigh, the Waterside Theatre where The Lost Colony is performed, and Roanoke Island Festival Park across the water in downtown Manteo, it's easy to lump these together. Elizabethan Gardens is the horticultural piece of that puzzle — plan for a slower, walking pace rather than a guided tour, and expect the display to shift with the seasons.

• Open daily, with slightly shorter Sunday hours (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. versus 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the week)
• Located on National Park Drive, within the same historic-area cluster as Fort Raleigh
• Best treated as a stop of its own on a visit to the island's north end, not a quick add-on